The evolution of technology and the increasingly competitive
workforce is making it extremely difficult to find a work/life balance. With the job market yielding fewer positions
for the number of college graduates and qualified employees, the pressure to
excel at your job has never been higher. Not to mention the advancement of
smart phones and our obsession to be constantly connected has made it almost
impossible to leave work at work.
And let’s say you aren’t one of those people; employers are
now making it almost impossible for you to need anything outside of work. The evolving landscape of company culture is
making it trendy to offer employees perks such as free meals, child care,
medical care on site, and even pet sitting.
If this is not your situation and you are just bogged down
by a heavy work load and an enormous amount of responsibility, it is up to you
to infuse enjoyable activity into your life.
Although it may be tempting to schedule nap time into that routine, try
to focus on activities that will leave lasting results on your overall attitude
and well-being.
Scheduling activities, writing them down and involving other
people in them will not only help you get into a routine, but also help you
follow through with your plans. Focus on managing your time so you are able to
feel good about shutting that computer down on a Friday and enjoy your weekend.
Sign up and pay for a class that is reoccurring every
week–IF you spend your money on it you are more likely to attend. Exercise also boosts energy and helps you to
be more productive-talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Spend less time at work on social media sites and/ or
gossiping with co-workers. We are all human and need a mental break every once
and a while, but the amount of time we spend NOT being productive, could make a
huge impact on our workload if we spent it getting tasks out of the way. The
result? Leaving work at a reasonable time!
Have you ever thought about going to bed one hour earlier
and waking up an extra hour early? Perhaps that is when you could exercise or
spend time with your family–work a family breakfast into your morning routine. Order
your groceries and have the delivered-do the same thing with stamps and you’ve
cut out a trip to the grocery store AND the post office. Do you like grocery shopping? Use your lunch
period to plan a grocery list so you can decompress while you strategically
spend your time buying the items you need.
Make time for things that bring you pure joy. Manage your
time so that you can leave work early one night a week and watch that sports
game, or start reading that book series you’ve been eyeing for months. You are
probably good at your job because of the attributes that make up your
personality- so don’t be afraid to cultivate those traits. Read, write, walk, play, sing, listen,
enjoy–and come to work the next day with your batteries recharged.
There are ways to make the most of the time you spend
outside of work, in order to be more productive while you are on the
clock. Managing your time comes down to cutting out things that
are not necessary to your every day schedule, in order to infuse activity that
will help you elevate the quality of your personal and professional life.
Sources:
https://psychcentral.com/lib/15-tips-to-boost-your-well-being-and-happiness/00010428
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/fcs7/fcs7101/fcs7101.pdf