You can have it all. You just can’t have it all at once.
~Oprah Winfrey
Cutbacks in organizations, across numerous industries, has meant the remaining employees are left to take on more and more responsibilities. For this reason, it’s not surprising so many people are having an increasingly difficult time juggling their careers and their personal lives. Following are 5 tips to help you improve your work-life balance.
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Schedule time for your personal life. With your busy work schedule, you likely have many of your priorities planned out for the day. You know that if you don’t, things may not get completed. The same holds true for your personal life. Be sure to put YOU on your schedule! Pencil in time with your family or friends or activities you enjoy doing.
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Cut out the time wasters. Your workplace is filled with potential time wasters. Whether it’s chatty colleagues who love to shoot the breeze during business hours or social media websites, like Facebook and Twitter, hours of your precious time can be wasted every day. If you spend more than five minutes on something non-work related, it’s time to pull the plug and get back on task. You’ll get more accomplished during the work day and be able to regain the personal time your work has been eating into.
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Steal some time away in the morning. Getting up a half-hour to an hour early likely won’t negatively affect your sleep at night, but it can make a huge difference in your work-life balance. Use that extra time to do something for yourself or with your family. Having a leisurely breakfast with the spouse and kids, each morning, can give you a chance to catch up on how things are going in their lives. Take that time to exercise or meditate and start your day off on the right foot!
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Take it slow. Although you may be eager to swing the pendulum more toward “Life” than “Work,” don’t add too many personal commitments to your schedule at first. When you swing the pendulum too quickly, it’s likely to swing right back, but even further, into the Work side of the equation.
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Don’t be afraid to delegate. Sometimes you simply will have too much on your plate. Remember, you’re only human, not Superman. Burning the candle at both ends is going to negatively affect your productivity eventually. It’s OK to delegate tasks to others, when you feel like you have too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Asking for help is sometimes the best thing you can do for your work-life balance.
About Colleen Seward Ryan, Leadership Expert
CREDENTIALS: Colleen Seward Ryan is an international workplace and employee management expert, award-winning corporate trainer, and conference keynote speaker. A media veteran, she has appeared on numerous radio shows around the country and has written more than 40 popular articles on diverse workplace issues. Colleen has delivered more than 1,100 entertaining programs in 48 states and five countries. She is the author of 10 published audio programs and two books including SECRETS YOUR BOSS ISN’T TELLING YOU.
Colleen Seward Ryan is available for keynotes, breakout sessions, and seminars by calling (623)340-7690.
