The Best Tips for a Better Work-Life Balance (Time Management Tips)
The Virtual Hub Philippines
We create dynamic careers for excellent talent.
Work-life balance isn’t an elusive dream for the select few. It doesn’t happen overnight, but there are things you can do to promote this in your life.
Read on to discover great time management hacks that’ll help you regain work and personal life balance!
11 Time Management and Work-Life Balance Tips | How to Live a Balanced Life
Good Work-Life Balance vs Poor Work-Life Balance
With this day and age, it seems like everyone has busy schedule all the time. This is why managing a healthy work-life balance can really save your sanity! Without a proper balance of work and life, stress can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health, not to mention make personal relationships more difficult to maintain.
On the other hand, fostering good habits such as getting consistent exercise, spending quality time with yourself or “me time” daily, and setting clear boundaries with employers can lead to success in both professional and personal life.
Making your well-being a priority is essential for achieving an optimal work-life integration you can be comfortable with!
Best Work-Life Tips
1. Stick to Your Working Hours
Even if flexible hours and remote work are some of your company benefits, you need to set your work and off hours, and stick to it. Having clearly communicated work hours makes it easier to set boundaries between your personal life and work.
Otherwise, it’s going to be easier for your co-workers to take your home life and social life for granted, and assume that you’re always available. At the same time, setting clear work hours will motivate you to focus on tasks and get them done within specific timeframes.
Pro Tip: Keep your supervisors and colleagues updated. If you’re anticipating any schedule changes or upcoming vacation time or family time, make sure to alert your team in advance so that they can prepare.
2. Target Excellence (Not Perfection)
If you spend time thinking about tasks rather than doing them, then you may have a perfection problem. When you’re young and life is less demanding, this isn’t too problematic.
It isn’t uncommon for employees to receive more responsibilities and work for longer hours as they progress in their professional lives. Unfortunately, no matter how long the to-do list, you still only get 24 hours in each day.
That’s why it’s important to make a shift from perfection to excellence. Excellence requires grit, effort, and planning—but it’s attainable.
More importantly, you get the job done when you aim for excellence. Perfection is usually unrealistic and out of reach.
3. Prioritize in Work and Play
If you want to make the most out of your time, you need to identify your priorities in work and play. Ideally, you should be spending most of your time on your top priorities or goals.
Try to cut out tasks or activities that eat up time, but don’t contribute to your goals. Figuring out your priorities in work may require a proper sit-down with your manager.
Your work priorities should be in line with the company’s expectations. That way, there won’t be any conflicts when you’re unavailable because you’re focusing on a specific task.
When it comes to personal priorities, try to identify people or hobbies that are important to you–a family member, a friend, personal interests, etc. Make sure you carve out some dedicated time for these people and activities in your calendar.
Establishing priorities will help you manage your workload. When your time is already dedicated to certain tasks or people, it makes it easier to say “no” or “not right now”.
4. Stay Organized
Most of the time, professionals need to juggle multiple responsibilities. If you’re lucky, you’re also given some level of autonomy to figure out how to get the job done.
If you want to achieve great work-life balance, you have to make the most of your time. Staying organized can help you with this. Remember, you’re more likely to forget things if you don’t jot them down somewhere. So always err on the side of caution, and make a habit of keeping your professional life organized.
Here are some organizational tips that’ll help you maximize your time and succeed professionally:
Use a Calendar
Put all of your tasks, appointments, events, and deadlines in a calendar. Use whatever medium works best for you: an analog or digital one. You can also use this to plan out your leisure time.
Create To-Do Lists
Break up tasks into smaller pieces and list them out on paper or electronically. This’ll make it easier for you to work on specific tasks without being overwhelmed by the bigger picture.
Make Time Blocking Work for You
Block out chunks of time dedicated to different activities. Having clear-cut chunks helps you focus better and finish things faster.
Plan Your Week
Set yourself up for success by planning out your week ahead of time. This can help you identify possible conflicts in your schedule and make the necessary adjustments before things get too hectic.
Factor in Delays
It’s important to leave room for delays and unexpected tasks. That way, you won’t be too stressed out if something new pops up.
Make a List Every Morning
Every morning, take a few minutes to create a list of tasks you need to tackle for the day. This’ll help you stay focused and motivated throughout the day.
Maximize Technology
Almost any smartphone can run an electronic calendar or other organization apps. It’s almost like having a secretary in your pocket! Take advantage of the tools and apps that are designed to make life easier.
