“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them — work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls — family, health, friends, and spirit — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.” -Brian Dyson, former vice chairman and COO of Coca-Cola.
To help entrepreneurs, managers, and employees have a better and peaceful life, here are 5 ways to improve and maintain work-life balance.
Make a schedule
Plan and schedule your day and try to stick to the schedule. Give priority to things that matter to you the most like your family, friends and other important relationships in your life. You can’t have everything you want, but you can have the things that really matter to you. Love and respect those who are close to you. Give them your time and show them that they are an important part of your life. This will give you a sense of satisfaction and determination to work hard and work really well in the long run. Failure of your company is not a failure in life. Failure of your close relationships is.
Learn to say ‘No’
It is absolutely alright to say no at times. Some of us have a problem saying “no,” but trying to please everyone would do no good to you. While it might seem difficult at first, you will soon feel quite comfortable once you notice the positive changes it brings in your work and life. Don’t be scared to say no to those last minutes meetings, projects or calls. As mentioned before plan things out and stick to it. This way you will have a much peaceful and happy life.
Switch off your phone, laptop, and all such devices when it’s family/friend’s time
Spend some quality time with your family/friends maybe in the evening or during dinner and keep the devices like laptop, phone etc switched off during that time. When you are away from work, enjoying time with your family, try to completely unplug from work. It is not possible everytime but whenever you get an opportunity make the full use of it. The things that bring us the most joy are times spent with our families and friends. Even if you get a little time with your close ones, don’t crib but make the most out of it. As they always say the quality is more important than quantity.
Take care of yourself
This is certainly the most important one. In this rat race, do not forget yourself. Try and take care of yourself as much as you can. You need to keep an eye on your physical and mental health. When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, your performance suffers. Your life suffers. Your work suffers. You suffer. Create a morning and bedtime routine, work out, walk, exercise, eat and drink plenty of water. You need a healthy body for a healthy mind.
Talk with your manager if things are really bothering you
If you are really overburdened with work and your personal life is suffering because of it, discuss it out with your manager. Talk about ways how to sort and balance things out so that your life and work both remains smooth. Talk about the deadlines and duration of projects if that is bothering you. Don’t be afraid to talk and sort things out, this way you will not only benefit yourself but the company would also be profited in several ways.
“I believe a balanced life is essential, and I try to make sure that all of our employees know that and live that way. I also think that employees these days expect less of a separation of work and personal life.” -Marc Benioff, chairman, and CEO of Salesforce
There will be times in life when you have to pace up but do not forget to create times in your life where you slow down, sit, relax and look behind.
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