Sometimes it is very easy to let work and/or school spill over into your personal life.
This can be due to many reasons. The current economy has led to many layoffs which might mean that your duties might be covering what 3 or 4 people used to be asked to do. You might be working more in order to increase your income so that you can pay off bills faster, save faster, and so on. Life at home may be hectic as well.
Even if you do work a lot, you can still find happiness in your job and make it less hectic. Everyone is different with what they can handle and manage in their life, so keep that in mind also.
Some people can work 80 hours a week and act like it’s nothing, whereas some people find it rough to work 40 hours a week.
If you are not managing your work-life balance well, it can lead to many consequences.
- You might be very tired. This can then lead to poorer performance at work and school.
- You might not be as happy. Spending time with family and friends has many positives. You don’t want to miss out on things that are happening with the ones that you love, just because you had something at work to do.
- Extra stress. Do you constantly feel worried that you do not have time to complete something on your list?
Here are tips to a successful work-life balance:
Create a schedule. Creating a schedule is very important. Decide what should be on your list and stick to it. This could be your what you do at work, or personal items such as having a dinner with your family every night, and so on.
- Prioritize what needs to be done. If I can tackle something quickly, then I will usually do that first so that it doesn’t lead to unnecessary stress. Also, don’t procrastinate. Working on something at the last second is ALWAYS stressful. When was the last time when you did NOT feel good about finishing a task early?
- Combine any trips that you can. Do you need that lettuce today, or can you wait until tomorrow when you can do all of your shopping in one trip?
Set firm and realistic goals. Your schedule should be realistic and flexible. Things will most likely come up and this might destroy your whole schedule. Should it ruin your day? NO! Work around it and make your list work.
Ask for help if you need it. This can be at home or at work. One person cannot handle everything at home and/or work. If you truly need help and you don’t think you can do it yourself, ASK!
Learn how to say no. A person cannot say yes to everything. Do you really need to take your neighbor’ sister’s kid to violin practice?
Take the vacation days that you’re entitled to. Take your vacation days instead of letting them rollover to the next year or letting them expire. A vacation (even if you just stay home and make it a stay-cation) can be extremely relaxing and worthwhile.
What are your tips for a better work-life balance?
This post was written by
Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance and lifestyle blog about budgeting, traveling, life, and student loans. Read further on her story and life, and you can also connect with her on twitter.
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Great topic – this is a struggle for many internet marketers who come home from their day jobs and work on their businesses. I get my best work done late at night when there are few distractions. The hard part then is being able to wake up in the morning but I manage
Thomas
I’m similar. I get home from work and class at 10pm and then I’m starting on other things. Not a lot of free time.
I keep late nights as well – check email before work, then work, then family time – once the family goes to bed, back to online stuff.
I need to work on the goals but am a huge believer in knowing when to say no. I need to quit saving up my vacation days for the future and use them throught the year for a well deserved break. Great post Michelle.
I don’t know about your company, but my company no longer cashes out vacation days. As a result, if you don’t take your vacation, it results in an effective 4% pay cut.
Thanks Lance. I need to learn when to say no as well. Luckily my work doesn’t pile things on me, but home life can definitely get hectic!
One of the largest drivers for me trying out new things right now is to achieve a better work-life balance than what I’ve had in the past. Great post!
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Learning to say no is a big one for me. I take too much on then my life becomes unbalanced. Great suggestions.
I know it seems a bit pedantic for some, but one piece of language I’m trying to reform is the use of the term “work/life balance.” If language shapes our reality even just a little bit, then “work/life balance” – although its meant to be have positive connotations – must be reinforcing some negative views of life for all of us. Work and life are not somehow distinct “realities” that we can balance. “Work” is surely not meant to be devoid of “life.” Equally, considered, engaged and relational work can surely be part of a highly connected, health-ful life (even potentially a very big part of it). I know the term is coined to try to get us to live in a more “balanced” way but I suspect it simply allows those who see “work” and “life” as mechanically disconnected realities, to continue with that problematic viewpoint – and to continue tinkering with work to make it a “bit more friendly” rather than reforming the notion of work and its part in a whole life..