Between the many responsibilities we have in the workplace and at home, it’s no wonder that a third of employed adults in the United States struggle with juggling everything on their plate. And nearly half have reported that this increase in stress has impacted their lives both personally and professionally. As responsibilities, and ultimately stress, continue to grow for many, what can be done to create a healthier work-life balance? To start with, what is work-life balance? The answer is that it means creating a harmonious balance between the responsibilities you face in the workplace and the ones you face at home in your personal life. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important for a variety of reasons. It will help you to have lower stress levels, avoid burnout, and be a more productive employee and a happier person overall. With so many people working from home now due to the coronavirus, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is more important than ever.
Whether you work outside of the home or remotely at home, it’s important to be proactive about how you create a healthy divide between your time at work and your personal time at home. With many more employees working from home now, that divide becomes even more crucial to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Especially since the trend of “working from home” doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. Recent research from Promoleaf found that 18% of Gen Z workers believe a flexible schedule consisting of remote and in-person work increases productivity, in fact. Implement the strategies below in the workplace or during your work-from-home hours to achieve a proper work-life balance and reduce stress in your professional life. The more control you have over your workload, the less stress you will face throughout the day. Take time each morning to set manageable goals for the day. Creating a to-do list and checking items off of the list throughout the day will help you feel accomplished and in control of your time.
Remember to be realistic about the workload you’re setting for yourself, and plan ahead to meet deadlines on time. Putting too much work on your plate at once can quickly lead to burnout. Good time-management skills include having a plan to keep you organized throughout the day and prioritizing the more time-sensitive tasks. Use your time wisely throughout the day to get things done; knowing what you need to complete each day will help to reduce stress from your daily life. Knocking out smaller tasks early in the day can build a sense of accomplishment as you move on to tackling the larger tasks. Long-term time management is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy work-life balance as well. Remember to schedule future projects and other important tasks so that you’re better able to manage the workload when the time comes. This includes scheduling in personal commitments such as taking vacations, holidays, or special events. When you work from home, good time-management techniques include setting work hours and sticking to them.
When working from home, you may feel the need to be “on call” at all hours of the day, but it’s important to have time to focus on your personal life without any distractions from work. Powering through your workday without taking a break may seem like a good idea when you have a lot of work to do, but it can actually backfire and make you less productive as the day goes on. Stopping to take a short break can give your brain a much-needed rest and allow it to refocus when you come back to the task. A five-minute walk around the block is a good way to get the Glyco Care blood sugar support circulating, which will also give your brain a much-needed boost to help you be more creative and productive for the rest of the day. Inc. goes more in depth on why breaks are necessary and how to take an effective one. Flexibility in the workplace allows an employee to create a work schedule that works best for them and can include letting employees choose where to work from, too.
