Urban Dictionary defines Work-Life Balance as “a slogan that has generated tons of literature on the subject on how to organize our stressful lives, as if life and job could be separated.”
These days with smartphones and all the technology that constantly keeps us connected, it’s hard to separate work life from personal life. But finding a healthy work-life balance is really important to maintain sanity and not lose yourself completely to the everyday grind of work. Experts agree, that the stress from a never-ending workday can hurt relationships, health and overall happiness. Of course, work-life balance means something different to every person but here are a few tips on how I achieve a balance when it comes to managing my work and personal life.
Work When You’re at Work – You’re getting paid to work for a specific time frame each day, so when you’re logged in or at your desk, you should actually be tackling work associated tasks. Not surfing the web or scrolling on your Instagram feed. You’ll be amazed how much you can get accomplished when you sit down and map out the hours of your day and assign certain goals to each hour. And, you’ll feel great knowing at the end of the day you were productive and you can go back to your personal life with a clean conscious not worrying about all the tasks you still have to finish after hours or the next day.
Turn Off Your Work E-Mail – Some people might disagree with this, but I highly recommend turning off your work e-mail or refraining from checking it during non – work hours. When I first started in Account Management I would check my e-mail when I woke up, on the way to work, at work, on my way home from work and before I went to bed thinking I couldn’t miss anything and how professional it was of me to respond promptly to emails! I was wrong. All this did was cause anxiety and a feeling that I could never disconnect, and there goes that balance. The average person checks their phone nearly 50 times a day, which isn’t good for anyone. So I made a new rule for myself. I would refrain from opening my work email before and after work and on the weekends. It’s a game changer. Of course there will be circumstances when you need to log in and check something or put out a fire, but if you can regularly disconnect when you aren’t required to be working, I highly recommend it.
Find a Company That You Vibe With – I think the greatest tip to achieve work/life balance is finding a company that lives and breathes the same core values that you do. Take the time to learn about the company’s culture, who they are, what they stand for. If you can’t get behind it, then I can tell you right now your work/life balance will never be Zen. If you totally vibe with the culture there’s more room for you to have open communication with your managers or boss to talk openly about what kind of work environment you thrive best in. If they are supportive of your requests, you can create the ultimate work environment which makes everyone happy. In the right environment, you’ll feel productive but don’t feel chained to a desk and in turn that is reflective in your personal life which makes your loved ones, friends, and partners happy too.
These are just a few tips and tricks that work for me. What do you find works for you?
We’d love to hear!
Daniele Hosser
DARCI Creative
Senior Account Executive
