Achieving Work-Life Balance

Of all the different changes the Covid 19 pandemic has presented, the one that is believed to likely persist even after the virus has completely dissipated is remote working. This looming reality makes it all the more important for many of us to learn how to achieve work-life balance. If you are still at a loss at what practices you should be doing to strike a balance between work life and home life, here are some tips that you can take inspiration from:

Structuring your day

One of the biggest benefits of working from home is flexibility. And while this can translate to being able to do work during whatever time of day, this shouldn’t be a reason for you to forego having a schedule - no matter how rough it may be. In his article on Lifehack, educator and work-life balance guru Kris McPeak mentioned how being intentional with your workday schedule can keep you from working on weekends, doing multiple tasks at a time and feeling pressured to work more than you normally should in a day. Structuring your day can be done in many different ways. One of which is by having time blocks. When arranging time blocks, make sure to place buffers in between each one. It also pays to have blocks for scheduled breaks and downtime and to start with high-level priorities.

Spreading out your thoughts

Everything starts with the mind, and believe it or not this rule also applies to work-life balance. One of the ways you can achieve a better work-life balance is by being more mindful of where you invest your thoughts. Although stressing about work is inevitable, try to zoom in on the things that y ou like about your job. In one of our previous posts that also tackled Work-Life Balance, it was noted how looking back on the things that attracted you to your current job can help alleviate negative feelings that may hinder career satisfaction.

Minding ergonomics

Regardless of how tempting it may be to work from the couch or the bed at all times, you shouldn’t make a habit of it. Occupational health and sports medicine specialist, Dr. Maj S Bakhtiar Choudhary emphasised how maintaining a healthy posture is of utmost importance to professionals, regardless of whether they are working from home or not. Maintaining proper posture while working will not only ensure productivity and efficiency but also prevent serious injuries in the neck, back and wrists among others. Some of the ways you can pay closer attention to ergonomics while remote working include finding a chair with a backrest, keeping your feet flat on the floor and maintaining good hand and wrist posture when using the keyboard or the mouse.

Prioritising your health

As much as we all want to ace the act of balancing work and life, current circumstances can make it extra hard to do so. This reality is the very reason why professionals should prioritise their health more than ever before. Your overall physical, emotional and mental health during these trying times should never take a back seat because they have a direct impact on how you would fare as an employee and as a person. Writer Marisa Sanfilippo mentioned how healthy employees tend to miss work less and are generally happier and more productive. Prioritising your health can be as simple as eating healthy meals on time, doing simple exercises and setting aside time for meditation.

Summary

‘Perfect’ work-life balance may not exist, but simple tips like structuring your day, spreading out your thoughts, minding ergonomics and prioritising your health can be of great help in keeping your work separate from all the other things that make up your life.