5. Set Clear Objectives for Team Projects
It’s usually easier to stay on top of tasks when you’re working alone. Things can get more complicated when you’re working with others.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Team projects normally involve multiple meetings. When meetings aren’t planned out properly, they can be a time drain. So make sure to set an agenda for each meeting. It also helps if you set a time limit for each meeting.
Apart from well-planned meetings, it also helps if you set tasks and deadlines for the project. That way, your team members will know what’s expected of them and when they need to meet their deliverables.
Pro Tip: Explore project management applications, like Asana. These applications can help you track the progress of your team projects and make sure that everyone’s on the same page.
6. Provide Timely (Not Instant) Response
In this digital age, we’re bombarded with all sorts of messages from different applications—email, messaging apps, phone calls, and social media. Don’t feel like you have to respond to every email or instant message right away.
Unless you’re dealing with a time-sensitive issue, it’s usually reasonable to respond to a message in a few hours within a workday. If you’re constantly responding to instant messages or emails, you’re probably unable to focus on anything else.
Pro Tip: If you’re trying to focus on a critical task, try turning off your laptop or smartphone notifications for a while.
7. Build a Support System
Having a support system at work (and in life) is a great resource. A good support system can serve as a buffer against stressors. Studies show that people who have a good support system are more resilient against stress.
Sometimes, life can get overwhelming and you never know when you’ll need a helping hand. Having a support system means that you can rely on people to have your back (or even cover for you) when unexpected conflicts pop up. Even if you try to stay organized, sometimes there are things you can’t predict. So, take the time to build a strong support system with your family members, friends, and colleagues. This’ll help you get through any situation with less stress.
8. Disconnect for Real
When you’re not clocked in, try to unplug and disconnect for real. Even if you don’t respond to work-related messages, knowing that they’re there can linger and compromise the quality of your personal time.
So don’t feel guilty if you completely tune work out during your free time or personal day. Giving your boss and co-workers unlimited access to you can have a negative impact on your mental health and may lead to burnout.
If you’re a bonafide workaholic, this may seem foreign to you at first. Remember, giving yourself time to rest and recharge can renew your motivation for work.
9. Manage Your Energy
You can have all the time in the world, but if your energy levels are low, you probably won’t get a lot done. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize your physical health and manage your energy stores.
Here are a few lifestyle choices that can have a positive impact on your energy levels:
Exercise Regularly
Exercise improves mood, increases energy levels, and boosts productivity. A good workout will help you stay focused throughout the day.
Get Enough Sleep
Eight hours of quality sleep is recommended for most adults. Try to stick to a regular sleep schedule and avoid using digital devices in bed if possible.
Eat Healthy
What you eat (and drink) has a major impact on your energy levels. Eating junk food or drinking too much caffeine can crash your energy stores faster than expected. So be mindful of what you’re eating and drinking.
Manage Stress
High stress levels can have a huge impact on your concentration and productivity. That’s why it’s important to take breaks regularly and practice self-care methods like mindfulness meditation or joining a yoga class.
Limit Alcohol Intake
Alcohol and productivity don’t mix. While you may think that having a drink can help you relax, too much of it can negatively affect your productivity and job performance.
10. Introduce Changes Gradually
A perfect work-life balance doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not something that you can turn on or off. To truly achieve work-life balance, you need to make good choices every day.
If work-life balance is new to you, try to introduce changes gradually and change one habit at a time. Make sure the new habit sticks before moving on to the next one. That way, the changes you make are more sustainable.
Ask yourself, what’s one change you can make today to improve your work-life balance? Maybe it’s turning off notifications when you’re at home or clocking out on time.
Whatever change you make, no matter how little or big, try to stick with it for a week or so. Soon, you won’t even notice it.
11. Choose Your Workplace
Work-life balance can be challenging if you work for a company that doesn’t value it. There’s only so much you can do to manage work stressors.
Sometimes, work pressure can be unreasonable. While this may be a seasonal issue in some workplaces, a toxic work environment also exists.
So if work-life balance is something you truly value, find a company that values it as well. That way, you won’t have to feel guilty about setting boundaries.
Final Thoughts
Remember, work-life balance is a journey. You’re likely to experience highs and lows from time to time, but it’s important to stay consistent in your approach.
If you feel like you’re losing motivation for work, take a step back and ask yourself what changes need to be made. When all else fails, don’t forget that self-care should always be at the top of your priority list. Use these tips as a starting point for achieving work-life balance.
If you’re tired of working in a toxic environment and need more balance in life, don’t hesitate to look for a new job and better opportunities! You deserve a workplace with a company culture that respects and values your hard work and dedication!
Here at The Virtual Hub, we understand the importance of healthy balance between work and play. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve your work-life balance goals and a greater sense of well-being!
Up Next: