What is work life balance – and how to achieve it!
A major concern for many hard-working business owners, and busy professionals is how to achieve that all important work/life balance. Too much time spent checking your emails, your laptop and answering phone calls/text messages can be damaging to your relationships and family life, not to mention your health.
A recent study from the ONS (Office Of National Statistics) found that 48% of adults felt they were struggling with a poor work-life balance.
So how can we maintain a healthy balance and create boundaries between our work lives and our personal lives?
Here are some things that I try and enforce that might help you too:
take Breaks
We all know how important it is not to overdo the screen time. For our eyes, our brain, our bodies… It’s so important to take breaks from what you are doing and just have a move around. I find that this helps with my motivation and concentration too, sometimes a little break from the computer is all I need to feel re-energised about the task in hand! It can reduce stress, improve concentration and make your work feel more enjoyable! Scientists recommend taking a break every 90 minutes, for 15 minutes to allow your brain to consolidate and retain learning.
Learn to say NO!
I am VERY guilty of not actioning this, I have to admit. I never want to miss out on a social engagement, I never want the children to miss out on doing something nice so I tend to say YES more than perhaps I should in my social calendar and then I wonder how on earth I’m going to fit it all in. Although I do recognise that saying no to something that may be less of a priority and yes to something that is more important to me is vital to prevent burnout. I am learning, slowly, to put myself, my family, and my business first.
Communicate Your Boundaries
Everyone is human, and everyone has boundaries. You can’t be expected to answer messages about work when it is in your private time. If you set and communicate your working hours to your customers, you can prevent any expectation of responses outside of those set hours. One way to achieve this is by using your ‘out of hours’ response on your email to let people know that you are not working, and when you will be back.
Make space for family time
I recommend blocking out time that is entirely devoted to your family / loved ones at least twice a week, whether that be reading your kids a bed time story, taking them to football or watching a dance show, going out for dinner or simply watching a movie together, I think it’s so important to put down the phones and laptop and simply be present sometimes. Most of the time – enquiries and work can wait – we are just conditioned into thinking about our businesses all the time, and I admit, it does take a lot to switch off – it’s not an easy thing to do but the rewards are SO worth it.
ask for help
As business owners we often think that we have to do everything ourselves. I speak to so many people who are constantly ‘spinning plates’ and wondering which one is going to drop – and just praying it isn’t an important one. If you find that your work/life balance is suffering, and you’re about to start dropping plates then maybe it’s time to outsource some work. Virtual assistants help small business owners, we help them to get their admin in order, their social media, even their calendars. Keep forgetting to book that dentist appointment? – send your virtual assistant a voice note and she’ll do it for you. We work with them, in order for them to be able spend more time in other areas of their life, creating a better work/life balance.
