Work and life balance!
Did you know 1 out of 4 Kenyans is depressed? Also did you know that lack of balance at work can cause depression? Did you know that having a work-life balance is a healthy way to develop your career?
Having this balance simply means you know how to put a boundary between your work and the rest of your life and juggle the multiple facets of your life healthily.
Healthy implies that none of the facets of your life are affected negatively by the other.
This means that if you are having a work problem and it starts to pour into your family and friendships negatively then it is not healthy. This means you have to find a way to handle the problem at work to maintain a healthy relationship with your friends and family.
I know that it’s not possible to always have this balance 100% of the time. Sometimes problems and issues can bleed into other areas of our lives and it is normal. It is simply a matter of how we approach and confront these truly important issues.
So that said, we will look at just a few quick tips to help us get a healthy handle on this balance that we all need to have.
Create boundaries at work
When you are working you need to be focused on what you are doing. If you find people distracting you at work and you end up falling behind your schedule then it is time to create that healthy boundary.
Learn to say, “Hey, my plate is kind of full right now but we can catch up later. I’d love to hear about that!” It is a polite way of saying,” I’m busy right now and you’re distracting me!”.
There’s nothing wrong with letting people know you are busy and need to work. They will understand and give you the space you need, for you to focus and be more productive.
By creating healthy boundaries at work you can finish more tasks and create time to do other things.
Learn to say No to your Boss
This is hard for most people to do. This is because they think if they say no to the boss, they will lose their job or something terrible will happen to them.
Now, let’s get something covered here, it is perfectly normal to be given extra responsibilities that were not in your job description when you’re working. It is part of being in a team!
Accepting extra responsibilities or being assigned extra work can lead to the building of your career. Therefore, it is a great idea to say yes to opportunities where you are given added responsibilities.
However, if you feel like the work is too much and you can’t handle it, understand you have the right to say no.
Accept extra responsibilities because they are within your ability and you are handling them well. If you feel they are becoming too much, simply turn it down or get extra help.
Do not procrastinate
When you have a to-do list make sure you get to it right away. Start with the small tasks then work your way up to the larger more intense tasks.
This will help you to get motivated to finish tasks. The thrill of finishing one task will push you and encourage you to finish the next one. Before you know it, you’ll be done.
Give yourself a break at work
A break helps you to be more productive. Take a 5 min break every hour if possible or simply schedule your breaks in between tasks or throughout your work schedule.
Make sure you stand up and get off that desk for a while. This will help you to also ensure your posture and health get better. Sitting down all day has been shown to cause some health issues. However, if you take breaks and stand during those breaks you will boost both your health and productivity.
Take your days off
For most people a day off is something they would never miss. However, some people just work and rarely take their days off or their leave days.
Taking these days away from work helps you to unwind, relax and enjoy yourself. It will give you a chance to connect more with your friends and family or spend more time doing your hobbies and learning something new.
Days off and leave days are there to help you rest and come back to work more motivated and rejuvenated. This in turn goes to increasing your productivity.
Ask for help
If you are feeling overwhelmed at work, simply ask for help! There’s no shame in doing so.
If you are starting to get stressed out feel free to reach out to your friends and family for mental and emotional support. Get a therapist if you have to, but do not allow yourself to spiral due to stress.
Having a strong emotional and mental support system helps you to have healthy relationships both at work and in other facets of your life.
Meditate
This is now starting to sound cliché, but, try meditation. The benefits of meditation are astounding. I’ve often heard people say they cannot meditate because their minds are too busy and get distracted.
That’s just a limiting belief like thinking making money is difficult or should be difficult. While most people hold those beliefs they are not necessarily true.
Nothing is ever easy when you are learning it, but, if you keep practicing it gets better and one day it is easy.
Mediation has benefits like reducing anxiety and stress levels, it has shown the ability to manage depression and even helps people recover fully from these mental issues. It also helps to increase the awareness levels of an individual which can be very helpful.
By doing this you will be working on your mental health which helps you to have better relationships with others.
Exercise
Just like meditation, this has been shown to have amazing results. Exercise helps to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It also helps some people to develop their confidence because they start to feel better about themselves.
It doesn’t hurt that it comes with the added advantage of being fit and therefore healthy.
With all these benefits, exercise helps to create that balance between your work and the rest of your life.
These are just some of the things you can do to help you have a balance in your life. If you have a balance at work and in other areas of your life, it will help you to lead a more productive and happy life.
We wrote an article on some inspirational quotes from successful people. Click here to read them and the lessons you could gather from there.
