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How do you manage a good work-life balance?

How do you manage a good work-life balance with your profession? #time-management #business

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Doc’s Answer

Zaliah if you feel like your work and home life are out of balance, it can be challenging to stay productive and be the best version of yourself that you can be without having the ability to recharge after a busy day. Make sure to dedicate time for yourself to participate in activities that will help you reduce stress and anxiety. For me the key to improving my work-personal life balance was making sure there was enough time for both in my schedule. Revisit your schedule and make sure you have enough time to take care of your work and personal life obligations while also being able to recharge. Having open communication with your manager is key to achieving a work-life balance. If you’re struggling with balancing your work and personal life, be honest with your manager and voice your needs. If you need to adjust your schedule or redistribute your workload, disclose those concerns and discuss possible solutions for managing your priorities.

TIME MANAGEMENT – It can be challenging to say “no,” especially when you’re saying it to your boss or supervisor. However, learning when to say “no” can be essential to your work-life balance. When your answer is always “yes” to a task or project, you may start to feel overwhelmed by your increasing workload, which could result in stress and reduced productivity. To avoid this, evaluate your schedule and make sure there’s room before taking on additional work. If you don’t think you can take on another task, explain why to your boss and thank them for considering you.

ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES – Modern technology has made it possible for employees to remain connected to their work through their mobile phones and computers. While this allows employers to offer flexible work schedules, it also means employees are accessible 24-hours-a-day, often taking work home or checking emails after normal business hours rather than waiting until they get back to work the next day. It’s important to establish boundaries on your availability after hours and leave work at the office. Try to avoid checking work emails while you’re at home and only respond to anything that can’t wait until the next day.

Hope this helps Zaliah

If you feel like your work and home life are out of balance, it can be challenging to stay productive and be the best version of yourself that you can be without having the ability to recharge after a busy day. Make sure to dedicate time for yourself to participate in activities that will help you reduce stress and anxiety.

Doc recommends the following next steps:

Regular exercise is a common stress-reliever, whether that means taking yoga classes, going for a daily run or spending 30 minutes in the gym every other day. Not only does it get your mind off work but it improves your mood and your overall health. Choose an activity you enjoy and make it a priority in your schedule every week.
It’s also important to make sure that you get enough sleep. When you’ve had a stressful day at work, your body needs time to mentally and physically recoup. Getting a good night’s rest can ensure you stay energized and productive.
Thank you comment icon Thank You Jeremy. Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Doc Frick
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Shruti’s Answer

So work-life balance has 2 elements as the word states.
Work - Try to find an employer who is empathetic and encourages+helps employees to achieve a work-life balance
Life - Set boundaries first. When you set your boundaries right from Day 1 at work then others will align according to you and your boundaries. Of course, they have to be reasonable and such that they allow you to perform and deliver the best quality work.
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Stephanie’s Answer

For me, understanding what my boundaries are! What's important to me and how I can set a schedule to adhere to it. Also, having clear communication with your manager about what is doable/where you can be flexible and ensuring you're on the same page. Best of luck!
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Fernanda’s Answer

Hello!

First of all I try to be kind to myself.
If I feel stressed, tired, angry or anxious I allow myself to recognize what is causing that and then I try to fix, maybe I had a bad night sleep so I would check if it is possible for me to have a 10/15 min nap for example, or if someone said something that would upset me I try to find a way to communicate my thoughts being emphatic and honest about how it is making me feel, before I would wait for months until I felt ready but now I realized that the sooner the better, else sometimes I carry much more than I can.

I try to take my working hours really serious, because the first months of the pandemic I was overloading myself and I had a couple of outbursts, so I try to stop using my work phone or thinking about work after hours.

I have to mention that this was my first job ever and I only went to the office for a month before lockdown so i started a podcast within my area, the name is Balance Matters and we discuss work-life balance in each episode, getting to now my team and discussing this topics has been a great way for me to feel part of them and also to understand that I am only a human even when I want to treat myself as a computer sometimes.

As I am also doing a master’s I don’t have much time off (working during the week, studying during the weekends) but I give myself time to watch series or go for a walk, even if it is only one hour during the day, I try to do something I like.

I love music so I realized that a good playlist will always make me feel so much motivated and happy and if needed a chill out playlist or a mantra can help me back to relaxation.

