Finding a balance in anything in life isn’t easy. It takes hard work, commitment and an awareness of yourself and your routine in order to best understand where the problems might lie.
Having a healthy work life balance is essential for your lifestyle and well-being.
What Does it Mean to Have a Good Work Life Balance?
This means dividing your time fairly between your work, personal, and leisure time. Often, when it comes to this delicate balance, it’s your personal life and health that will take a hit compared to the effort you put into your work. This is natural due to the pressures everyone faces from their job, the possible need for overtime and the stresses from work which can easily seep into any leisure time.
Nevertheless, there must be a balance to ensure that work doesn’t become all that your life is about. You can still love your job and be career-oriented, yet still require that good balance in order to avoid burnout and overworking yourself – which can still happen even if you love your job.
Create a Home You Want to Be In
Your home should be a safe haven, and a comfortable retreat. You should look forward to returning home after the working day, and you should enjoy the time spent there. It’s okay to be a more extroverted, sociable person who doesn’t want to spend too much time cooped up at home, but that doesn’t mean that you still shouldn’t have a welcoming and happy home when you do choose to spend time there.
If you don’t have a home that you enjoy or that you try to avoid, you’re more likely to spend more time focusing on your work, offering to do overtime and not finding the right amount of time to relax and a place to enjoy your downtime.
You might want to think about the following points.
How Comfortable is Your Home?
When you think of your home, do you cringe at the uncomfortable furniture? The uninspiring decor? Do you arrive home and want to go straight to bed simply because you can’t bear to sit around in a living room which offers no home comforts?
This can easily be rectified, and you should do so. Invest in comfortable furniture, whether it’s a couch, reclining armchair or the best bean bag chair for you. Decorate your home in a way that relaxes you, and fill your home with items that you enjoy being around.
Who Do You Live With?
Sharing a home isn’t for everybody. Likewise, living alone isn’t for everybody either. Think about your living circumstances. If you share a home with one or more flatmates, and have decided you don’t like living with others, you’re preventing yourself from having a relaxing home to spend time in – and, undoubtedly, hanging out at work is a better alternative than returning home some nights.
If this is the case, reassess your situation. You could think about saving up to move into your own place, or you could search for a different sort of flatmate – or maybe perhaps just the one instead of a group.
If you live alone, then maybe you avoid spending too much time at home, or are incapable of relaxing, because you feel lost in your own company, or perhaps a little lonely.
While it’s important to be happy in your own company, it’s also natural for some individuals to thrive better when they live with others. You could consider offering a spare room to a new flatmate, or look to see if there are any opportunities for you to move into a comfortable house share.
Always Schedule Time Off
This means more than just the occasional day off. You’ve every right to a solid vacation at least once a year. Not only will this give you positive mental fuel as something to look forward to in the months leading up to it, but it gives you valuable time for you to recharge your batteries and relax.
You’re permitted vacation time for a reason, so don’t feel guilty about booking time off – even if you have a stressful and demanding job – and ensure that you use all of the vacation days you are entitled to take.
If you feel as though work is becoming overwhelming but you can’t book a full vacation, there is nothing wrong with a long weekend or even just a day off to take time for yourself.
Manage Your Home Chores Better
You don’t want to spend the time you do have off completing a long list of chores. This is just another form of work. Where chores and household maintenance are of course important, letting them get out of hand isn’t ideal. Try to keep on top of your chores throughout the week, such as tidying as you go and staying as clean as you can, instead of letting everything pile up for a set cleaning day and resulting in it taking a full day instead of a few hours.
You can always choose to get extra help with household maintenance if that’s your preference, and if you have the financial means to do so, think about hiring a cleaner who comes once a week or any other maintenance services you can afford.
Keep a Schedule, and Stick to It
Make a note of every social and personal commitment you make. Even if it’s a passing comment of ‘Would you like to grab coffee next Tuesday?’, be sure to write in a schedule or diary that you are having coffee on that specific Tuesday. This means you’re less likely to forget about it and double book. Plus, you’ll be more motivated for social meet ups if you can see them written as official plans.
This also counts for any quality time you want to spend with yourself. If you want a particular evening alone at home, strike through the day in your schedule so you know that any other plans aren’t up for debate.
Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash
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