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Originally Posted On: https://louise-rose.com/achieving-work-life-balance-tips-for-a-healthier-and-happier-you/
Achieving Work Life Balance: Tips for a Healthier and Happier You
Finding balance between work and your personal life can be hard, however, if you have some steps in place you can minimise the impact. Let’s have a look at achieving a work life balance more below.
Establishing Boundaries
One of the easiest ways to protect your personal time is to make sure that you have boundaries for your work. Start by defining the hours that you are going to work and stick to them. When your workday ends, step away from your emails and turn off the notifications. If you are working from home, create a designated workspace so you are able to physically separate work from your personal life. Getting a work life balance can be even more difficult if you work from home so you need to make sure you are careful. When you have clear boundaries in place, it should prevent burnout and help you to stay present when you are off the clock.
Scheduling Personal Time
If you don’t schedule time for yourself, it is very easy for you to fill every available hour with work. Block out time on your calendar for activities that make you happy. Make sure that you spend some time outside, spend time with friends, or even take a nice evening to read and unwind. Treat your personal time as something that is non-negotiable; if you have to, treat it like a meeting and make it a priority. This way, you are protecting the time and stopping yourself from having interruptions from work.
Incorporating Breaks
There’s no need to wait until the evening to recharge. Build short breaks into your workday. Take some time to move away from your desk every couple of hours to stretch, take a quick walk, or make a cup of coffee. Even a few minutes away from your screen can help to improve your productivity and lower your stress levels.
Prioritising Self-Care
Self-care is an essential part of looking after your energy and your focus. Making sure you include the simple self-care routines into your day such as getting a little bit of exercise or reading in the evening. A great way to unwind after a long day is by using a full body massage chair. You can even get them for your home! They are a great way for you to lower tension in muscles and also signal to your brain that it is now time for you to relax after work.
Setting Cut-off Times
It’s tempting to stay connected to work 24/7. You will find that you head stays in work mode when you do this and it leads to you feeling burnt out and stressed out all the time. It is important for you to have a cut off time so you can look after your health properly. Rather than keeping your eye out for work emails spend the time talking to family or friends or doing something that you love.
Commitment to Balance
Work-life balance isn’t just something that you do once; it is a commitment. It will look after your health and happiness, as well as help you to grow your career.
Make a couple of the changes above, such as setting boundaries and making time for self-care, and you will soon start to notice that you have more energy, better focus, and your well-being is better.