I’m probably not the first person to tell you that a healthy work-life balance is important and I definitely won’t be the last. I know what it’s like, working from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep, checking and replying to emails constantly and not being able to switch off even when you’re with friends. As hard working, ambitious women our careers come first. And whilst there’s nothing wrong with that, for many of us, our work life and our home life have to blend into one and this can become a problem when you’re not maintaining any sort of work life balance.
What even is work life balance though?
Work-life balance is recognizing the value in taking a step back from your work sometimes. It’s about shutting down the work computer, turning off the notifications, and spending time focusing on your personal life. It’s important—necessary, really— but it’s not always easy.
When I first started my business I really struggled to balance everything. When I was working I felt guilty for not spending time with my family and friends but when I was spending time with people I felt guilty for not working! It wasn’t until I learned to maximize my time that I stopped feeling this way.
The benefits of a good work-life balance are huge. Not only will you have more time to spend doing the things that you love, but you’ll also be able to increase your productivity at work and smash your career goals, without burning out. It’s a win-win.
So, do you want to know how you can achieve this so-called “balance” between your hectic work schedule and that all-important me-time! ? Then keep reading for my guide to finding the balance in your life and business.
Table of Contents
1. Work Smarter Not Harder.
We’ve all heard this phrase a hundred times before, but what does it actually mean? Well, it’s simple you need to make sure you’re planning your work day to maximize your productivity. When I first started my business, I felt overwhelmed ALL THE TIME and I felt like I was never getting enough done. I was working hard but not smart. Here are a few things I started implementing in my business to change that!
Time Blocking
Successful people manage their time proactively, not reactively. Instead of spending the day reacting to things as they come up, they plan their days around their goals. When I first started working from home I felt like there wasn’t enough time in the day. I was jumping from one task to the next never actually focusing or getting things done. Time blocking was something that helped me a TON!
Time blocking helps you to be more productive and stay focused on what you’re working on in the moment. It’s an amazing tool if you work from home.
The top thing that stops business owners, bloggers, etc. from getting stuff done is poor time management. We wind up trying to do too much instead of prioritizing and focusing on the most important tasks! In order to do less but get more done, you need to block out your time for the important things. This is the difference between working smart and working hard.
Simplify Your Life
Your work life can be made harder by the presence of multiple apps, organizers and e-mail accounts that all add up and make your life difficult. Try to simplify the tools you use to declutter your mind and free up some time to focus on more important tasks. Not only does this declutter your work time but it can shorten your to-do list which can make your work day feel less overwhelming and more manageable!
Turn Off Unnecessary Notification
This is key for staying on track with your time blocking! We’ve all been there, you’re working on an important task and you get an email notification and then all of a sudden you’ve spent an hour sorting through old emails. Then you get an instagram notification and you spend some time saving fun reels. Then you get a Pinterest notification and you end up spending time saving business pins to read later. Now all of a sudden it’s been 3 hours and you have to hop on business calls or pick up the kids or cook dinner and you’re feeling stressed because even though you spent all day working you never got that first important task done.
2. Organize Your Personal Life Like You Would Your Work Life
Make sure you not only have a well-organized work life but a well organized personal life too. Just like your meetings and to-do lists are organized and scheduled, your downtime should be too! If you want to have a life outside of your work, you need to have a plan for it to make sure it happens.
Look at your week in advance, put in your work appointments and to-dos and see where you have any extra time. Using your schedule, block out specific time in the evenings or weekends for housework, grocery shopping and other tasks. Also make sure that you’re setting aside just as much time to spend with family and friends, to disconnect, and be present as you’re setting aside for work. Take the initiative and organize plans with friends and loved ones where you can. If you make these plans ahead of time and schedule it for a time you KNOW will work for you, you’ll be much more likely to actually make it happen! This is key for creating a healthy balance.
Be intentional with your time – this goes for both work and personal life. Try your best to stay organized. Using a planner is great for scheduling activities into your life! My favorite is The Day Designer. If you have a calendar with all your meetings, appointments, and to do lists in one place it will be much easier to find time to fit in personal/social events.
If having a highly organized schedule outside of work sounds like your own personal version of hell, why not try and create a looser routine, for example, set every Tuesday as date night or happy hour with the girls! It’s important to have some sort of routine in your life even if it’s a loose routine, so you can start to develop good habits such as regularly working out or meal prepping!
3. Ask For Help
Too often we’re expected or we expect ourselves to be super woman. We believe that we have to do it all and that to be happy we need to have the perfect career, perfect family, perfectly clean and organized home, a social life, etc. The thing is, that’s not always possible, at least not all on your own.
