Developing a Positive Work-Life Balance

Nowadays, all too many people are dedicating way too much time to their work and too little time to their personal life and the things that make them happy. Now if you have a vocation and genuinely love your work, this can be fine. But if your work is more to pay the bills and help you get by, you really do need to make sure that you’re implementing a more positive work-life balance. If you fail to do this, you can easily experience burnout, where you struggle to get through each day and experience all sorts of negative emotions and physical reactions, ranging from exhaustion to anxiety, depression and more. Of course, this is an important area to focus on, but where should you start? Here are some suggestions that should help you along the way!

Stick to Set Working Hours

First, you need to make sure that you stick to your agreed working hours. If your contract says that you need to work nine to five, make sure that you only start at nine and that you sign out at five. If you work for yourself and are self employed or run your own business, set yourself some reasonable working hours and make sure to stick to these. Sure, it can always be tempting to stay over to finish something off or to open your laptop back up to respond to a few emails and get some final tasks done, but this should be avoided at all costs. You need to create boundaries with your time.

Dedicate Set Amounts of Time to Side Ventures

Many of us have side ventures around our usual jobs in order to make a little extra money. If you decide to do this, you need to implement similar rules around your time. If you’re learning or training, perhaps diving into Commodities Trading or learning a second language for business, make sure that you commit a set amount of time to it each day and don’t exceed this, as tempting as it may be. This will ensure that you still have personal and free time for non-work or finance related ventures and activities.

Make Time for Family and Friends

Once you have free time, you may be wondering how to spend it. You should commit some of this newly found time to family and friends. Having a strong support network is integral to your wellbeing and the best way to foster one is to nurture the relationships you have in your life or new relationships.

Make Time for Relaxation

Sometimes, when we free up time that we’d usually spend working, we try to be productive in other ways. Perhaps cramming in social plans, coming up with an intense gym training schedule or signing up to too many hobbies and other activities. Instead, make sure that you dedicate time to pure relaxation. Let your hair down. Unwind. Your body will thank you for this.

By developing a good work-life balance, you can experience much more happiness. Hopefully, some of the suggestions above will guide you towards this!