In today’s rat race, it is very important to keep the balance between your work and your personal life. Many think that this is not up to them and that they cannot change the hand that’s been dealt to them. But in fact ONLY YOU can. It all boils down to skills and choices.
Only you would know when your life is out of balance. You might love your job and only want to focus on growing your career at this stage in your life. That is totally up to you as long as you feel balanced. If not though, there are a lot of consequences that follow if you are out of balance. Relationships get damaged or neglected. You can become ill due to the unnecessary pressure and stress you put on yourself and yes, it may even be fatal.
That is how serious this is. Start with developing the following skills, to help you master work-life balance.
- Stop blaming others, and take the reins of your life back into your own hands. You have to learn skills to manage your time better, to delegate and solve problems quicker. It is not someone else’s fault if you can’t manage your life. Take responsibility and acquire the essential skills to do something about it.
- Don’t be a people pleaser. Learn to say no. You don’t have to do everything for everyone all the time, especially if it is not in your work scope or not beneficial to you. Colleagues might sass you out as someone who they can take advantage of. Learn to say no and avoid unnecessary deadlines and stresses. You will be amazed how this frees you up to concentrate on what is important to you.
- Rethink, refocus and realign yourself constantly. Ask yourself the question: “How will doing this specific strenuous task benefit me in the long term?” Learn to refocus and frequently align yourself with both your personal and professional goals.
- Be flexible. Don’t breakdown and be disappointed if your outcomes are not exactly what you pictured. Learn to adapt and be flexible.
- Create time for yourself and practice to be happy. Learn to see the joy in all things within your life. This is a conscious decision you need to take, but takes a lot of practice. You literally have to force yourself to see the silver lining in everything. It takes time, but once mastered this is a skill that will help you with self-motivation and inspiration.
It is important to realise the signs of when you are off balance. Help yourself and your team members find a good work-life balance which will be mutually beneficial. If you and your team members have mastered a balanced lifestyle you all will enjoy personal time and return to work refreshed. You will be well rested which will improve your quality of work and make all of you more productive.
The Mindspa Institute recently launched a new Corporate Burnout workshop with facilitator, Dr Maria Phalime, a qualified medical doctor who left clinical practice due to burnout.