Is a balance possible?
We often hear people talking about achieving a work-life balance but without any real idea of what that actually means. Does it mean a 50/50 split between work and family? Or is self-care in there? O is it balancing or stress levels?
It means different things to different people but generally speaking, we’re not great at it. However. It’s not an exact science and there is no perfect point of balance. Sometimes we need to dedicate more time & energy to work and other times we may need to drop our work and focus on family or our own health, and that’s OK, that’s simply part of life.
The trick is though having the freedom and the ability to do that without it being too detrimental to our work, health, relationships, or finances.
If you’re finding that you are regularly sacrificing family needs, your health, eating or sleep, then maybe it’s time to re-assess.
Can work help?
Absolutely. After all, work is half of this equation so it makes sense that there is something we can do about it.
- Understand and recognise stress and
have measures in place to address it. - Ensure people are allowed and taking
their breaks. - Support parents and carers.
- Provide stress-relieving activates.
- Regularly review and adjust workloads.
What can I do to find my balance?
1. Block off your time and plan
Write a list of what needs to be done each day and as much as you can, assign time blocks to it, this includes your breaks. For example, 15 minutes to read emails at the start of the day, 25 minutes to read that report, 45 minutes to amend the report and then 15 minutes rest.
2. Speak up if it gets too much
Sometimes things might stack up or life events mean you’re not as effective as you were, it doesn’t serve anybody (including yourself) to keep quiet when this happens. Speak up and share that it’s getting too much. You never know, maybe something can be done to help.
3. Make your down time count
There’s nothing wrong with binge watching TV on your day off but it can sometimes leave us feeling like we wasted the time. Have a think what you would like to do with your time off. It might be that 30 minutes housework followed by a walk with the dog and a bath leaves you feeling better than an entire day of Netflix.
4. Have an end-of-day ritual
Find something that tells your brain that your working day is over and it’s time to relax. It may be closing the laptop, having a bath, going for a walk or even a phrase that helps you mentally shut up shop for the day like saying to yourself “Work is done, be present with my family”.
5. Turn off notifications
That email notification sound can instantly put you back into work mode. When you’re not working consider turning off any notification that is solely to do with work and maybe set your out-of-office if it’s suitable to so there’s no expectation for you to reply.
Weekly Wellbeing Tip
Extra-long work days can be helpful for the odd short-term goal or target but can be physically and mentally damaging if maintained for a long time. Decide – is it worth it?
