We are living in a fast-paced world today. You have to do a great deal of tasks within a short time. You try not leaving any commitment unfulfilled or any obligation unmet. But it is hard to carry on in this way for long. You tend to loose the necessary balance or control of your life. And you know that. Because in the end you are a human not a robot. How to keep a sound balance between work and play then? Well, there are certain highly effective techniques for this. If implemented properly, they can do wonder. Let’s explore them one by one.
1. KNOW YOUR LIMITS.
We avoid saying NO. It’s really hard for us to accept that we can not do all the things. Because it hurts our ego. As a result we overwork without even noticing that it is encroaching into our personal lives now. We keep worrying about those extra obligations and other tasks even while eating dinner.This overdoing attitude makes things messy. You need to have a balance here if you want to enjoy both aspects of your life. And to your surprise it’s not that difficult. Just follow these two tips and hurrah! You are in control now.
· Try to avoid as much as possible getting on extra obligations and commitments. Just say NO here.
Keep your work-related things aside when you are out of your workplace (at home with family or on outing with friends). Value the demands of both types of environments.
2. MAINTAIN A DISCIPLINE.
Kindly do not knit your brows. I do not intend to deliver you any motivational type of stuff. But just see around yourself for a moment and you will find that most of the successful persons stick hard to a fixed discipline. Because they have acknowledged it’s importance. You have to do the same in order to both enjoy and be productive in your work-life. Follow these tips.
· Be an early bird. That means go to sleep early in night to wake up early in the morning. It will keep sound your body natural clock and allow you to be more productive.
· Schedule time for each task but also to include time for yourself and your family. Follow it religiously to avoid procrastination or overdoing.
3. WIND DOWN NOW.
Work is important but your health is all-important. Work stress is an increasing concern for most industries. It negatively affects employee’s productivity. So it’s necessary to take breaks in your work, relax and entertain yourself. This is what winding down means. You can avail of these breaks in following ways.
· Play your favorite sport, drink coffee or listen to your favorite music. Or do anything that you enjoy.
· If possible take vacations and spend it with your family or friends while keeping all the business-related worries aside. It will revive your mental and physical energy and enhance your productivity.
PRIORITIZE YOUR TASKS.
Sometimes we are so much busy doing things that we are unable to determine our direction. In order words we keep juggling with commitments without a clear sense of “ what should be done at first”. Because we are simply not prioritizing our time. And to be honest it is a nasty hurdle in having a work-life balance. If you are suffering with the same problem, the following tips may help you.
· Always make a to do list. keep the most important tasks at the beginning and vice versa.
· Follow this list religiously to have a sound work-life balance and avoid clutter.
TIME MANAGEMENT.
It is rightly said that time is the greatest commodity. And one can not agree more. This is why you find so many literature and materials on the skills of time management. But realizing the importance of time and it’s management is not enough, the real thing is to learn and apply it. Now there is no one size fits all solution. But some tips can surely be helpful.
· Set your goals correctly.
By this, I mean set only those goals which are achievable, measurable and relevant. Avoid investing time on the unnecessary ones.
Organize Yourself
There are two options. Either leading a chaotic or organized life. Wiseman prefer organization. Schedule time limit for each important task. Furthermore, prioritize them on the basis of importance or urgency and follow this routine to your best.
Bottom Lines
Work is important. No doubt in that. But your health, family and friends are no less necessary. They both need proper time and concentration. It’s unwise to play on the both ends of a scale. A work-life balance is essential to lead a happy life. We hope the above guide proves to be useful in that regard.
