Is a blurred work life balance the new normal?

 
Do you agree with these statements sometimes, never, or always?

1.      I have 100% control over my work- life balance

2.      I look forward to and participating in many activities outside of work

3.      At the end of a workday, I feel as though I have ample time and energy for family and friends

4.      Thinking about work on the weekends/ trying to get up to something fun and exciting on the weekends never makes me feel stressed or anxious

5.      I have dedicated ‘Me Time’ regularly

6.      I know how to unplug and get away from emails, work, and social media

7.      I never take lunch at my desk

8.      Work never interferes with scheduled family/ social events

9.      I do not like talking about work when I’m off the clock

10.  Family and friends rarely worry about how many hours I spend on work responsibilities

If you have answered the above truthfully and your answers consist of ‘sometimes’ or ’always’ Congratulations! You have mastered ‘adulting’ and life itself. If, like me, the majority of your answers are ‘never’, it’s possibly time to make a conscious effort to change your routine and balance the scales.

Believe it or not, balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. And whilst being honest, I’m not great at setting boundaries and I am a bit of a people pleaser, so guilty as charged!

What is a balance though? Balance means being able to make choices and enjoying them. It is nearly that time of a new year, for us to set new goals and targets.

‘New year, new me!’

Below are some tips and tricks to avoid end of year burnout by setting clear boundaries between life and work.

• 1.      Prioritise your time - you may have a to-do list with 50 tasks on it, so you need to prioritise those tasks into four categories.
    - Urgent and Important
    - Important but not urgent
    - Urgent but not Important
    - Neither urgent nor important

2.      Know your peaks and troughs and play to your strengths
Are you are a morning person? If you are, go for the tough, high- concentration tasks in the mornings, do not leave the tough tasks until later and vice versa. Do not try to be a people pleaser and take on all the responsibilities, focus on your strengths and outsource the others. Be able to say no to your colleagues or even to your managers. (Easier said than done, I know.) Set work hours for yourself and do everything in your power to stick to them. Otherwise, before you know it, you will be working until 10:00pm every day.

3.      Be realistic and step out
At the end of each working day/ week, have a little self-analysis/ reflection. Ask yourself what worked today; what did not; what went wrong and how the issue can be fixed. Remember there are thousands of people just like you and me learning the same lessons every day. Do not forget to schedule ‘Me Time/ Coffee Time’, to step away from your desk, soak in the sun and clear your head.

4.      Encourage hobbies and make exercise a must-do, not a should-do
What is your hobby? Do you have one? Having a life outside of work is not only limited to giving importance to work and family. It is also about giving importance to the things you love doing on a personal level. It is easy to skip the gym, an evening run, or a yoga class because a client or customer wants something done yesterday. Instead, ensure exercise is given as much priority as your clients and customers (15- 30 minutes, not too ambitious. SO, MAKE TIME!). A healthy body means a better and fresher mind; you will function better and complete tasks in less time.

5.      Setting boundaries
Set limits on your work time and ability. Switch off the phone after work (I dare ya), limit your access to work emails or (If you are the kind of workaholic who cannot help yourself but consider LinkedIn as a form of social entertainment and it is fun…), go internet-free for a few hours (1 – 2 hours? Not too ambitious). Learn to say ‘No’ and ‘Not now, let’s schedule another time’, at least 2- 3 times a day, when deep down you do not want to take on that extra workload/ responsibility).

Hillary Clinton once said ‘’ Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.’’

I agree with that statement. There are multiple different situations that could disrupt our routine outside of work, but if it is not a ‘life and death’ or time critical situation, we can always deal with it tomorrow and tune out for an evening. Establishing boundaries with clients and colleagues helps set the tone of a healthy balance in your professional and personal lives.

You are only human; you deserve downtime to recharge for greater things. I look forward to saying NO more in 2022 and prioritising ME. If you struggle to find a work- life balance like me, what are you going to do differently in 2022?

Please feel free to share your ideas with me in the comments below. How do you achieve or find a better work- life balance?