How to Find the Perfect Work-Life Balance this Year
“Work-life balance” is one of the most overused terms in the corporate world. Corporate leaders speak about the importance of having the perfect work-life balance to their employees, but, what many don’t understand or acknowledge is the real meaning of it.
Having both a job and a career is a necessity in our modern society. Without a job, your money power would be zero, and without a steady income, your purchase power would fall on its face. But, does having a career and a well-paying job guarantee happiness and success? The answers can be contradictory.
Work is essential to having a comfortable life. But, the problem begins when some people make work their life! For a few, it is because of the unhealthy obsession for success. Others do it to make ends meet. Some people are forced to work most of the times due to the nature of their work. Whatever the reason, work should not eat up most of your time in a day.
It’s important to have a work-life balance. Here are some proven and effective ways to easily maintain both:
1) Plan Your Career
One of the biggest mistakes people make is expecting to climb the professional ladder fast. They work more extended hours and take on more significant responsibilities than peers. Some of these responsibilities may be beyond their capabilities and skillset. These kinds of irrational expectations can cause stress, which further deteriorate performance.
Having a reasonable career goal and achieving smaller milestones can significantly improve the situation. It will keep you out of the rat race and help ensure steady and consistent career growth.
2) Manage Your Stress
Now as we all know, stress can be a big productivity killer. Stress at work will not only affect your work performance but will also cause mayhem in your personal life.
So, keep your stress under control. Try stress management techniques such as yoga and meditation, which have been proven to improve lifestyle. Also, understand and prioritize things that are causing you stress. It might be one of those crucial projects, or it might be your home loan. Whatever it is, see if you can control it and do something about it. If not, let the universe take control of it.
3) Redefine Your Version of Success
For many people, success is having a handsome paycheck, the car of your choice and that beautiful house. Most people define success in terms of materialism. Consider looking at the other side. What are you sacrificing when you are achieving your dreams? Quality time with your spouse and kids? The passion you’ve abandoned for the sake of financial security? The ability to smile genuinely?
Redefine what success means to you. When you look back at life, what is it that you want to see? Work for that. Try to find happiness in simpler things. This will help you to find the right balance between work and life, helping you lead a happier and more fulfilled life.
4) Unwind Daily
One of the things that make it difficult to balance work and life is that it’s common to take work home. Even if you are working on a project that would bring world peace tomorrow, you need your time. No work is more important than you and your life. Leave your work at the office.
If you have to work extra hours, schedule a start and end time. When the scheduled time is over, call it a day. It’s time for you to unwind and relax. You’ll then be able to go back to office completely recharged the next morning!
5) Practice Gratitude
Most of us focus on what we don’t have rather than what we do have. This leaves us with a feeling of not having enough. We work harder and longer to get things. That is not a healthy practice to have.
By practicing gratitude, you will learn to accept and be happy with what you have. This will instill a sense of contentment in your mind, and you will focus more on happiness overall. Practicing gratitude makes us realize the blessings of work life and personal life and how keeping them separate allows both to remain intact.
Final Thoughts
Work stress can be dreadful and exhausting. Having rational goals for both your personal and professional life can solve the challenge. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have big dreams. Of course, you can!
You just need to understand your priorities. Then, you can set practical milestones to move you closer towards the bigger goal. In this way, you will not feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
Professional and personal goals should complement each other and should not be contradictory. You should not prioritize work over life and vice versa. After all, that’s what balance is all about.
Meighan Sembrano
Meighan Sembrano is a health enthusiast and passionate writer. Her primary expertise is in beauty and skin care, but she has also published articles on health and fitness. Her sincerity and thoughtfulness resonate with readers, and her enthusiasm is contagious. You can follow Meighan on Twitter and Facebook.
The views and opinions expressed in guest posts featured on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the International Coach Federation (ICF). The publication of a guest post on the ICF Blog does not equate to an ICF endorsement or guarantee of the products or services provided by the author.
Additionally, for the purpose of full disclosure and as a disclaimer of liability, this content was possibly generated using the assistance of an AI program. Its contents, either in whole or in part, have been reviewed and revised by a human. Nevertheless, the reader/user is responsible for verifying the information presented and should not rely upon this article or post as providing any specific professional advice or counsel. Its contents are provided “as is,” and ICF makes no representations or warranties as to its accuracy or completeness and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law specifically disclaims any and all liability for any damages or injuries resulting from use of or reliance thereupon.
Thanks Meighan for writing on this. The way that you written about perfect work life balance. ICF is doing good work throughout the world.