How many people do you know who have found that magical unicorn of a work-life balance?
Chances are, you could count them on one hand without lifting a finger.
Life is hectic, and while the concept of finding some kind of equilibrium between your work life and your home life is popular, is it really achievable?
Are you destined to forever juggle your work and home life commitments?
Let’s dive into what work-life balance looks like, why it’s so important, and how you can tip the scales in your favour.
Is Work-Life Balance Achievable?
What Even Is Work-Life Balance?
The concept of this elusive balance is a hard one to get one’s head around, considering that work is, by necessity, a massive part of your life. The average human spends a large portion of their waking time working, leaving very little time for anything other than sleeping, eating, and squeezing in your chores!
However, the tides may be turning as people begin to prioritise life outside of work in an attempt to restore balance.
The truth is, there is no magic formula. Every career is different. We all have various family commitments and ideas about health, wellness, and recreation.
What a healthy work-life balance is can look different for everyone. So ultimately, it’s about finding what works for you to keep you healthy and fulfilled mentally and physically.
Why Strive To Find Work-Life Balance?
Even if you are lucky enough to adore your job, it’s essential to allow your mind and body time off now and then. Downtime from work lowers your stress levels and reduces your chances of burn-out – adding up to a healthier mind and body.
When you take time away from work to rejuvenate and refresh yourself, you will experience benefits back in the workplace too, such as heightened focus, increased productivity and creativity, plus more enthusiasm for the job.
How To Find The Balance
There are a number of ways that you can strike a balance between work and life responsibilities:
Build In Flexibility
If it feels impossible to reduce the number of hours you are working, try experimenting with flexible hours instead. Create a schedule that gives you the time you need, when you need it to get personal things done.
Start later and finish later to give yourself more time for a healthy morning routine, or start early and finish early, so you have quality time to spend with the kids. Work from home for less time commuting or work online while you travel – whatever suits your lifestyle.
Set Boundaries
It can be challenging to switch off and tune out from work, particularly these days where we are constantly available thanks to the wonders of technology.
To combat this, set yourself out of office hours (and days!) where you don’t read or respond to emails or business calls – and stick to them! Model this behaviour for everyone in your team and you will be helping the entire organisation find their work-life balance too.
Delegate And Outsource
As a business owner, you could quite easily fill 24 hours a day with those essential but time-consuming jobs that keep things ticking over. Those are things like bookkeeping, accounting, responding to emails, and managing your social media accounts.
But wouldn’t you rather be hanging with your friends or family, playing a sport, enjoying a BBQ, or lounging on the beach?
Learn to let go of the jobs that can efficiently and effectively be handled by others. You will find the hours and energy you save help balance those scales quick-smart!
Work-life balance may not come easily, but it is possible to feel less overwhelmed and consumed by work. Find time to do things that refill your cup, even if you have to schedule them. Increase your productivity at work by focusing on the jobs you do well and delegating or outsourcing the rest.
At Admin Army, we can help you restore your equilibrium by taking care of some of those jobs that soak up your precious time. Reach out to us today and let us wage war on those time-consuming tasks so that you have more time to focus on the life aspect of the equation!