How to Effortlessly Juggle Work and Home Life as a Busy Professional
Merry Christmas everyone! Today we have a guest post by George Mears of Brain Wellness. Enjoy reading and happy holidays!
Burnout is a common problem faced by busy working professionals, especially if they shoulder major responsibilities in their personal lives as well. This is why relaxation is a vital part of any fulfilling and enjoyable life. But sometimes, taking a break from it all just isn’t realistic.
Believe it or not, you don’t have to sacrifice your success at work or time with family to reduce stress and practice self-care. Use the following tips to avoid spreading yourself thin as you jump between your work responsibilities and your personal life at home.
Delegate Anything You Can
One way to give yourself a little more breathing room at work is to delegate those tasks that can be done by someone else. This can be harder than it sounds. If you’re used to doing everything on your own, Inc recommends starting by delegating your smallest tasks and working your way up to handing off bigger projects to employees or coworkers.
You can also delegate work in your personal life. For example, keeping a home clean can take a lot of time out of the day, especially if you have pets or young children. Consider hiring a maid service to take care of your regular cleaning projects or to give your home a deep clean every month or so.
Make Your Fitness Routine Fun
Many of us have trouble maintaining an exercise regimen, but one of the keys to staying motivated is to find an activity that you enjoy. So instead of hitting the gym, look to activities like hiking, team sports, and yoga.
Another way to make activity more enjoyable (and keep you motivated) is to invest in a fitness tracking device. Smartwatches and fitness trackers can reveal how far you travel, steps you take, your heart rate, and many other metrics.
A model like the Apple Watch Series 4 even has safety features that can detect falls and give you a notification if your heart rate is too high. While the Fitbit Charge 3 has multiple workout modes and can monitor your breathing.
Plan and Prioritize
Prioritizing your work and life poorly can leave you feeling overwhelmed and unfulfilled. However, it can be very hard to prioritize work if you feel like everything on your to-do list is of equal importance. When you take the time to plan and organize your day, you'll find that certain tasks don't need to be done right away.
Focus on the activities that are part of your job description. Sometimes you’ll have to make sacrifices. That said, it’s important to prioritize the tasks that will make you feel the most fulfilled, so try not to put your work ahead of your family, relationships, or health.
Learn to Say No
If you’re going to delegate work and prioritize certain tasks over others, you will have to learn to say no. Taking on everything and anything that people ask of you will fast-track you to burnout. RescueTime recommends saying no to unnecessary meetings by referring your boss and co-workers to your calendar to prove that you simply don’t have the time for it.
Carve Out Just 10 Minutes for Yourself
Spending a few minutes alone every day can help keep your mind resilient and energized, so you can better handle the demands of your work and home life.
Even if all you have is 10 minutes, take this time to do something relaxing. Try meditating or going on a walk to distract yourself from whatever you were doing, so you can come back with a fresh mind. Put your phone on silent and try not to think about your work or family stressors during this time.
Get More Sleep
Sleep is vital to health and well being and will give you the mental stamina you need to make it through those busy days.
Lack of sleep reduces blood flow to the brain which can impair your problem-solving skills and interfere with your ability to make good decisions. Make sleep a priority in your life. If you suffer from sleeplessness, try adopting a relaxing bedtime routine to separate your active life from your restorative time in bed.
Shut down your devices, soak in the tub (you can find relaxing bath salts on Amazon for $13.49), and avoid the temptation to check your emails just one more time.
Managing a busy life is hard, but it certainly isn’t impossible. You really can enjoy success at work and home by staying organized and prioritizing tasks that will provide a sense of fulfillment. If you feel the threat of career burnout in your future, take action now to relieve stress and carve out a little more time in your life for the things that matter most.
