By Zane Stevens, director/founder at Protea Financial, guiding small businesses with high-quality and cost-effective accounting.
getty
We are all trying to find happiness. We are all trying to live our best lives, and we all want to have a great life.
One of the ways you can achieve this is by creating work-life balance.
But what is work-life balance? Work-life balance refers to the ratio between the time an individual spends on their job and the time and energy they spend on other aspects of their life, such as their family, friends and hobbies. It is the concept of balancing work demands with the needs and wants of one’s personal life to achieve a sense of well-being and satisfaction. Many people see it as essential to their overall well-being and happiness.
So, work-life balance ensures you give each part of your life the attention it needs at the appropriate time. In other words, it does not necessarily involve ignoring your work or even reducing your working hours, but rather prioritizing different aspects of your life when they need attention. It’s also necessary to understand the importance of making sure you find time for all the things that are important to you.
The question now becomes: How can I help myself achieve, or better achieve, work-life balance?
Here are some thoughts on how to find a better balance in your life:
1. Setting clear boundaries: Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time and all aspects of your life. Yes, this can help prevent work from dominating your life and encroaching on personal time. Still, it will allow you to distinguish other aspects of your life: this is workout time, this is family time, this is friend time and so on.
2. Prioritizing: Prioritizing important tasks and activities can help you ensure that the most important things are taken care of first, which leaves time for other activities. When you’re planning your week, month and year, make sure you write in those occasions that you cannot miss. Carve them in stone and then plan other priorities around them. Take advantage of moments that are critical to your happiness.
3. Mastering time management: Effective time management can help you ensure that you complete your work and personal tasks promptly, which can leave you more time for other activities. I like to work with a time block each day. This allows me to focus on an activity when I need to and not get distracted by other parts of my life. This enables me to make time for all aspects of life.
4. Staying flexible: I’ve found that this is one key to maintaining happiness. A flexible work arrangement, such as telecommuting or a flexible work schedule, can help you balance work and personal responsibilities. If you don’t remain open-minded and aren’t flexible with your plan (other than those can’t-miss items), you may miss out on opportunities you might regret. And this is counterproductive to achieving happiness.
5. Delegating: Delegation is an undervalued skill. It is a learned skill, and when you understand it, it can make a massive difference in your performance and life. Delegating tasks to others can reduce your workload and save time for other activities. You do not need to do it all yourself.
6. Taking breaks: Regular breaks throughout the day can help refresh you. I’ve found that they increase my productivity. Also, making sure you take weekends and holidays off can help keep you fresh and will likely create opportunities to be creative and come up with new ideas for your business or work.
7. Setting realistic goals: Goals should be stretches for you, but if you are setting unrealistic goals, it can be demotivating and eat into other aspects of your life. When you set goals, share them with others who are close to you and require your time. I’ve found that it supports my overall happiness if other people understand what I want to achieve and the support I need to reach those goals.
8. Staying organized: This might be the toughest on the list. Staying organized can help you ensure that you complete your work and personal tasks efficiently, which leaves more time for other activities. In my experience, there is no more significant drain on time than not being prepared and rushing to complete important tasks. An unorganized life can create anxiety and force you to give up time doing things you love to finish what is now an urgent task.
9. Engaging in activities you enjoy: First, start by understanding what you want. Make sure you include time in your weekly or monthly plan to engage in those activities. Doing things you enjoy that bring you joy can help you balance the stress of work and life.
10. Practicing self-care: This word is offputting for many people, but it just means finding time for you. When writing down their priorities in life, people should remember to add themselves to the list. I find that regularly practicing self-care activities such as exercise, meditation or reading can help me reduce stress and improve my overall well-being. To be there for others, you should be there for yourself first.
These are just ideas and tools to help you find balance. Remember that balance is going to look very different for every person. Honestly, balance will look different to you at different times in your life. What is important is to regularly assess your priorities and goals and make sure you are finding time for everything that is important to you.
Different things will work for different people, but the point comes down to one simple question both in work and in life: Is this making me happy?
