Work is an important part of leading a financially stable life. Experts, however, caution that continuous exposure to work without a balance with other leisure activities can have negative effects on an individual. Workaholics suffer tremendous social dissociation and other psychological problems which may lead to the onset and progression of depression. When thinking about maintaining a healthy work-life balance, you should place an emphasis on creating a personal policy and standard by which to live. Here are some key tips on how to create a healthy work-life balance.
Start Gradually
If you don’t have a good balance between work obligations and personal life, experts advise starting small and building momentum as you create such a balance. One may start by creating some time-off from the busy work schedule, and later advancing to make it part of day-to-day operations. In case one is in denial on the importance of such a work-life balance, starting by creating the right mentality and accepting the need for the same is highly advisable.
Building a Social Support Framework
Sometimes, people may get discouraged from maintaining a perfect work-life balance due to the absence of a social support framework from friends. Having friends who share in the idea of creating time for social life helps reinforce the idea of leading a healthy and well-balanced life. Such close friends come in handy in helping ensure that one creates sufficient time for socialization.
Take Advantage of Important Moments
Work is a guaranteed constant in life. Important life, however, are rare to come by. Whenever one of such rare life moments such as opportunities to go abroad for a holiday comes, it is important to fully utilize them at the expense of workplace duties. Other opportunities such as cases of family illnesses and grief should also be prioritized to create a sense of belonging, pride, and association with one’s family.
Schedule Any Home-Based Work
Sometimes, it becomes inevitable that you need to take workplace duties home. In these cases, such duties should be appropriately planned for and scheduled to avoid eating into the otherwise social time. If necessary, home-based work should be appropriately scheduled so that it does not recur into one’s weekly or daily life.
Observing such practices helps establish and nurture a healthy work-life balance.
Originally published on JamesCrickmore.co.uk