What’s work life balance and do you have it? Do you want it? Committing too much time to your work can result in your personal life suffering – which on the flip side could make you less productive at work. So if we remember that work life balance is that state of equal balancing where a person is able to prioritizes the demands of a career with the demands of your family and personal time as well. Some of the most common reasons that lead to a poor work-life balance include: Increased responsibilities at work or home, not having enough time to get things done, not having support and many more.
Finding a balance is important for maintaining close relationships and for staying happy. Below are just a few ways to improve your work-life balance.
Find a job you can work flexibly around your needs
If a job demands you to work unsociable hours and this is affecting your personal life, you should consider whether it may be time to find a more flexible job. Employers are usually willing to offer set sociable hours to parents – but this isn’t always the case in all industries. If you can’t find an employer that will let you work select hours, going freelancer might be an alternative option. This allows you to set your own hours.
There are all kinds of jobs that can be freelanced from copywriting to hot shot trucking. What is copywriting? What is hot shot trucking? You can research into all of these jobs online. There are freelance platforms that help connect you with customers.
Schedule your work and free time as much as you can
Having a schedule can help you to more easily set boundaries between work time and free time. Don’t try to take every day as it comes as you could end up working late – plan out your week as much as you can. Sometimes it’s worth making personal plans in the evenings just so that you have an excuse not to work overtime. There will be emergencies sometimes that cause you to work late, but you should try to have a regular cut-off time at a decent hour. What’s work life balance if you can’t enjoy some time off.
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Physically separate your work life and personal life
On top of scheduling work and free time, it can often be worth setting physical boundaries. Having a separate work phone and personal phone can be useful as it allows you to switch off your work phone when enjoying personal time – this could stop you answering calls and messages from clients. Similarly, if you work from a computer, it could be worth having a separate personal computer and separate work computer so that you’re not sucked into work when using your PC in your free time.
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Learn when to say ‘no’
What’s work life balance if you cannot say no! There are times when you need to say ‘no’ in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Employers can’t legally require you to work overtime. If an employer asks you to work overtime and it’s not in your contract or scheduled on your rotation, don’t be afraid to say ‘no’. This is particularly important when dealing with employers that continuously ask you to work overtime.
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If you’re self employed, work from home or have the option to work flexibly, it’s important to also know when to say ‘no’ to errands or extra requests that could take up more of your time. In some cases, you may be able to delegate some of these tasks instead of taking them on yourself. If you’re self-employed, it’s also important to remember that you can say no to work – if a client wants to work with you but you’re already swamped, you can turn down this client.