How To Enjoy A Work-Life Balance!
Have you ever noticed that the weekends keep going by faster and faster? It’s almost like you are working 80% of the week, and by the time the weekend comes around, you either spend half of the time getting ready for the next week or pushing it off until the very last minute.
How do you get to enjoy a work/life balance without slacking at work or over-indulging on leisure time? It’s actually a lot simpler than it sounds. Leave work at work, and work your ass off while you are at work! If you don’t figure out how to achieve some sort of a work-life balance, you will end up burning yourself out, and unfortunately, that just leads to more issues. I have a few tips to help find your work-life balance without having to sacrifice too much.
Tip 1) Work hard, play hard. Now, this may sound somewhat counter-productive, but hear me out! When you are at work, work your ass off! Give 100% effort while you are working, so that you can leave work, at work, when you go home. For example, if you have an 8-5:30 schedule, fully commit to putting forth your best effort during those hours. That way, when 5:30 rolls around, you can leave without a guilty conscience. Now, I am not telling you to leave at 5:30 if you still have work that needs to be done. On the contrary! Get to work early. I used to work for a company that was extremely metrics-driven. Translation: if you didn’t hit your numbers you wouldn’t have a job for long. That being said, I like enjoying my evenings and spending some time with my puppy before the streetlights come on. So, I would get to work a little early, get a head start on the day, and fully commit while I was at work. That way, even though it was “frowned on” to leave right at 5:30, I didn’t feel guilty. All of my work was done, and I was one of the first people in the office every day. Why stay longer just to try and look busy? Give your all at work, while you’re at work, so you can leave at a decent time free of guilt.
Tip 2) Unplug when away from the office! A lot of us have our emails linked to our phones. We pretty much check them like we check our text messages. Challenge yourself to not check or answer emails while you are at home. It will make the world of a difference when it comes to de-stressing while at home. If the email can wait until the morning…answer it in the morning! Leave work at work. Do what you need to do while you are at work so you can fully unplug and recharge while you are at home.
Tip 3) Plan to re-charge! There is nothing better than plopping down on the couch with a glass of wine after a long week. You turn on your show and before you know it, the weekend is over and it’s time to get ready for work tomorrow. Instead of letting the weekend fly by, plan out what you want to do, so you can have a fully relaxed weekend. I know! It is the closest thing to an oxymoron. Plan to relax, but it’s true! Whether you want to spend the weekend binging your favorite movies, or if you want to fit in 3 brunches in 2 days! Plan it out so you can fit in everything you want. That way, when Sunday rolls around you will at least be able to say you fully enjoyed your weekend instead of wondering where it went.
Work-life balance is possible! More than that, it’s necessary if you want to keep your sanity intact. Whether you work a 9-5, or shifts at a restaurant, or are an entrepreneur. You have to find the balance between work and play. Burning out is a real thing. I learned the hard way. Now, making sure your work is compatible with your mental health is another story completely, but you have to find a balance, or else happiness will always seem just out of reach. Make sure you take care of yourself so that you can succeed at the work that funds your lifestyle.
-S|20