Finding balance may seem like an impossible chore, but it really isn’t. When you work a lot and have a personal life to keep running too, the key is to listen to yourself and use past experiences to help you decide how to handle present situations.
Your attitude about change is one of the crucial things to determine. Many people have an unhealthy work-life balance, with too much emphasis on their family or on their career to the detriment of the other, but they don’t seem willing to change. This could be because they don’t know how, or perhaps they simply don’t like change. It’s natural to resist change a little, but change can be a good thing, too. If your work-life balance is right now skewed, properly changing it can make you and your family much happier, for a start.
So, when do you know that something has to change? If you have been involved in a number of arguments with friends or family members about the amount of work you do, you probably need to focus less on work and see what you can do to improve or increase the time you spend with your loved ones. On the other hand, if your boss or coworkers complain that you’re never around, you might need to look at increasing your time at work or making your contributions more visible.
You can begin to change your work-life balance by assessing past experiences and seeing which of the above scenarios happens more often. If you frequently fight about spending too much time at work, you will already know that you need to work less, and vice versa. If it’s less obvious, examine your own feelings about work and your personal life. Do you feel like you’ve been spending too much time at work and you miss your family? Have you felt guilty about not doing enough work?
If you feel satisfied with the amounts of time you spend doing work and personal things and others agree, you might have a healthy balance. If not, you can change things a little.
Efficient time management will help you here. Get a clear idea of what is expected of you from both your family and your boss, and ensure you are meeting expectations in both areas of your life. If you feel like you’re working too much, see if you can negotiate reduced work hours for a trial period of a few weeks. In exchange, your boss is allowed to call off the trial at any time if he or she feels that your productivity is being hindered. Then, do your best to increase your productivity for the trial period. If you feel like you’re not working enough, make a list of what is expected of you and make sure you are doing it all. Work efficiently so you can save time and still meet your obligations to your employer.
People usually don’t die wishing they had worked more, but they generally wish they had attained a better work-life balance during their career. Take action now and you can have a happier life, both at work and at home!
Tags: Change work-life balance