Achieving work-life balance these days can seem daunting if you’re trying to fulfill every professional duty with promptness to land that next client, increase your salary, and strive for leadership. If this is your approach you will find yourself on the never-ending hamster wheel.
It’s time to think and work smarter.
So how do you shut off work when the day is done so you can spend time with loved ones, get to the gym, or relax with a good book?
Follow these simple steps to take back your life:
1. Develop A Morning Routine
Your morning routine sets your mind right for the day. If you’re jam-packing your schedule from the moment you wake up, most likely you’ll be feeling burnout by 1pm. Taking care of your needs first thing in the morning can have you approaching your day with confidence, positivity, and clarity.
Whether you start your day with a workout, journaling, meditation, or reading for inspiration this can be the determining factor for the rest of your day. Until you fill up your own cup in the am, you may find your energy levels low and feeling on edge by the slightest frustrations or external stimuli. In fact, the most successful leaders begin their day focusing on themselves before serving others.
2. Set Healthy Boundaries
If you’re always “on call” you will find your work runs your life versus it being one aspect of your life. It is essential to develop clear work hours and communication tools for others to get ahold of you during business hours. Some may prefer the phone and text while others may prefer email. This preference is solely up to you, but deciding when you are available and when you aren’t is key. It will allow you to have time for self-care, prioritizing your relationships, and doing activities you enjoy.
It is also essential to know your personal limits around taking time off. If you don’t take a mental health break or vacation travel from time to time this can leave you downright frustrated, unmotivated, and facing burnout. Requesting time off is taking quality time for yourself to recover from the stress that tends to pile high on your desk or flood your inbox.
If your boss insists on working during your holiday, then keeping clear boundaries and assigning over your workload while you’re gone to colleagues can ensure your free time. Vacation days will vary from one organization to the next as well as the length of time you are permitted for paid leave based on employment.
3. Take On A Hobby
Having a personal hobby is a great way to build confidence but also gives you the freedom to decompress from everyday life stressors. Whether you’re into creative arts, recreational activities, or learning a new language, taking on a weekly hobby builds your self-love. Making time to do something that brings you joy is great for creating life balance.
4. Make Nutrition A Priority
You are what you eat. If you’re filling up on candy, caffeine and chips while running from meeting to meeting eventually you’re going to run low on your battery life. Nutrition and gut health is connected to your overall mood and psychological health. This is why consuming junk can put you in a funk.
If you find you’re short on time, prepping meals in advance with whole foods can ensure a proper nutrition plan to keep yourself up to peak performance. Proteins are great for keeping the body full longer and giving you fuel to sustain long workdays with little breaks. It's quite easy to pack some carrots, a protein bar, or a piece of fruit to get through those midday brain-a-thons.
5. Find Time For Exercise
Whether you prefer a workout in the morning or evening, it's more about the commitment than the day of time. What is vital is making sure you’re getting in at least thirty minutes a day for physical activity. This could mean morning walks, lifting weights, pilates, swimming, or finding a running buddy for evening jogs. Keeping your adrenals functioning and blood moving keeps you healthier and on track to reach your goals.
Additional, self-care tips are the sauna, red light therapy to counteract blue light consumed all day, and massages to de-stress the body.
6. Get Enough Sleep
It is optimal to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. While this may not happen every night we all know without proper sleep we can’t perform our best in terms of productivity or achieve goals in a timely manner. Finding a good balance of what you need is key to keeping up with your work duties while also giving your body the rest it needs to recharge.
7. Make Time For Loved Ones
Without meaningful relationships in our lives, life can be unfulfilling or even a lonely journey. The people we care about and love can bring us so much joy on our hardest days by being an emotional support system. Making time to nurture those relationships that are special to you is part of maintaining a work-life balance.
Whether it’s date night with your partner once a week, family dinner every Sunday, or a social hour on Fridays after work, showing others how much you appreciate them in your life can actually put a smile on your own face. Humans undeniably crave connection and there are lots of health benefits to how it impacts our day-to-day work performance.
Struggling to achieve work-life balance? Let's develop a plan so you can live a stress-free life. Chat with one of our consultants today.
Commentaires