Do you want to have a great career and a beautiful family? Then you have to find a balance. This means learning to prioritize, make strategic decisions well in advance and use your time efficiently.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Having the Right Mindset
Step 1. Try to understand what matters to you
Is work or family more important? Both are necessary, but you need to make informed decisions about how to balance time and effort.
It's all a matter of perspective. Sometimes it is enough to start seeing things from a slightly different point of view to make a difference. Sort your priorities. Aim to feel fulfilled rather than having a stellar bank account. Plan your holidays. Surprise your sweetheart. Go to a game with your kids and enjoy it. Similarly, when you work, dedicate body and soul to your job
Step 2. Define professional goals
You certainly don't want to feel stifled by a job lacking in satisfaction and prospects. Consider realistic career goals that align with your needs. If you are successful in the business world, your personal life will benefit too. These milestones can be short or long term.
- Set short-term goals. What do you hope to achieve within a month? Do you want to optimize the efficiency of your office? Try using a new approach to old problems. When it comes to efficiency, no problem should be overlooked, however minimal. Do you want to make some small changes to the working environment? Share your goals, even the smallest ones. Employers and managers always appreciate employees who put themselves on the line.
- Set long-term goals. In most cases it will take years to achieve them, but setting one or more long-term goals motivates you to make the most of your time. Do you want to climb a few steps in the corporate hierarchy? Do you want a raise? Think about where you'd like to be in five years. If your answer is "Doing something else," you need to start considering strategies to help you achieve your goals.
Step 3. Determine personal goals as well
If you set yourself goals at home, your professional life will also benefit. Commit to growing as a person. Learn something new, whether it's related to your job or not. In the learning process, the brain is constantly applying new knowledge to old tasks. You will also likely begin to consider new ways to do your job.
- Think about your personal long-term goals. Do you want children, get married or move? Consider what your priorities are and make professional decisions that help you achieve your goals.
- It is also important to set personal short-term goals. This could be something as simple as planning to take your kids to the movies on the weekend or something more challenging, like scheduling a big cleaning week with your family.
Part 2 of 4: Planning
Step 1. Choose the right professional field
The type of work you do plays a key role in maintaining a balance between profession and private life. If you love what you do, finding a balance will be much easier.
- Choose a profession that gives you satisfaction. Every job involves a whole series of difficulties and deadlines. If you are satisfied with your achievements and are proud of your work, you can concentrate as much as possible while you are at work.
- It may be necessary to change jobs. Some jobs and employers are far too demanding. If the salary or the degree of satisfaction given by your current profession does not motivate you enough and does not allow you to find a balance with your private life, it is time to look for another job.
Step 2. Always keep work-life balance in mind when planning your family life
Just as you should consider the impact your employment has on your family, you should consider the impact your family has on your professional performance.
Ask yourself the following questions. Who should work in your family? Should both husband and wife work? What consequences will this decision have from an economic and personal point of view? How many children could you take care of if you both had to work? Can you count on other family members to ease the responsibilities?
Step 3. Review all of your long-term commitments
Sometimes, in order to find a balance between work and private life, it is necessary to consider other factors as well. Consider the following questions:
- Do you want to contribute to other communities? Do you volunteer? Does your work allow you to dedicate yourself to it?
- Do you have any hobby? Does your current job allow you to indulge your passions when the working day ends?
- Are there any other factors related to your professional life? How long does it take you to get to work? If you decide to live away from where you work, you will need a lot more time to travel each day. You also need to consider the cost of maintaining the machine. Consider finding a home closer.
Part 3 of 4: Making the Most of Your Time
Step 1. Get organized
Write to-do lists at work and at home. Sometimes it is difficult to juggle all the commitments. Make lists in order of importance. Complete the most difficult or important tasks in the morning to make your day progressively easier.
Don't cross out the commitments you have completed. There are in fact people who completely delete them from the list. Many psychologists agree that you need to have a list of completed tasks in order to see the fruits of your productivity concretely
Step 2. Keep a work journal
At the end of the day, make a list of what you need to do the next day and write down ideas about how you plan to achieve those goals efficiently. This will make it easier for you to get back to work the next morning. If you have not completed certain commitments, this will also help you to accept it serenely.
Step 3. Draw a line between work and private life
It is a very important rule that is often overlooked or broken. Sometimes an employer prevents you from rigidly separating profession and time spent at home. Sometimes you are faced with deadlines that force you to take your work home.
- Clearly communicate your work-family boundaries to supervisors and co-workers. For example, you might say that after 6pm you will not respond to job notifications and will take care of answering calls or emails on the next work day.
- Likewise, let your family know when you are working and set rules. For example, if you work from home, ask your family not to disturb you during a certain period of the day or set aside a special place where you can work without being interrupted.
- If you need to take work home, limit your workloads to specific hours of the day or days.
Step 4. Prioritize your family when you are at home
Don't go to work as soon as you get home. When you come home, the first thing you should do is dedicate yourself to your family. Ask your partner how her day went. If you have kids, talk to them, play with them, and help them with their homework. Only when you have done your part in the house can you start thinking about work again.
Step 5. Monitor your email management habits
Emails are a double-edged sword. They speed up communication within a company, but checking and double-checking the mailbox can be detrimental to productivity. Try to read them only at set times of the day: once in the morning, once after lunch, and once before the working day is over. This way you can respond to important messages and always be on time.
Part 4 of 4: Taking Care of Yourself
Step 1. Rely on friends and family
You don't have to carry the full weight of your professional and private life. Talk to your relatives. When you have moments of stress or problems at work, talk to them: they will probably listen to you with pleasure and you will feel better. Everyone needs a support network.
If you feel too overwhelmed with responsibilities and obligations, family or friends may be able to ease some of that burden. For example, you could ask your parents to look after your children so that you can spend some time with your wife
Step 2. Make time for yourself
Combining the role you play in your business and what you have in your family can be exhausting. You have to unplug. Play golf, go shopping or go to the movies. Discharge yourself before the stress builds up and blows you away. Take moments when all you have to do is worry about yourself. It is of vital importance. Dedicate yourself to yourself.
Step 3. Feed the relationship with your family
Spend time whenever you can with the most important people in your life. For example, if you are married, you may want to make a commitment to have a night out with your wife once a week.
Try to spend time with your family members, both as a group and individually. For example, if you have children, do things together as a family, but also try to dedicate some time to each child
Step 4. Get enough sleep:
it is a top priority. Sure, you have deadlines on deadlines or dozens of urgent commitments to complete. But if you don't sleep, your brain won't work as it should to solve all these problems. Sleep soundly for eight hours every night.
Step 5. Eat healthy
The temptation of fast food is always around the corner when you get out of work. However, take some time to eat healthy. Proper nutrition translates into more energy, which is necessary to maintain a good balance.
Step 6. Exercise
Working out, walking, jogging or swimming are all activities that offer numerous benefits, not to mention that you can carve out moments all for yourself. As you train, the brain continues to analyze all professional or private problems and sooner or later it will find a solution. Exercising allows you to immediately see very positive results, such as feeling better about yourself and improving your mood. These benefits will help you find a work-life balance more easily.
