How do you create a good work/life balance?

How do you create a good work/life balance?

I thought about this subject this week, as, no matter how hard I try, I am really struggling to fit in my exercise and my “Get fit with Rick” videos without a child using the front room where I exercise or my husband coming in in the evening and wanting to sit down and watch tv.    “Walk dancing” in front of your husband is not a good look.  Neither is it a good idea to attempt to work out in the kitchen in the middle of trying to stir the tea.

So how do we stop rushing around all the time?

Prioritise

Prioritise and schedule your time.   Have a list of up to 6 things a day that you want/need to achieve and spend time on those things only.   It is important that on that list you include something for you such as a workout, family time, time with your partner or some form of relaxation.

Have a happy place

Try to make your work space a happy and productive environment whether at work or at home.    Examples include:

• trying to work away from interruptions (even if it means putting on a pair of noise cancelling headphones or playing gentle music)
• create a tidy organised space
• have water nearby – keeping hydrated helps your productivity!
• divert your phone to answer phone if you are trying to concentrate on a task
• Take a break at lunch to go for a walk – exercise promotes happy endorphins and stops you from lunching at your desk with interruptions.

Stop multitasking

Stop multitasking.   Schedule times for checking emails or checking social media or (if working from home) tackling the housework or you will lose focus and end up distracted.

Make time

Make time for yourself.   As mentioned above, make sure you make one of your priorities time for “you” so you don’t burn out.

Don’t struggle in silence

If you are struggling, why keep it to yourself?    Let work know if your work load is heavy and let your family know that you need more help around the house.   In our house, our boys get a little extra pocket money for doing some basic tasks – it does help, although when I found a ball of white school shirts bunched up in the bottom of my son’s wardrobe, hmmm!

Take breaks

As mentioned above, make sure you take breaks during the day, to take your focus away from the screen.   Also take time off for you too, all too difficult when you are working from home or have a busy job, but you do need that time.

Set boundaries

Another one I’m not good at – setting boundaries!   Try not to take work home.  It might be time to switch your phone off or make sure your emails are only accessible from your work computer so that you don’t find yourself answering messages in the evenings and weekends.

Time saving

Try to save time by little actions (if within budget) such as getting your food shopping delivered and having a regular weekly delivery slot.   You can save so much time if you don’t have to keep popping to the shop for essentials or trying to find your list in the supermarket.

If you have to regularly post to social media, consider an app like Hootsuite where you can post to multiple forms of media in one go.

Hopefully there are a few tips here to consider when thinking about your work life balance.   Do let us know how you manage your work/life balance!

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