What is Work-Life Balance Really? And Is It Okay if the Two Start to Overlap?

Work-life balance is a healthy divide between your personal and professional lives. To enjoy a well-rounded existence, you need adequate time for work and play. In today’s digital era, it’s easier than ever for these aspects of your life to overlap, so you need to be cognizant of how your time is spent.

The 2015 Work-Life Imbalance Report — a survey of more than 2,000 adults, commissioned by Workfront — revealed how work is encroaching on the personal lives of professionals. Nearly two in five of those surveyed reported missing important life events because of work and more than half think technology has ruined the modern family dinner, because employers and clients expect responses to phone calls, texts, emails, etc. at all hours.

Three Tips to Achieve a Better Work-Life Balance

Define Your Priorities

Decide what’s most important to you in life, so you know where to focus your time. Whether you’re trying to place more attention on work or dial back a bit, deciding which aspects of your life are your top priorities allows you to plan your schedule accordingly. You can have it all — you just have to know how to manage your time.

Set Boundaries

It’s nearly impossible for your personal and professional lives not to intertwine to a degree, but know where to draw the line. For example, tell family and friends not to call you at work unless there’s an emergency and ask your colleagues to do the same during your off-hours. Unless you make your expectations clear, people won’t know when they’re stepping out of bounds.

Realize It’s Okay to Say No

As a people-pleaser, you hate to disappoint anyone, but you can’t do it all. There’s only so many hours in the day, so speak up when you don’t have time to do something requested of you. It’s much better to focus your efforts on things that mean the most to you, than spreading yourself too thin trying to be everything to everyone.

Need a little help achieving a solid work-life balance?

Take a major responsibility off your list by having ECS manage your contract workers. Contact us today to find out how we can lighten your workload.

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