In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can feel like you’re racing through the Indianapolis 500. In her personal life, she may have children, a partner, friends and family that she tries to make time for. Then there is your professional life which can consume a large part of your day and night depending on where you are in your career.
It is so easy to lose control of your life personally and professionally. The two begin to blend together and you wonder where one begins and ends. Life has to have a certain balance to keep you healthy and sane. This can often seem very difficult to do, but with a few tips you can find that balance and harmony in your life.
Can you really balance the two? The answer is a simple “yes”. Remember these tips:
1) Plan of Attack: Before you can begin to balance your life, you must first know where your life is out of balance. Do you spend too much time at work and not enough at home? Are you working weekends instead of spending time with friends and family? Ask yourself these questions to determine where you need adjustments.
2) Family obligations: are you married, do you have children or do you have a partner? If so, your life is not just about you. So as you work to balance your life, they also need to be taken into account. What are you missing in this area? Ballet recital for your daughter? Date night with your spouse or significant other? You have to balance life and you have to include these important people in your life. So keep that in mind.
3) Delegate: It’s easy in business to do a lot of things yourself to get the job done right the first time. However, by doing so, he is cutting himself off from his personal life. This is where delegation is essential. Delegating is important to balance your life. Delegate things that someone else can do. Make sure you have good systems in place so that when you delegate there are clear instructions on what needs to be done.
4) Schedule time for yourself – This seems to be one of the hardest things for most people to do. It’s also the last thing on most people’s list. You have to take some time for yourself, even if it’s just an hour here or there. It could be something as simple as taking an hour to read a book for an hour or going for a run. No matter what you do, the goal is to take “some” time for yourself.
5) Prioritize: The key to finding balance is the ability to prioritize. You need to realistically know what needs to be done first and what can be delayed for a later time.
6) The art of saying “no”: We often want to please others and therefore we try harder and harder because someone asks us to. By doing so, you are throwing your life out of balance because sooner or later you will have too much to do and not enough time in the day to do it. Sooner or later you have to say no to some things to keep your life balanced and happy.
7) One thing at a time: Multitasking was once considered the way to get things done, but it’s actually easier to focus on one thing; finish it and then move on to the next. In some cases, multitasking can be distracting. So stay on task, finish it, and then move on to something else.
If you don’t have a sense of harmony between your personal and professional life, things can take a toll on you mentally and physically. Taking simple approaches like the ones listed above can help you balance your life so you can be productive at work and have fun with family and friends.