The best ways to achieve and maintain your Work-Life Balance

Ever got that feeling that work is somehow taking over your life or that you’re seeing more of your work colleges & manager more than your spending time or seeing your loved ones? well if the answer is yes then you’re not alone if you ask most of the working stiffs out there or even those in executive and managerial positions id they feel the same way.

With the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic and most of us working from home, we’ve come to realize more and more how important it is to see, interact and spend time with our loved ones or even just have some me-time outside of the office aka the need to have what they call a work-life balance.

Understanding how important that is not just to our mental and emotional health and stability but also to out productivity and effectiveness while at work. We decided to tackle this highly discussed subject and give you some work-Life balance tips that are guaranteed to put a smile back on your face.

1) What does work-life balance mean?

Work-Life Balance as a term is what you might call is a relatively modern term. The term is generally used to refer to the balance between the time and energy that you as an individual keep between your time at work including you’re occupational obligations and your personal or family time, aka the time you spend with your friends and family or on your personal life. 

So in short, work-life balance is achieved when neither aspect overcomes the other in a sense that the time you spend at work doesn’t overpower or come at the cost of your personal hobbies, life, activities or the time you spend amongst friends & family members, resulting in a healthy work-life balance. 

2) Why is work-Life Balance important?

Before stating why, despite being a modern term, achieving a Work-Life Balance is not only extremely beneficial for the employer but equally lucrative and advantageous for the business owner himself, let’s have a look at some interesting Statistics:

  • According to the research conducted by Gallup, the average working hours for an American per week is now 47 hours, with half of all full-time workers stating they work for more than 40 hours.
  • As the research shows & according to rescuetime.com, almost 40% use their computers outside after 10 P.M, and that’s just considering laptops and desktop computers and excluding time spent on mobile phones. 
  • According to goremotely.net blog about work-life balance statistics off of a Harvard business review, a sum of 190 billion dollars is spent yearly to address the psychological & Phyidcal effects of burnout.
  • 83% of millennials and Gen Zers feel they lake any form of Work-Life Balance & 6.66% of the workers feel the same way, what is even more alarming is that it’s expected that millennials will form 755 of the workforce by 2025.  

A quick look at these statistics shows how most of us and even our working or in college sons and daughters are stressed out and feel that too much of their life is being consumed by work. 

This means that they might actually fell burnout even before getting their first job & the toll this has on their Mental Health.

3) What are the benefits of work-life balance?

So what is in it for you and how could a work-balance benefit you and your firm, Here are the main benefits of a Work-Life balance:

  • Fewer Health problems

As it’s clear from the statistics provided above, a lack of Work-Life balance, with long hours at work and not enough time for yourself takes its toll on the mind and the body.

The physical manifestations of a burnout resulting from a lack of work to life balance range from catching the flu to severe heart attacks.

A study by UCL conducted on more than 10,000 participants proved that white-collar workers who worked three or more hours longer than their peers had a 605 higher risk of heart complications.

  • Fewer burnouts more focus

Stress within your firm & in any working environment are inevitable, burnouts on the other hand are avoidable. You should always make sure that your employees are as away from burnout as possible & not let them feel overwhelmed or over occupied as it can negatively affect every aspect of their life and your business.

Preserving the work-life balance within your firm will also allow your employees to focus on what’s important and channel all their energy and their efforts where you most need it instead of counting the hours till their back home.

4) How to successfully achieve Work-Life balance? 

Now its time for the question you’ve all been waiting for which is how can you achieve a balance between your professional work life & your personal and family time. Here are some ideas that might prove helpful:

  • Accept that there’s not a perfect balance

The first step in figuring out how to not get overwhelmed in work and forget about your personal life is to accept that it will never be a perfect balance.

What we mean here is that not every day will be the same sometimes you might need to spend some extra time at work and at a diffrent point of time, you’ll have more time to relax or practice your hobby. Basically balance is about not allowing one side to overcome the other, not about perfection.  

  • Do what you love and unplug

Ever hear the saying that if you’re doing something you love, then it’s not work, well that is actually true, the main reason behind this is that your not likely to feel mentally strained, pressured or stressed out when you’re doing something you’re passionate about.

Secondly don’t be afraid to just take some time out of your busy life and take a break from it all. According to a study concluded by the U.S travel association, 52% of the employees report having unused vacation days.

It doesn’t have to be a vacation to the Bahamas but don’t deprive yourself of that mental break even if it’s losing yourself in a book for a couple of hours.

  • Health comes first

Nothing is as important and should be prioritized more than your and your families health, whether that be your emotional or mental well being. If your feeling tired or have a major surgery coming don’t postpone it because you have a 3 o’clock meeting.

  • Set working hours and make time for family

Set boundaries and limitations to protect you and your team from a potential burnout and limit your work-time to a set amount of hours daily. also, isolate your workspace and equipment from the rest of the house or your relaxation area and set up work schedules.

Last but not least notify your managers and workmates about your working hours so that you’re not disturbed outside of them.

Secondly, we know that your job is important and it’s yours and your family’s livelihood but you should always set aside some time to spend with you family, after all, you were once an individual with hobbies, dreams & friends.

The time you set for you family can be a couple of hours daily or a full day & be sure to keep an eye out for anniversaries birthday and other special occasions, the important thing is consistency and making them feel prioritized.

So those were some of the best tips on how to create your own Work life Balance, giving you the chance to excel at work & maintain a stress-free and healthy relationship with your family filled with eventful moments.

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