5 Steps To Better Work-Life Balance
Most of us are busy multitaskers nowadays, with at least studies and work constantly overlapping and demanding our attention, and with not much room left for free-time activities such as hobbies, social life, and rest. Many struggle with an insurmountable imbalance of work and/or studies and personal life and may find themselves unable to relax even when they do have some time on their hands.
I’m but one example of a chaotic workaholic who always puts work before anything and thus torments her friends by cancelling on them over and over again. However, in recent years, life has taught me a valuable lesson on work-life balance; I got sick, realized I couldn’t continue my work-oriented mess of a schedule for much longer, and had to refresh my priorities radically. In the light of what I’ve learned over the past few years, I’m giving you some tips on how to get started on finding that sought-after balance.
Disclaimer: I don’t claim to have perfect work-life balance; I’m still that person who drops courses, ditches friends and forgets “unimportant” responsibilities because of my beloved work or accidentally reading about puppies for too long. These five steps are just helpful tips I’ve personally noticed can be central in trying to achieve a better-balanced life.
1. Prioritize your values. Like, really, prioritize. Think long and hard about what is actually important in your life or in life in general, and prioritize only those things. Write them down to have some concrete proof of the order. My list of priorities as of now includes 1) my own physical and mental well-being 2) my relationship 3) work 4) family 5) close friends 6) dogs 7) good food and entertainment 8) studies 9) writing, and 10) new experiences. I hope friends and family get on your list, too.
2. Plan for free-time activities. Leisure time is as important and meaningful as work or studies, so why are you not planning those activities in as organized a manner as you do with work? My weekly schedule changed to a much more humane one when I arranged every week to have time reserved for my friends, relationship, family or for my hobbies. I did this by scheduling work, studies and other responsibilities more carefully, so that I could finish them at a certain hour, after which my free time would start, punctually. Agreeing to rules with yourself can be very helpful, especially at the beginning.
3. Start a new hobby. This was a game-changer for me. I started working out 4 months ago, and having a new thing for which to plan time in my weekly schedule required both willpower and a shift in attitude; I had to reserve a couple of hours three times a week for working out, yet nobody forced me to or compensated me for it. It was purely for my own good. Once I got the hang of exercising and started to enjoy it, I noticed how satisfied I felt after dedicating those couple of hours an evening to my own well-being!
4. Delegate. Whenever possible, try to let your colleagues, friends and family help you out. If your roommate doesn’t usually clean after themselves, don’t stress-clean after them, open your mouth. Whenever possible, delegate work tasks or other important responsibilities to whoever is available – sometimes it is not necessary that you do it all yourself. Try to learn to recognize the moment when you need help.
5. Allow yourself to enjoy things. In today’s society, plenty of us feel pressure to have tasks done as efficiently and perfectly as possible, and to only do things that make our CVs look better, or to take on new responsibilities with no end, just because “that’s what we’re supposed to do”. I am definitely guilty of this thought pattern, but it is possible to break the habit. Take time to think about what makes you happiest in life – it could be cooking some delicious food, meeting your closest friends, raising a puppy, painting, singing, building, writing, working out… Whatever these activities are, admit to yourself that it is not impossible to take more time to do them. Who says you can’t take on an extra-fluffy being that warms your heart? Who says you have to finish this work thing today, 5 days before your deadline, when you could just call it a day and go for a run?
