6 Tips To Help You Achieve Work-Life Balance

by Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam
Your partner is upset with you because you no longer have time for your family. Your relationship has been characterized by unhappiness, quarrels, and stress. Your work has been so demanding lately, you’re on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. So what do you do? Throw in the towel? Or try to fix what has been broken?

We know the importance of striking a balance between life and work. So why do we sometimes get carried away with work that we find a little time for family and social relationships?

Your business can grow while your relationships thrive. It is possible to enjoy adequate participation in meaningful family and social activities without jeopardizing the quality of any of the two.

Even when you’re struggling to grow a young business, it is possible not to allow work interfere with your life. Here are six tips to help you achieve a work-life balance.

1. SCHEDULE AND PLAN

Scheduling is the process of determining when an action or activity should start or end.

Planning, on the other hand, is the process of making plans for something.

When you apply the scheduling and planning principles, you ultimately identify the goals or objectives to be achieved. You also formulate strategies to achieve them. Even with a new business, you can arrange, implement, direct, and monitor all steps in their proper sequence.

Having a solid plan and schedule allows you to narrow down your target and thereby avoiding unnecessary tasks especially when you can invest in an advanced management software. A good quality software will simplify, speed up and manage complex business processes while you focus on more creative projects. You can buy software solutions from reliable brands like Microsoft, Advance Systems Inc. BirdDogHR etc. develop cutting-edge solutions.

Quality management software you save time and energy for family engagements, as well as other social activities.

2. MAKE A RESOLUTION.

Even after drawing up a plan and a schedule, one is unlikely to find a balance between Work and Family, if there isn’t any conscious decision to act appropriately.

When you resolve not to let work interfere with your life, you’ll need to consciously strategize. That balance will not come automatically. This awareness will reduce frustrations that deteriorate family and social relationships.

For instance, you can resolve to put away all your work paraphernalia and be present when you’re with family and friends. Enjoy their company and allow them to enjoy yours. Give your spouse or other significant others the permission to hold you accountable.

Making a resolution to follow through is very important in achieving this objective.

3. CREATE OTHER INTERESTS.

Before you started working at that firm, you had hobbies and other interests. Before you started that business, you were a triathlon athlete, a football enthusiast, a night-time DJ or a chef.

But in order to enjoy life more fully, it makes sense to cultivate interests beyond just your business. Your work life doesn’t have to hinder these other interests. The purpose of starting a business (for many entrepreneurs) is so that they can experience more financial freedom and live a fuller life. Unfortunately, if you aren’t careful you might let your business get in the way of actual living.

Recent research reveals that many workers are eager to make changes so they can work more flexibly, even if it affects their pay. This is because many parents who are workers have come to appreciate that having quality time with their children and engaging in other interests are important.

4. DON’T BRING YOUR WORK HOME.

You obviously care about your loved ones. You don’t want your work to continue getting in the way of important family and social relationships.

One way ensure that your family relationships remain unharmed is to keep your business away from home.  

Your loved ones need your attention at home and will do anything to get it. So when you bring your work home, be sure that there is bound to be a conflict between their desire for attention and your need for concentration. This conflict will put a strain on your important relationships.

It is important to ensure that they create adequate time for loved ones. There should be a balance between nurturing your relationships as you grow your business.

Opportunities for growing your business will always be there, but miss the opportunity of enjoying your children and you’ll never get it back again.

You don’t want to wake up one day and realize that you have missed precious moments and opportunities.

I am not oblivious to the fact that there’s a growing trend of people working from home. Well just because you work from home doesn't mean your job should interfere with your family relationships.

For those who work from home, there is the need to set boundaries by creating a home office, even if it's just a corner of your guest room. The home office should be out of bounds to other members of the family, who have no business there, during working hours.

5.    TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH

Most of us are so engrossed on the business of making money that we neglect our health. In fact, our most important asset is our health. Lose it and you’ve lost out.

Your financial situation is very important because it can impact our health. But the last thing you want is to sacrifice your health for the sake of business success.  

It is a tragedy that in our society today, we spend most of our time and health chasing money, and after losing our time and health, spend the money we’ve made to get our health back.

6. SET BOUNDARIES

For many employers, there are no boundaries when it comes to business. With the advent of the internet, employees have come to realize that leaving the workplace does not mean leaving the work.

Even when you’re subjected to constant calling and e-mailing from clients and bosses, try not to sleep with your gadgets. Not only are there health risks to this habit, your love life could be ruined as a result.

Don’t forget to set boundaries with your clients and bosses. If possible, have a separate cell phone for work so you can leave it at home during a weekend trip or a romantic night out on the town.

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Bio: Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam writes creative non-fiction and prose fiction. Her works have appeared in Romance Meets Life, Flash Fiction Press, MTLS, Saraba Magazine, Sentinel Magazine and others. Her first novel, Finding Love Again, was published by Ankara Press. She owns and manages creativewritingnews.net