Maintaining a balance between your personal and your professional life can sometimes become a struggle and a bit overwhelming. It’s irrelevant if you’re a man or a woman. There are times when we’re challenged by life and often don’t know how to physical, emotionally, spiritually and mentally handle the situation without having it affect other areas of our life, like our family and our work.
Surviving in today’s economy; both partners are forced to work leaving little time for family. It becomes too challenging to juggle the demands of your career as well as a family life. It surely doesn’t make it any easier if you’re single and looking for that someone special. Do you work on building your career or do you date, get married and start a family? Attempting to accomplish both is achievable but takes great focus and a lot of dedication in both areas.
We have some tips that will help you bring that balance into your life so you can achieve great results in your professional life, take proper care of your family and take care of yourself too! Bet you forgot that little factor. Not to worry, we’ll suggest ideas that are simple, doable and require almost zero effort to accomplish your goal. Improve your work-life balance and subsequently you’ll improve your life.
Maintaining a balance between work and home requires proper planning and execution; we’re here to help you get started on your journey to a happier life.
Here are some basic tips to achieve a well-balanced life-style at home and at work:
Learn how to say NO at work! You’re a team player; however, don’t take on all the work yourself to prove to yourself that you could do it. Your personal life will ultimately suffer. Give somebody else a chance to volunteer before you jump on it.
The same concept applies in your personal life. Communication works best when both partners work. A set of rules must be established and chores must be divided between all the family members, including the dad. It’s purely impossible for everything to fall on one person. Not today, not with so many demands from our outside sources. Make sure to get your kids involved by sharing chores. Just because you are the mommy, doesn’t mean daddy is not available too. Agree on specific tasks and chores to divide between you and your husband, leaving more time for each other and your family.
Stay away from negative people when you can. Those are individuals that are constantly complaining yet provide no solution on how to fix the problem. Always be respectful of those types of co-workers, but making friends is not such a hot idea. When faced with this dilemma at home, it’s a bit simpler to tell your husband to suck it up and think of a plan, but at work it’s not so simple.
Letting go of negative people in your life is only the first step in creating that emotional balance. You must also learn how to leave behind all the negativity that has held you down for things which are very much irrelevant in your life. Learn to let those things go and stop the mentally, spiritually and emotionally breaking yourself down over something that you cannot control or were able to have control over. Learn to let go of memories, emotions and all that has hurt you in the past and remind yourself daily; it’s no longer important, I am. Concentrate on what is relevant and not the opposite.
If possible, and we know it is, avoid mixing your personal and professional life together. When you come home from work, see to it that you don’t attend to any official work calls. Either screen your calls or turn-off your cell-phone to avoid office stress at home. Similarly, make sure you do not allow your personal matters to distract you at work. Leave your personal matter at home where they belong.
If you can shop online especially for your groceries, do it! This will save you a good 2-3 hours during your weekend in which you can dedicate to spending time with your family and friends. There are many companies out there that specialize in deliveries of groceries such as peapod.com. Check with your local market, they may offer delivery service too.
Relaxation to your brain is as important as daily food is for your body. In order to preserve good mental health and emotional balance, we must dedicate time to get a good amount of sleep daily. There is no better way to achieve this goal than to set a schedule and stick to it. Encourage your family to do the same.
Make time to spend with friends and family and have some fun to ease your work stress. This will also help in enhancing your productivity at work.
Most importantly, work smarter not harder. Organize your time in advance. Know your schedule the day before and plan a head. You’ll be more productive and organized. You won’t spend majority of your day organizing and prioritizing, you’ll be concentrating on the task at hand. Take 30 minutes before leaving work for the day and plan your next day. Invest your time in actually doing something productive at work and managing your time properly.
Organize your schedule so that you can fit your meals in too. Don’t just skip them, it will affect your energy level and eventually affect your work. Staying healthy is also of utmost importance. Make sure you plan your daily diet and eat on time. You need all the brain power you can get.
Physical activity and staying fit will keep you focused and full of energy. Try to fit in a daily morning routine into your schedule to maintain your physical health. It’s a great contribution to your inner peace and a healthy mind. Walk your kids to school if you can. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Take that Zumba class you’ve always wanted to and work on yourself too.
If you need to see a doctor, don’t procrastinate. See one as soon as possible. Most infections, diseases and illnesses are better to be caught early to avoid them turning into something serious.
Ultimately, it’s about being happy, whether at work or at home. Establish a good balance in the beginning and you’ll have no problem maintaining it after.
By: Ida L