28.4.15
Trends and Times Have Changed
You cannot be a slave to work, if you want a meaningful work-life balance. From the days when
work was considered to be all-important to the days of work-life balance gaining importance, approaches to how to manage one’s work have changed. Statistics show that employees are rating a healthy work-life balance as contributing significantly to a successful career and are increasingly turning down jobs which do not provide this. Companies are also trying to ensure that they contribute in this direction.
Work-life balance is so necessary to our life, that it is only natural that we tend to overlook it. In the daily race to get to work, earn our daily bread, entertain, educate, we eat, talk, spend money, rush about here and there in the name of urgency but what is getting left out is the balance between work and life. The results are clear cut- increased incidences of stress, burn out, apathy, meaninglessness, lack of motivation and drive; specially seen in students.
It is thus very important that we learn how to manage our work life balance. And in these technologically fast moving times, we ought not to get stressed on how to achieve that. There are fantastic hacks which are created and shared, which will help us on how to achieve the maximum with the minimum cost to ourselves. Let us take a look at some of these trending and super-effective hacks that can change your life!
These hacks, are easy to follow and not expensive. So, have a go at them.
Use Mobile Apps
Want to achieve productivity as well as better life-work balance? You can save yourself the stress of being late, of being anxious, of rushing for work, which in turn affects the quality of your work. You can take the help of apps on your phone to do jobs like sending messages, responses when you are away and so on. This reduces the number of calls you have to make and the time you spend talking. Office apps can help you some important work on the phone, without having to wait till home to do
the urgent tasks. There are apps which can be used to time manage your activities as well as do scheduling your daily tasks as well as those of your subordinates. In addition, banking, shopping paying bills all can be carried out on the phone; saves time and helps you do things quickly and efficiently.
Manage Your Time Better!
Time is precious and so is our health. If we try to do too many things at a time, we easily end up being burnt out. Hence, the time at work and home have to be managed. We have to ensure that the work time is strictly for work and block out all distractions such as social media, taking calls, sending and replying to e-mails while we are at work, to improve our performance. There are software, which can be used to send you reminders and schedule non-disturbance times. Simple focusing on high priority tasks can leave you more productive and more relaxed.
Short and Sweet Breaks are the Way!
Working like an automaton, without any breaks, is not going to improve your productivity by any amount. Rather, the building up tiredness and exhaustion will drain you. So it is essential to take breaks at work, small periodic breaks to refresh your eyes and minds; even a small ten minute nap, may help bring that much needed freshness to one’s demeanor. This will certainly boost your work efforts. There are timers on the phone or for desktops which can be used to set break times and compulsory screen shut down to give rest for the eyes.
Set Short Term Goals
Instead of long-term goals, which may be more difficult to achieve and tend to get intimidating, set more short-term goals, which are more achievable. Say, goals for the next few months can be set, which is more achievable and more easy to monitor, which will contribute to the ultimate yearly goals. On a day-to-day basis, you can decide what your most important tasks of the day are and do accordingly. There are planning tools and goal management apps to help you with this.
Career Loving Moms and Dads Software Help
The life of a parent who is juggling career, life and kids can be quite a challenge to manage. Managing work-life productivity becomes essential. There are great productivity apps which can help making you manage your activities at work and home efficiently: use list apps, shopping apps, time management apps can certainly help lower the stress on your shoulders.
Sweat the Bad Stuff
A little exercise everyday could be all that stands between you and that relaxed work life. Sweating it out during the early hours of the day, before going to work, can give your body that much needed fitness work out, pump up your adrenaline, freshen your mind, clear it of negative thoughts and let the much needed fresh air enter the lungs. So remember, a little exercise a day, will keep those blues at bay. You can easily do that even at work. A quick jog on the stair case or a small walk around the office block can not only help recharge yourself but also get fresh oxygen into you!
De-Clutter and Recharge your Drive!
A messy and untidy environment may seem to be required for creativity but actually it can really mess up your work and life. You may end up wasting time sorting, arranging, sifting for misplaced and lost stuff. A neat and organised environment, both at work and at home, helps one to relax and work in a proper fashion. You save time fretting over misplaced things.. Your workspace should be organized enough to help you focus on the work, yet at the same time, cosy enough to allow you to be do your work freely and with minimum hassles. Decluttering in your personal life also helps to make things easier and thus reduce stress. Too cozy and you may end up taking long naps.
Fix a Rational Work Schedule
The easiest way to throw your work-life balance off is to have an imbalanced work schedule; very commonly done by taking on more assignments than you can chew. This could also mean agreeing to do tasks which you are not yet prepared enough to do as well as allowing work to cut into time outside of your workplace. Overwork and under sleep is not going to improve your productivity. In fact, it can lead to the opposite. So one great way to get the zing back into your life and work is to schedule your work and non-work tasks and give equal importance. Ensure that you get the rest and relaxation you really need at the correct time. Rationalize your schedule to a productive and efficient one by saying yes to only tasks and engagements, which can be performed.
Control that Gadget!
We are living in the digital era and we are surrounded by our gadgets and gizmos. We play, talk, chat, surf and do many other activities on them. Yes, gadgets such as our phones, ipads, and tablets help us with our work and life but the danger is that we are becoming so obsessed with them that we end up going to bed with them. This affects our sleep, our eyes and thus our life and work productivity. So what can be done? Take charge. Control your use of gadgets to what is required. Cut down on unnecessary phone-calling, surfing; be tough and delete those addictive games. You will see a huge difference in the way you approach your life and your work—for the better!
We are sure that if you use even a few of these great life hacks, your life will soon change track and you will be on the highway to a fulfilling and quality life. So, check them out, without any more delays.
Mallory Zoe is a
part-time blogger and a student counselor with http://www.sortmyassignment.
