Due to advances in technology and variations in work patterns, maintaining a work-life balance has become extremely difficult. However, proper management of personal and professional life is essential. It entitles you to get enough rest so that you can fulfill personal as well as work needs. Work-life is also necessary for maintaining sound physical and mental health.
Given below are some pointers which you can follow to balance and maintain your personal and professional life successfully:
Decide the most critical roles in your life:
A person may play a variety of purposes either at one time or in different phases of life. He may be a child, student, sibling, employee, employer, significant other, parent, etc. Though we try to fulfill all these duties separately, yet sometimes these roles do overlap. So, prepare a list of your roles in your regular life and decide which ones are most important to you.
In this connection, I can recall an incident where I had to meet a deadline to deliver a project; however, I had to look after my parent, too, who had to be admitted to the hospital right away. Thus, I chose to attend to my parent, prioritizing my urgency.
Try to have a fixed timing:
If you do not have fixed working hours, try making some time for yourself and stick to them. Try to give yourself a few days’ breaks every week. In this way, you can get the opportunity to take a rest and engage in family activities.
Don’t accept unreasonable work requests:
If your head assigns you a task that does not fall under your duties, learn to refuse the offer politely. Allow your supervisor to know your limits. Just remember that only working hard is not life. There should be a proper equilibrium between your private and professional life.
Prioritize your professional tasks:
All tasks do not have the same priority. Give more attention to deadline-driven projects. Try to stay away from interruptions and other unimportant tasks. Keep some time only for work when you can work consciously without any disturbances. Don’t try to be a perfectionist. Try to do your work in the best manner possible. Accept your mistakes and always earn from them.
Assign work to others as much as possible:
Don’t try to complete all the tasks by yourself. If you have people who work with you, attempt to allow them a certain amount of tasks. This will reduce your workload considerably.
Try to minimize your distractions while working:
Note down the things that distract you from work. It may be social media, texting friends, watching television, playing games, etc. While working, make sure to reduce these distractions, to which you are especially drawn. Don’t check your emails and messages frequently while working. These activities take away a lot of time and cut down on your efficiency. Reduce the time you spend on the Internet, posting and checking posts on social networking sites. Don’t talk too much with co-workers during work time.
Manage personal & professional social media accounts:
Don’t make your personal life too public on social media. Understand the information that needs to stay confidential. Also, don’t post offensive content on social media as these hurt your life.
Focus only on your personal life after work hours: One highly effective way to keep your personal and professional life apart is not to think about work when at home. Thinking about practice and deadlines at home disrupts your own life. Do not bring thoughts about work at home. Set aside a specific time limit for your business conversations while at home. Don’t talk much with your co-workers on your holidays. While at home, try to concentrate only on family matters, hobbies, and personal interests.
Make friends outside your work environment:
If you are only working or avoiding any interaction outside work, then set aside some time to go out with friends outside your work environment. You may go and engage in some activities that make you happy. Try to get out and meet people outside work, as these can also initiate a fulfilling private life. If you have a good rapport with your office colleagues, try to adhere to the policy of discussing work-related matters only in-office hours.
Do not confine your identity only within work:
Our work lives form an immensely crucial element of our identity. In professions where there are no fixed check-in and check-out times, the borderline between personal and work life can be distorted. So, it is highly imperative that you also have a non-work identity. For example, take up a hobby of your choice, make time for friends outside your work circle, go on vacations for some days, go for watching movies or an exhibition or music concert, go for a walk, etc. You can also exercise, which will keep your body and mind fit and healthy.
Wrapping Up!
If you pay attention to the above points, you can be able to separate your personal and professional life without much hassle. Try to incorporate these into your life to lead a peaceful and balanced life.
