Improve and know what’s work life balance in 7 simple ways

In 2021, we are busier than ever. In this fast paced life, we often tend to sacrifice our personal lives for our professional ones. Thus leading to a general sense of discontent with everything that we do. Maintaining this very balance is what work and life balance is all about. Knowing what’s work life balance can thus help us maintain it as we enjoy the best of both worlds.

Work Life Balance Definition

To understand how to ace it, let’s first know the work life balance definition. Work-life balance can be defined as a state of equilibrium where you are successful in prioritising the demands of your professional and personal life in such a way that both get equal attention. A good balance will ensure several positive impacts on you, viz. reduced stress, increased sense of well-being, and a lower risk of burnout. These benefit both the employee and the employer. 

Tips For Work Life Balance

Learning what’s work life balance is all about employing it in your day to day life. Especially in our busy lives, it can get very difficult to maintain a balance. These 7 tips can easily help you get started on your journey.

1. Learn to let go

There is no such thing as a perfect schedule. You might have wondered that having a perfect work-life schedule means that you can spend half of the day working hard in the office and spend the last half of the day with your friends and family. But most of the time this isn’t the case as it isn’t practical and realistic. This is why we need to know what’s work life balance.

In the real world, these perfect expectations very rarely come true. There will be some days when you will have to spend more time working. While on other days you can spend more time enjoying yourself with your family and friends or pursuing your hobbies. Thus we see that time management and work life balance go hand in hand.

2. Choose your career well

For most of us, a job is just a social norm, something we do just to ensure that our life is secure even if we don’t enjoy it. However, your job shouldn’t be restraining your happiness in any way. If you hate your job, being happy will be impossible and you will never be happy. Even getting out of bed every morning will seem like a chore.

The answer to knowing what’s work life balance is to find a job that you love. This will keep you motivated and wouldn’t be draining you as much. Now, along with this, it is also important that your work environment isn’t toxic. If it is, start looking for a new job as a job with a toxic environment is also something that isn’t applicable based on the work life balance definition.

3. Know what’s work life balance for better health

By health, we mean all the three aspects– physical, mental and emotional. Your health, all aspects of it, should always be your main concern. If in any regard you think that you are struggling with depression or anxiety and feel that you need a therapist, then make time in your schedule for it. Don’t take on too much work if it makes you feel stressed. Also, if needed, don’t be afraid to call in for a sick day. Prioritising your health will also make you a better employee while realising what’s work life balance.

One thing that people often misunderstand is that prioritizing your health doesn’t always mean that it has to be something extreme or radical. It can also be something as simple as exercise, meditation, or even just taking a break to recharge your energy to restore your balance.

4. Unplug for work life balance meaning

If you are having a very stressful week, don’t stop yourself from cutting off ties from the world and taking time for yourself. It gives you enough space to think and clear your mind. Giving yourself a break is a lot more important than you realise to know what’s work life balance.

While you unplug, it also means that you will not be checking any work emails too. So you can use one of the email management apps like Mailman to achieve inbox zero. With its unique features, it allows you to take out time for yourself without being disturbed. An example of this being the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature. There is also this ‘VIP List’ feature which allows a few important emails to bypass the other email settings set by you, in case the email is absolutely urgent.

5. Take a break

To be fair, this is another form of unplugging, but just longer. Unplugging for a single day will not help, Instead, taking a break for 3-4 days is much better. In truth, if you hold yourself back and work forcefully, you will only be disrupting the workflow and you won’t even be satisfied in the end. Therefore, don’t let this fear stop you. Plan your breaks properly so that it doesn’t cause a problem in your workplace and relax as you now understand what’s work life balance.

6. Make time for you and yours

While professional life is important, do not forget your personal life. Your job isn’t your entire life and you should still find time for the other things that matter, be it yourself, your family, friends, or just your hobby. This is one way in which you can know what’s work life balance and ace it.

Create a calendar and mark the days or events that you have planned to spend with your family and set reminders if necessary too. In this way, you will not forget about these things under the pressure of work and make time for those things as well. Work is important, but it shouldn’t keep you from the necessary events of your personal life either so you maintain what work life balance is.

7. Plan your work hours to know what’s work life balance

In order to avoid burnout, you need to set some boundaries. Leave your work and related thoughts in your office, be it upcoming work events or related phone calls. If possible, use a different mobile for your work so that you can switch it off right after work hours.

Keep a note of when you are working and when you need to stop working. If you don’t follow the schedule you have set and stop in time then it might continue for way longer than you have intended. This may interrupt your work and life balance.

Now you know what’s work life balance

For different people, the meaning of work-life balance is different. Life commitments, needs and priorities vary for everyone. In this article, we have just stated a few points which might help you divide your time between your personal and professional life to know what’s work life balance. In the end, the decision to create your balance and set your boundaries is in your hands and it depends on the expectations that you have from your life. 

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