For me eating times where crazy the first months as I didn’t want to stop working until I was done with all my duties, but now I set my meals as a priority.

I also like meditations, breathing exercises (I use the app Breath on my watch), maybe a nice smelling candle, to help me relax.

Now I know that the most important thing is feeling well, so that I can give my best.

I have learned to give myself a margin of error, because nobody is perfect and I should learn to accept that and recognize myself when I do the best I can, even when I don’t reach the desired outcome.


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Kerry’s Answer

Such a great question! This is such and important aspect of life as you get out into world and working for yourself or others. The best answer I can provide is setting and more importantly sticking to your boundaries. It's super easy especially early on to be eager and try to prove yourself (which is good) but you have to make space to enjoy life, family, friends and all the things you enjoy.

I find that being upfront with your time constraints is key as you set expectations early on. From time to time you may need to deviate from those boundaries but make sure you have a time frame for that understood so you can get back to your 'normal'.

I will share that I found myself in a space where I was working 15+ hour days and weekends. My family began to comment on how much I worked and how little I interacted with them. I realized that I needed to make a change, and I did. I started with boxing my day; not starting before 7AM and end by 6PM at the latest and I cut out weekend work. Ideally my day is an 8-5 with time off for lunch, but by setting the 7-6 barriers I stopped accepting meeting before 7AM, and if I found myself working past 5 when 6PM came along I could hold myself accountable (and my wife was quite helpful reminding me of the time).

I also embraced a mindset that what doesn't get done today, will simply move to tomorrow. Things that aren't done by 6PM on Friday just move to a Monday task. I work my priorities throughout the day and meet expectations without feeling overworked and under appreciated. I recognize that I needed to reset and set new boundaries with a certain client and I took ownership of setting a bad precedent. There was a bit of push back but I stuck to my goal and plan and it's worked out.

Kerry recommends the following next steps:

Set a goal for yourself and boundaries
Communicate the plan with co workers/clients
Rarely deviate from those boundaries and if so understand ahead of time what sort of things are the acceptable exceptions (milestone events, emergencies)
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Noura’s Answer

HI - That is a great question. Work-life balance looks different for everyone. I would say the main thing is to make sure you prioritize what is important to you in your personal life and also that you prioritize key tasks while at work that need to be done and differentiate them from those that can be done the next day.
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TANG’s Answer

Prioritize your time

Urgent and important
Important but not urgent
Urgent but not important
Neither urgent nor important.
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Kah Heng’s Answer

Hello,

Time management and prioritization is key.
A simple example is to look at your daily calendar and see when are your meetings so you know when you will be fully engage and plan your work around them.
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Jeff’s Answer

All the other answers referring to boundaries are great, if you don't manage those yourself no one else will. But one suggestion once given to me is know what "work-life balance" actually means from week to week. It does not mean "equal" but rather you are prioritizing things in both your work and personal life appropriately. At times, during a busy season, work may be top of the list. But during the holidays or on vacation we need to prioritize being present and attentive with family and friends. Out of balance is when work or life get prioritized too much, to the detriment of the other. Hope this helps!

Jeff recommends the following next steps:

There are a lot of resources on line to learn more and give you tools
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Frank’s Answer

There are a lot of jobs today where you can work from home. You can still have work/life balance issues even at home unless you are intentional about it. It helps to develop a routine where you can differentiate your work life from your home life. If possible, designate a room or part of a room for your work area. Working and eating (and sleeping) in the same spot blurs the work/life line fast. If you have a work computer, turn it off at the end of your work day so you are not tempted to "check something real quick." Real quick usually turns into a much longer time. Also, try to develop a habit that you do at the end of your work day to mentally transition to "home life." For example, you could exercise, read, perform a hobby, check certain apps, etc. and that activity tells your mind that your work day is over.
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Mike’s Answer

I found it beneficial to plan my entire day - at work and afterwards. I make entries in my calendar for meetings and activities. The after work reminders advise me when it is time to shut work life and focus on the family and friends. It is difficult to escape the electronic connections to work, but you need to leave the laptop at work or the phone to allow time to relax. It takes effort to find the balance.
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Kelly’s Answer

Great question!
1. Establish clear priorities - if you're an individual contributor, ensure that your priorities are aligned with those of your manager.
2. Create milestones or check-ins for your work - this will allow you to allocate time to the right priorities at the right time.
3. Block "focus" time for work - turn off email, chat, texts (with awareness/support from your manager) so that you can maximize productivity.
4. Establish deadlines and/or turn around time. If you submit something, make it clear by when you need to receive feedback to stay on schedule. Otherwise, you're at the mercy of someone else's time management practices.

