Here's how you can establish work-life boundaries in the staffing industry.

Ask yourself, what tasks serve you and what tasks don't? If you don't prioritize your tasks, you'll find yourself working on things that don't matter. Do the hard task first; swallow the large frog before moving on to the smaller ones. You just have to dive right in and get yourself situated by creating repeating time blocks to do the hardest task. More often than not, the hardest or most uncomfortable tasks usually are the ones that will yield the most results. In staffing, that means making dials and doing so consistently! And don't forget to communicate when you're available and unavailable to the rest of your team. This could be for PTO or because of a task assigned. If you're working with a solid team, they will understand!

A valuable tip I received from a colleague today is to tackle the tasks you least enjoy first. By addressing these tasks at the beginning of your week or day, you can prevent procrastination and make the rest of your schedule more enjoyable.

One strategy we've seen work well for staffing firm operators is to be extremely responsive during business hours and then truly offline during off-hours. But there's a catch: You need to be able to handle real emergencies, even if they are outside business hours. The trick is to start understanding what counts as a true emergency.

Setting expectations comes down to communication skills. Never hesitate to provide responses or clarification; set clear boundaries on when you can be reached as well. Going on PTO/Vacation? Do yourself a favor and let everyone know if they can reach you or not. If you are not going to be available, then leave an automated message to explain who to reach out to. Some people say straight up when they will be even reading the emails when they come back. The reality is, you can't stress about work all the time. You need to pull yourself away every so often. You don't want to get burnt out. In my experience, you have to be ready 24/7. The top billers in the industry know this and try their best to work with that in mind.

Top billers have an open door 24/7. That is the true nature of staffing for God knows how long. Only recently has there been a big push to have people work their wage or to put emphasis on work-life balance. But I will say, top billers also will not hesitate to use tech to aid them in cutting back on hours of admin work. They have more flexibility and freedom to work on other tasks but to also focus on things outside of work!

Stress is synonymous with staffing; the whole industry is built around working with people. If you can't work with people, what are you doing in staffing?! You need to blow off steam; find a hobby you really enjoy, happy hour with coworkers, or exercise. Treat staffing as a professional athlete would treat his training. They prioritize rest as a requirement because quite frankly, it is. As an athlete, you CAN'T be overexerting yourself. And the same can be said for any professional career!

Effective delegation in the workplace involves assigning tasks to others to help achieve a goal. It can help spread work around to capable employees. Here are some tips for delegating effectively: Choose the right person: Select someone who is a good fit for the task. Communicate clearly: Articulate the task's purpose, expectations, and desired outcomes. Provide relevant information, guidelines, and deadlines. Make sure both parties understand the task and any specific requirements. Give authority and empowerment: Ensure the delegate has the necessary authority and responsibility to complete the task.

Mindset is key, personally I accept that I will never have the perfect balance and understand the more I focus on work the more I miss my family and neglect personal life (this works both ways). Understand what you want to gain from both your working and personal life. For work, put targets in place (demanding but realistic) to ensure you excel however ensure you have dedicated time for your personal life. Make plans outside of work, personally if I commit to something IE teaching my son to ride his bike or dinner with friends I am 100% in. Also listen to your mind & body, if you feel that one needs more attention at a certain point in time, you are probably correct.