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How do you find the right work-life balance that leaves you feeling like you are succeeding at both? The story often goes that once one part of your life is running smoothly another part falls by the wayside. It’s hard to stay on top of two completely different sides of your life. We all want to work hard and play hard, be successful and have a fulfilling personal life. No one wants to feel like they are falling behind in either area because both are important and needed in order to feel satisfied overall. Thriving in your professional life may help you earn recognition and monetary reward. Having a fulfilling personal life may give you a sense of happiness and comfort. Both can provide a sense of security and pride. No one wants to choose which of those feelings are most important. So lets look a 3 effective tips that will help you achieve the work-life balance you are looking for!
1) Make Good Decisions
There are many choices that come and go throughout your life. The outcome of those choices will either push you closer to happiness or send you further from it. Making rash, uninformed decisions should be avoided at all costs. It’s important to take the time to consider the possible outcomes of your decisions before you make them. You should think about how you would deal with those outcomes, what the possible benefits are, and what risks are involved.
There are many small decisions that can also end up having a bigger impact than you would assume. Staying up all night finishing a work assignment may seem like the right thing to do to meet your deadline until you are falling asleep at your desk the next day and facing even riskier consequences. The problem really lies in the poor decisions you made prior to the night before the deadline. Odds are that you chose more than once to do something other than work and that’s the real reason you are now choosing between sleep deprivation or a missed deadline. Planning ahead and weighing out pros and cons are crucial behaviors to making decisions that bring a healthy work-life balance to your life.
2) Define Your Time for Work-Life Balance
We all know there aren’t enough hours in the day. There never will be. There is always work to be done, a house to clean, and loved ones who need our attention. This issue will seem even more evident when you start letting one part of your life spill over into another. Having clearly defined work hours and committing to personal time with family, friends, and even yourself is vital. Don’t sacrifice time today that you can’t get back tomorrow.
If you keep finding that your time is spilling over considerably, leaving less and less time in one area, then it’s time to dig in and find out what’s going on. Just like the sleepless night before the deadline, there is always a reason for the problem. Keep digging until you get to the root of the issue. You may find that you need to reprioritize, delegate, kick a bad habit, or just say no to non-essential tasks. Once you have established how your time is allocated it’s important that you stick to your own boundaries to keep the balance.
3) Chill Out
A lot of times we end up being our own worst enemy. We feel that things have to be perfect and often end up giving more of ourselves that we can really afford to give. That leads to burn out and chaos. Make sure that you are taking the time to take care of yourself, whether that includes exercise, meditation, a spa visit, or just some alone time. It’s also wise to not add additional pressure. Not everything we do will be perfect. The sooner we accept that and take away the pressure, the sooner we see the benefit. It isn’t always the perfect delivery that makes the sale or the Pinterest perfect family dinner that makes the best memories. The best things in life are often far from perfect.
Looking for more great tips? Check out our other blogs here!