Good luck!
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Colleen’s Answer

As a person who works exclusively remotely, as I transitioned to this arrangement, I assumed that work/life balance would become a more easily managed aspect of my life. Without prep time, commuting time, etc., I figured the time I would save would be used for household tasks and my "free" time would be easier to identify and utilize. Truthfully, the lines between work time and personal time have become blurred and it takes more of an effort to create a delineation between those 2 things. Finding balance must be a very deliberate activity, you must set boundaries for the time you are dedicating to each. At a minimum, task lists to move you toward your work goals and personal goals can be helpful to find ways to best balance your time each day.
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Rebecca’s Answer

Thank you for your question. This is relied to good time management. Everyone is plays different roles and have many tasks to accomplish everyday. So, I would suggest to use some diary tools together with time management skill to help.
Below are a few suggestions :
1. Identify a calendar or diary tool to help you, e.g. Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, etc.
2. Put in your daily major activity, e.g. your school time/work time, and sleep, etc.
3. Reserve some time everyday for your revision, assignment and projects, etc.
4. Schedule some time for doing exercise, play sports, etc.
5. At this point, you may find out what time remains. You can schedule the time for family, meeting with friends, leisure, etc.
6. Last but not least, keep some 'Me' time for you to relax, reflection, etc. It is not necessary to fill up all slots in your schedule.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
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Brandon’s Answer

This is a great question, and one that a lot of professionals still struggle with! I've listed some of the things I do below. Depending on the industry, some of these things may be more or less applicable.

1. Establish your working hours - every once in a while you may have to work later than expected, but at least block off your calendar to show when you are on and off the clock!
2. Once you're off the clock, disengage! Many people have email sent to their phone, so they're constantly being reminded of work even when they're doing other things. Keep work and life separate as much as possible.
3. Set up breaks. Even if it's just 15 minutes, take a break a couple times per day and just do something else. Read, walk, etc. Even a small break can be refreshing!
4. Take time off. Many people I work with do not use all the time off that's given to them.
5. Ask whether something is truly urgent or not. Many things SOUND urgent, but in practice are less so. Don't stay at work late doing something that you could have finished up a different time.
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Oscar’s Answer

This is one of the most important questions, especially if you are in a field that is very demanding.

First of all, you need to make sure you are with the right employer. Your employer must also be the type that likes his employees to have days off, and have fun. If your employer is flexible then I recommend you to always get your job done. If you have appointments with your family or friends, make sure you attend them. Throughout your shift, if you need to stand up and walk for 5-10 minutes to get your mind off the computer, then do that. Remember, no matter how big the paycheck is, your mental and emotional health are the most important thing! But responsible and reliable on the job, but also make sure you take care of yourself.
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Lisa Bond’s Answer

Hi Zaliah,
Work-life balance is a challenge for many, including myself. The integral word is "balance." There are times that life will weigh heavily on either side of the equation -- which means sometimes your personal life has things going on that may cause you not to be able to give 100% to work. Or that work causes you to take time from your personal life. A 50/50 split is generally not the case, but more of an aspiration.

I find work-life balance as something I'm always reaching for. It helps me to remember my priorities, maintain open and clear communication with my manager and colleagues, establish realistic timelines and be nimble.

Wishing you the best of luck.
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Kar Mun’s Answer

Hi there!

I think it is important to have a discipline time management on our own. Have a to-do list ready the day prior so that you are able to allocate some time to have them done on the next day. Do not stress out when things do not go according to plan as it will take some trial and errors to perfect the move for long term benefits.
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Vijayalakshmi’s Answer

Prioritise tasks both at work and personal life.
Maintain a To-do list and manage time.
Take time offs on a regular basis.
Learn to Say "No" - accept only tasks that you think is meaningful for your career development.
After all health is primary for anybody - So focus on giving more importance to your health than anything.
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