They say work-life balance is impossible to achieve unless you’re working a job that has that sort of built-in flexibility to manage your life along with your work.
As a professional myself, I used to believe this to be true until one fine day—I met a guidance counselor. I will repeat what he said at the start of this article and hope that it resonates with you the way it did with me,
Until you keep believing that work-life balance is impossible, work-life balance will be impossible.
It was then I realized that the power to change my life and have more time for things I love rests with me and me only. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you change your job and sign up for something simple or less demanding so you have more time on your hands (which is also doable). It simply means that you have to set your priorities straight and piece out time for everything that matters to you most.
On that note, here are 6 time management tips that should help you find that much sought after work-life balance.
1) Build Downtime into Your Schedule
I remember a time when I used to obsess over free Fridays so much that I would cram all my work at the beginning of the week, leaving little or no time for myself during those days. Although this resulted in an extra day for my weekend, the strategy also led to me being so exhausted by the end of the week that I would celebrate that “extra day” with extra sleep.
I eventually realized the importance of having daily “downtime” and a balanced out work schedule over a crammed one.
At least an hour or two of downtime every day is crucial to your health, happiness, and work-life balance. Build it into your schedule!
2) Quit Spending Time On Nonsense Activities
We often don’t realize how we’re wasting the bulk of our days’ time on activities that don’t contribute to our life or productivity levels in any way. Yes, that includes wasting time looking up people on social media or playing video games.
In a work environment, spending hours gossiping with your colleague at the next table is not only a major time waster but also something that has a negative impact on the work environment.
Ditch these time-draining deeds and you’ll add on hours to your day!
3) Automate, Delegate, or Eliminate
Is trouble having to manage your finances? Why not use an app such as Mint to do that for you? Maintaining your lawn can also be a hassle when you have too much on your plate. Perhaps, you could hire a neighbor’s kid to do that job for cash in return. Having trouble managing a home-cooked meal? Order in!
There are plenty of other ways you can delegate, automate, and eliminate small tasks and save yourself a lot of time for other tasks that are of higher importance.
4) Watch Your Time
How long were you supposed to “work” – and when was it supposed to be over so you could get on with “life”? Not being able to track your time and blurring the lines between “work” and “life” will surely result in poor work-life balance. Everything you do should have an assigned time slot! Keep a watch with you and avoid going over the time you have allowed yourself to complete a task. This will also ensure that you stay focused and on track.
Keep a watch with you and avoid going over the time you have allowed yourself to complete a task. This will also ensure that you stay focused and on track.
5) Do NOT Multi-task
Thankfully, we have all acknowledged the fact that multi-tasking is not, and has never been, productive. And unlike what a whole bunch of people may have believed in the past, multitasking is not a desirable trait. Focus on one task at a time and give it your all before you move on to the next. Trying to do too many things at once often results in getting almost nothing is done (properly) and hours of wasted time.
Focus on one task at a time and give it your all before you move on to the next. Trying to do too many things at once often results in getting almost nothing is done (properly) and hours of wasted time.
6) Just Quit Being Lazy
Finally, it’s important to realize that you’ll never get anything done if you quit being active! I’ve seen people with very few responsibilities complaining all day about how they’re tired and can never get anything done. Then, I’ve seen others who are artfully juggling three or four different major responsibilities without dropping the ball. The difference?
One makes it an aim to get as much “rest” as possible while the other (successfully balanced one) has a progressive attitude and believes that things will never get done if you don’t get moving!
Lastly, choose to manage your time. A large part of being able to manage your work with your life deals will make a deliberate choice to put everything in order in the limited time you have. Make that choice and everything will fall into place!
Question: What do you think? do you think you can achieve a work-life balance using these tips or not? Please think a little bit about these tips and write us some comments or any other approaches you might have used in the past for achieving a work-life balance here!