In today’s fast paced lifestyle, work-life balance can seem very hard to achieve. With the advancements in technology, employees are now accessible around the clock and it is all the more difficult to cut off and relax.
The fear of not delivering to the expected standards incentivises longer working hours with people exceeding fifty and sixty hour weeks. A case in point highlighting this, is the study conducted by the Harvard Business School where nearly half of respondents said that they worked more than sixty-five hours per week. Never-ending work days can put a strain on relationships, health and life satisfaction.
Perfectionism.
One of the reasons for a lack of work life balance is perfectionism. The older we grow and our responsibilities grow, it becomes more difficult to maintain a perfectionist approach. Overachievers struggle with maintaining work-life balance because they bring their all every day and attempt to execute every task with a certain degree of perfectionism.
Learn to unplug.
To achieve better work life balance, we need to unplug. There are times where we should switch off and detach from our phones and enjoy these few rare moments. Phone notifications inject a sense of underlying stress, so it would be best to avoid reading and answering work emails during family time. In this regard, you will need to create boundaries, such as avoid taking your laptops, tablets or phones with you to bed. This way you would be making the most of your quality time, whilst building a certain sense of resilience, where you are in control.
Exercise more.
Even though we have busy schedules, we need to make time for exercise and meditation. These are effective stress reducers and are conducive for positive moods. Exercise should also be coupled with a few daily minutes of meditation and ideally replace other stress coping behaviours such as drinking alcohol.
Manage time.
Avoid activities and people which are not worth your time. These are unnecessary distractions which hinder you from the important matters at hand. In this respect, you will need to learn to say no and understand that family or work matters are of higher priority than going out for drinks with your mates for example.
Take the necessary approaches to work life balance step by step. Do not try to radically change your lifestyle as you will fall back to the same rut in a few days. Ensuring balance bit by bit will help you to achieve control over your life and make you feel less overwhelmed by everyday requirements.
