5 Ways to Achieve Work/Life Balance

Does work get in the way of your life or has work become your way of life?  How are you balancing all the work-related tasks you need to complete each and every day, while maintaining a good personal life?

Once upon a time we had three parts of our day which were split equally: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure time and 8 hours of sleep.  Yes looking back this seems like a fairy tale now!  The current balance looks more like: 12 hours of work, 6 hours of sleep and 6 hours of a lot of other stuff not really leisure dominated by our electronic devices.   Ask yourself if the first and last thing you do during the day is look at your cell phone?

So how do you change this?  Here are 5 tips that will make a difference.

1. Separate your personal time from your work time

This is the biggest challenge as most of us are always connected to work.   Even on vacation, I cannot resist not looking at my messages at certain times during the day.

2. Focus on the moment

This goes hand-in-hand with being an effective listener and giving your undivided attention to what is going on around you and especially the other people you are interacting with.  Stop, listen and focus on the moment.

3. Early to rise and Prioritize

The "night owls" do not like this one.   Getting enough sleep even if it is six hours, going to bed earlier than later helps to achieve a better work/life balance.   I enjoy my early mornings which are "my" time.  This is where I start with a new task list to prioritize my day.   Adding exercise is part of the routine before heading into the office.

4. Make time for just yourself

This sounds easy and for some of us, we feel guilty to absorb yourself in something like a reading a book.   Walking or listening to music are good examples of simple things to do for yourself.   Some choose yoga and meditation.   Make time for yourself because you need it and you deserve it.

5. Set realistic expectations

It will never be perfect and exactly what you want.   You can keep raising the bar as long as you remember to be realistic about it.   You are in control and you define what realistic expectations  are.

How are you balancing your work/life?

(Originally published on 09.26.18)