Summer is more than just a great time to have fun. It’s also a great time to reflect on your career, specifically your work-life balance and what you can do to enhance it.
It’s a well-documented fact that Americans work long and hard—in most cases, longer and harder than they want to. In fact, according to a recent survey by Good Technology (
//www1.good.com/news/press-releases/current-press-releases/161009045.html), 80% of Americans spend seven extra hours per week—or 30 extra hours each month—on work-related issues.
Does that describe you? If so, there are plenty of things you can do in your quest for a healthier work-life balance. Below are five such tips:
1. Prioritize and re-prioritize—It’s not enough to just write down the list of things that are important to you. The next step is to figure out what’s most important to you and arrange subsequent items in order of importance. This shows where you should be spending your time.
2. Ask for help—This may seem counter-intuitive, especially for type-A personalities, but enlisting the help and advice of a family member or friend could be just what you need. Perhaps it’s your spouse, your neighbor, or even a trusted colleague. Many others have struggled with this issue and could provide welcome insight.
3. Meet with your manager—This might also seem counter-intuitive, but it is absolutely in your manager’s best interests for you to be at “the top of your game,” so to speak. One of the keys to doing that is to improve your work-life balance, which will ultimately increase your productivity, not diminish it.
4. Plan your fun—Fun is like anything else: if you don’t plan for it, you increase the chances that it won’t actually happen. Work will fill the void instead. Don’t let that happen. Decide what you want to do and then plan to do it.
5. Find a new job—If meeting with your immediate supervisor or manager does not help you to achieve a better work-life balance, then you might want to consider changing jobs. Although loyalty is admirable, remaining in a situation that is potentially harmful is counter-productive.
Striking the proper balance is a continuous process, but the five tips listed above can start you on the path to achieving your long-term goals.