Work/Life Balance – Why it’s just so important?  

Spreading your daily energy allocation, motivation, time and willpower evenly over work activities and leisure time can be quite a challenge for ambitious individuals. All the more challenging at a time when many people work from home and have non-stop access to work thanks to a laptop or mobile. They can work from almost anywhere, and instead of the classic eight hours, they spend twelve hours quietly working away. For example, they can be driven by their own workaholism, visions of career growth, money earned, or a demanding boss who requires results and more work overall. Despite all the overtime, the sleepless nights and the constant thinking about work, you may have forgotten about your personal life. It deserves your care and attention, too.  

What does work/life balance mean? 

Work/life balance can mean something different to everyone.  

• For some, it can mean that they have a great handle on all their work responsibilities while having enough time for all their hobbies, family and friends. 
• For others, it is enough to fit in sporting activities and have a good meal and sleep after work. 
• Or others achieved satisfaction when they stopped dealing with work commitments while at home with their family. 
• And others are happy to finally have free weekends because it makes them a lot more productive during the working week.   

Work out WHY work life balance is important to you. 

Research shows us that so much of human behaviour and motivation comes from why we want to do something. Therefore, you must reflect on why you want more balance and why it is important to you. This will give you the motivation you need to improve your work life balance and keep you on track towards achieving it.   

Consider your priorities 

You may well have a to-do list as long as your arm but we can guarantee that not all of those things are urgent or even important for you to complete right now. These tasks that can wait are distracting you from your real priorities of self-care, spending time with family and friends and ultimately they are distracting you from your goals in life. Spend some time considering your real priorities and ensure you are making time for them.   

Set clear boundaries

 It is not only essential to set clear boundaries but, once set, you must actually stick to them! If work emails are distracting you at the dinner table, put your phone on do not disturb. Or better yet – put it in a drawer when you get home and don’t look at it until you go back to work. We must learn to stick to our boundaries and be comfortable saying ‘no’ when necessary.  

Manage your energy to see work life balance improvement 

You may find that you perform certain tasks better at certain times of the day. For example, you may find tasks that require a lot of concentration are better carried out in the morning when your brain is fresh! Knowing your energy peaks and troughs will help you to balance your day better.   

Plan your day for both work and life 

Planning your days, weeks and months is key to work life balance. Without knowing what you need to get done and when, you will just be reacting to what the day throws at you. Instead, you must be intentional with your time in order to achieve that illusive balance! A good book to read on this is subject is called – Eat That Frog!  

Remove distractions that derail your work life balance 

Distractions can derail your day and your work life balance! Work will take much longer to complete if you are constantly distracted meaning that it will bleed into your leisure time. Vice versa is also true. For example, if you get lost scrolling on your phone it may make you late for work! Now is the time to lose those distractions to see that work life balance improvement.   

Take frequent breaks 

Taking breaks is another thing that gets pushed aside when we are struggling with our work life balance. At the very least, you must take some time out to eat lunch and reenergise yourself for the afternoon. Taking time away from screens and having a stretch every now and again will also be hugely beneficial. Make sure you get your daily steps in – fresh air is so good for you and your mind.   

Do things you love everyday 

You need to feed your soul every now and again. When you are planning your day, add at least one 10 minute activity that lights you up. It could be as simple as a bubble bath when you get home or reading a chapter of your book. Whatever it is that you love to do, make time for it in your day so that you don’t feel like it is Groundhog Day   

Go on holiday! 

Much like taking a break, we need to take longer periods of time off to rest and recharge. This is the ultimate way to improve work life balance! Not only will it help you to feel more balanced but it will help you to be more productive too. It will help all aspects of your daily life.  

If Four Corners Hospitality Group can help with your Work/Life Balance – please be in touch with Tim or Kym Today!