3 Tips to Achieve Balance Between Work and Family
Work can seem all-consuming at times, especially during busy seasons. Sometimes you are stuck at the office for longer than regular hours. Other times you can’t seem to escape the ever-growing list of things to do or emails to open. If you really enjoy your job, you may not mind the extra work or decreased downtime. However, most of us work to be able to provide for our families and ultimately desire an excellent work-life balance. We don’t want to miss out on our children’s events or date night with our significant other. We also don’t want only to give our family a fraction of our attention when we are with them. These three simple tips can help you balance work and family.
- Use Vacation Days
Have you ever let vacation days go to waste? Do you have an excessive amount of time off accrued because you never miss a day of work? If so, read the following sentence until it sinks in. Use your vacation days. You earn them so that you can use them, so make the most of this benefit. Take a day off to stay home with your significant other and bond. Miss a day to do something silly with your kids. Working too much can lead to employee burnout, dissatisfaction and increased stress levels. A good work-life balance enhances employee experience. If you have time to use, take a day off, silence your phone and enjoy the peace with your family. You’ll be glad you did!
- Unplug
All too often, we may find ourselves worrying about work long after we have left our workplace. A pressing matter, pending deal or any number of other issues can leave you stressed when you are at home. Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the workday, so we catch up on work emails or other tasks at home. This can run you down and leave you feeling burnt out.
Establish a better balance by unplugging when you are at home. Be present with your family in body and mind. Pay attention to your loved ones instead of trying to get more work done. You cannot get time back, so be sure you are present when you are home with your family. You might want to consider making a phone space on your counter where phones go during family time. This can discourage you from feeling tempted to look at any work stuff.
3. Be Present
When you are with your family, focus on living in the moment with them and cherishing the time you have. If you need to meditate or relax in some other way in order to let go of your work thoughts and ground yourself before spending time with your family, then do it. Breathe in the opportunity to hang out with your loved ones. Breathe out the deadlines, projects, coworker drama and all of the other workplace stressors. Adjusting your mindset can be a significant step in balancing your work and the time you’re with your family. You can also give yourself a set period of work worry time before forcing yourself to forget about it until tomorrow, as best you can.
If you are distracted, you may realize that you do not feel like you have a good work-life balance, even when you are with your family, because you are always thinking about work. Practice stepping away and distancing yourself from work thoughts as you leave the office. This is not always practical, but it can be most of the time and for most professions. You will need to practice this approach, as it will likely not come naturally to shift your mindset. Keep working on it anyways!
Working is a necessary part of most of our lives. We work to provide for ourselves and our families. At times, this work can be stressful and overwhelming. This distraction makes it hard to leave work at work. Achieving a balance between work and family can help decrease your stress and improve your happiness. Practice unplugging and being present as frequently as you can manage, and you will notice the benefits almost immediately.
