How to Maintain a Work-Life Balance

"You can't do a good job, if your job is all you do"

Anonymous

Mental health is a growing research subject nowadays because more and more people are thinking about how to maintain a better balance between work and life. According to Stewart D. Friedman, the author of Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life, “The idea that ‘work’ competes with ‘life’ ignores the more nuanced reality of our humanity--the interaction of four domains: work, home, community, and the private-self. The goal is to create harmony among them instead of them thinking only in terms of trade-offs.”

Mentalhealthamerica.net recently published an article talking about areas you can improve on or participate in to maintain that healthy balance of work and personal life. Some of the areas that were discussed include:

1) To be efficient with your time at work. “Start by dividing your work into smaller tasks.” Instead of jumping from task to task, get the first one done, move on and complete everything else.

2) To take five. “Taking a break at work isn’t only acceptable, it’s often encouraged by many employers. Small breaks at work will help clear your head.”

3) To give yourself a break. “No one’s perfect! Allow yourself to be human.”

A few things they suggested to implement while at home include:

1) Unplugging. “The same technology that makes it so easy for workers to do their jobs flexibly can also burn us out if we use them 24/7.”

2) Dividing and conquering. “Make sure responsibilities at home are evenly distributed and clearly outlined.”

3) Treating your body right. “Being in good shape physically increases your tolerance to stress and reduces sick days. Eat right, exercise and get adequate rest.”

An article on themuse.com suggests that taking time for you is crucial, “Block out “me time” in the early evening. Even if I know that I’m going to get back online later and work, I realized that I’m a lot more likely to go to the gym, see friends or cook myself a real dinner if I give myself 7-9PM off to do those things before getting back online.”