Create Balance between Work and Home

For most of us, staying on top of our careers takes up a lot of our time. From sun up till sun down, we’re constantly writing emails, scheduling meetings, working on projects and everything in between. And it never ends – not even when we get back home.

Being a hard worker and making sure the job gets done is great. But neglecting the time you should be spending with your family or just yourself? Not so great. You know the phrase. “Too much of a good thing can be bad” – and this definitely applies to working too much. When you let your job consume your life, you leave very little time for yourself to recover and recharge after a hectic day at work. While this may not seem like too big of a deal for the first couple of weeks – never giving yourself a break will cause you to burn out easily and your work ethic will plunder as a result.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is key to living a happier and more productive lifestyle. When you’re happy to come home and rewind after a long day, you’ll feel more energized to handle everything going on at work the next day.

Read below for the best ways to create the perfect balance between work and home life:

Stay Active – Exercising and eating right nourishes your body and gives you more energy to stay focused and awake during long, dragging days at the office. Take it one step further! Spend time with your family and improve your health at the same time by taking nightly walks around the block with your spouse or playing tag with your kids before dinner.
Plan Family Bonding Activities – Make sure that after work hours, your only job is improving your relationship with your family and friends. Schedule family movie nights once a week and take turns picking out a movie. Or plan vacations once a year to establish traditions and bring your family and friends together.
Shut Devices Off – Most workaholics are addicted to their phones and laptops. Turn off your laptop, phone, and tablet during mealtimes or at family events like your kids’ baseball games and resist the urge to check emails or contact coworkers.
Keep a Personal Planner – Keep a separate calendar for your work and personal events to physically keep your work plans from interfering with your personal ones. Sure, you might have to double check your other calendar before you mark plans in one, but looking at your personal calendar no longer needs to be clouded by work events surrounding it.
Make Time for You – Work can’t be the only thing you enjoy putting energy into. It’s important to have personal interests and find things you’re passionate about outside of your career. What aspects of your personal life do you want to improve on? What places do you want to visit or events do you want to go to? For example, you could take up yoga or painting classes, go to a reunion concert for one of your old favorite bands, or start planning a hiking trip with your best bud. Make time to plan for yourself and you’ll have something to look forward to outside of your work life.

Nobody plans on letting their career overtake their personal life. It kind of happens before you even know it. With so many late nights at the office and last minute deadlines you need to meet, it can seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day to complete your job. While it’s definitely okay to prioritize your job when it’s necessary, it’s never healthy to overwork yourself and let your personal relationships suffer. When you maintain a balance between your work and personal life, you make yourself and your family happier and you’ll find yourself to be more motivated to do your job at the same time. Know when to turn off your work phone and when to take time for yourself with these helpful tips on balancing your work and personal life.