Is it too obvious to state that a healthy balance between work and your personal life is necessary for overall well-being? Apparently not, since most of us struggle to find this sweet spot. It is said that everything is good in moderation. Whether it is the Christmas cookies and family time the upcoming holidays bring or the amount of time you designate as the hours of your work day, a balance is necessary with everything. Keeping all aspects of your life in harmony doesn’t just happen instantly, it takes time along with trial and error to find a work-life parity that allows you to be your most healthy self.
The first element to achieving a healthy work-life balance is to step back and prioritize the different aspects of your life. It can be hard to find the right amount of space for your work and personal life if there is other unnecessary ‘white noise’ playing in the background. If you already feel like there aren’t enough hours in your day, cutting out the non-beneficial parts will make room during the precious 24 hours in a day for more valuable activities: the things that help you feel the balance.
Post decluttering your life of non-essential activities, strive to fill these new-found hours with anti-stressors and the things you love, not more work. Put a definitive cap onto the time that you allow yourself to work outside of the office. This will allow you to take control of the other hours in your day and fill them with meaningful actions like exercising, meditating, a hobby or whatever makes you happy. Work to stay engaged and away from your connections to work, your phone and computer, to stay present in the rest of your life
To lead a healthy life, a break from the stress of work is necessary. It can be a difficult evenness to achieve, especially if you don’t know where to start. Taking back your life through little improvements is the only way to achieve the balance you need, especially before the busyness of the holiday season arrives. Most of us need a different type of work-life stasis -- strive to find what works for you.