Just like co-workers, you’ll need a team of friends and family who can help you and check in with you to make sure you aren’t burning yourself out. Maybe someone who can take the kids once a week to give you more time to focus on a big project or to hit the gym or maybe just someone to listen to you vent when you need it!
Decide what you need to make more time for or what you might need help with! Don’t try to be wonder woman, you don’t have to do this all on your own. Let others know what you’re trying to make more time for, that way they can help you reach your goals!
Create Balance at Home.
Many times, it seems you get done with work and then have a second job waiting for you at home between cooking, cleaning, and taking care of your kids or pets. Or, if you’re working from home you could be busy cleaning the house all day as you’re working in which case you’re not totally focused on your tasks, and they’re probably taking much longer than they need to.
Households don’t just rely on one person, they work together! Your home life should be just as organized as your work life and in order for that to happen you have to learn to delegate! You can’t do everything on your own.
4. Create Boundaries.
It is useful to set boundaries with your work, particularly if you work from home and have access to your work laptop and phone at all hours. A few ways you can set boundaries in your work life are:
Take Time Off
If you constantly feel like you’re being pulled in multiple directions after work, set a time to turn off all your work screens and notifications and focus on your personal life every day. This can be as simple as putting your phone on ‘do not disturb’ after a certain time every day. And if you’re with friends or family, make a habit of absolutely not checking your emails or messages regarding work and be firm with yourself on your boundaries.
This might feel strange or even stressful at first, but it’s the first step in helping you achieve a better work-life balance and decreasing the chance of you burning out!
Only Work From a Workspace
As well as setting clear boundaries with work time, if you work from home make sure you are clear about only working from your workstation (even if that is just your kitchen table!) to ensure your brain doesn’t start to associate your whole home with work.
If you work from home full time, it is also worth investing a little bit to create an office space. It doesn’t have to be anything flashy, but a dedicated corner of your house to work from can make all the difference to how you separate your work from your life.
Say No!
If you’ve already got enough on your plate, and you really can’t take on any more work, its time to learn to say no! It can be hard to say no, especially if you’re a people pleaser like me. I used to really struggle with this, but I realized I’m no help to anyone else if i’m burnt out and not able to give these new projects my 100% effort. It’s great to challenge yourself and to always be pushing yourself to be better, but I’ve learned over time that sometimes saying “no” is ok too. It may be hard to start but once you’ve learnt the value of saying ‘no’. it gets easier – I promise!
5. Value Your Free Time
Your time is precious, and you shouldn’t forget that. Whether you’re working, spending time with family, or taking a little me time, you should always make the most of the time that you have.
Cut Down Your Screen Time
Focus on activities you enjoy during your downtime instead of just sitting on your phone scrolling.
We’ve all been there, you’re mindlessly scrolling Instagram for what feels like just a few minutes, and suddenly an hour has passed. How did that happen?! I’m definitely guilty of wasting time just because I let bad habits get in the way of my productivity! Set yourself limits on your screen time and stick to them! Eliminating time wasters is a great first step to begin to feel more balanced. Plus, spending hours on Insta just gives you feelings of FOMO – get out there and do things yourself!
Prioritize Me Time
Taking time to care for yourself isn’t selfish, it’s essential! And If you’re like me, this is one of the first things to go when you get stressed or busy. I get it, between work, your relationship, your social life, kids and family, finding time for self care can seem impossible. One thing that’s helped me is physically writing down(or adding it to my calendar)an appointment with myself, that can’t be canceled. Schedule an hour every single day to do something for YOU. If it’s written down and scheduled in, you’re so much more likely to actually make it happen!
Say No (Again!)
Just like in your professional life, you’re allowed to say no to plans in your personal life! It doesn’t make you a bad mom if you say no to working the bake sale at your kids school or a bad friend if you say no to a night at the club if you’d rather spend the night in. Make sure you’re spending your time off work doing thing you ACTUALLY enjoy! Spending time enjoying hobbies can help you feel like there’s more to you than just your career and encourages you to switch off from work even if it’s just for a few hours a week.
6. Know Your Worth.
The most important way to improve your work-life balance is to know your worth. It’s normal to worry that you’re not doing enough compared to everyone else. We base our self worth off of success not only in our career but also in our social life and family life and feel like if we’re not 100% successful in all these areas we’re a failure. The worst part is that we base our definition of success off of what we see from others.
But here’s the thing, your results don’t equal your worth and the comparison game will get you nowhere. You never know whats going on behind the scenes of someone else’s life so don’t base your worth off of what anyone else is doing or what you THINK you should be doing! Remember, perfection is overrated!
I hope this guide has been helpful for you. Try out these steps and see how you can improve your work-life balance. Not sure how to balance your business and your relationship? Check out my top tips here!
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