To achieve a healthy work life balance in 5 steps
It's the question of all questions at the work place: How to achieve a healthy work life balance?
How does one have a successful career without sacrificing personal time and family? The concept of work life balance is defined as proper prioritising between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation. In recent years, the idea of "work life integration" -- how to leverage mobile technology to introduce flexibility around where and when you work -- has been gaining popularity and has been suggested as the new way forward.
Either way, these five steps will set you on your path to a healthy balance between work and life:
Step 1: Prioritise work tasks
It is important to determine the most urgent tasks for the day and allocate sufficient time to complete them. If you are unsure about what requires your direct attention, ask your manager for some advice and assistance. Other responsibilities that are not a high priority can be scheduled for a later date or delegated to another colleague. This will help keep you on top of your workload and limit the amount of hours that you spend at work.
Step 2: Structure time at work
Once you have defined your priorities, structure your day around them. By grouping similar tasks together you can be more efficient in completing all your daily jobs. You will then be able to complete high priority tasks first, medium priority tasks next and so on. This will give you the freedom to allocate breaks during the day, once a segment of work is complete, as well as ensure you can comfortably meet deadlines for various activities.
Step 3: Take breaks during the work day
You should take some personal time during the day for activities that are not related to your job. During your lunch break, you can go for a run or engage with colleagues on a social level. Also consider taking shorter breaks throughout the day to run personal errands if you don't have the time to do them before or after work. This will allow you to achieve goals outside of your career, as well as daily jobs during the work day.
Step 4: Make use of annual holidays to recharge
If you are unable to make time for yourself during the day, consider going on extended leave. You may take time for your hobbies, an overseas holiday or Christmas. Taking this time away from work allows you to dedicate it to your interests and spend some time relaxing and unwinding.
Step 5: Leverage technology to work smarter
Use technology to work smarter and increase productivity. Can a simple email replace the need to meet face-to-face? If your daily commute to and fro work takes two hours, investigate if working from home is an option. If a face-to-face meeting out of the office is required with a client or key stakeholder, use video technology to cut down travel time. If you need to attend meetings in overseas offices, use video conferencing solutions to reduce the amount of time spent travelling and being away from the family.