Five Ways to Keep Work-Life Balance – 2022 Edition

Until March 2020 remote work, with no dress code and without any supervision seemed like a dream come true to you? Today you already know that the fate is sometimes fickle, and coming back to the office had been a desired change for most of us. The only problem is that in the meantime, maintaining work-life balance started to look a lot like walking a tightrope. How to regain and keep the work-life balance?

We can all agree that the lack of a clear division between your private time and work time is harmful in every regard. In the long term it can ruin your health, private life and… leave you jobless. How can you save your endangered work-life balance? What you need is an iron discipline in self-management in time, as well as a couple of unbreakable rules:

Set daily work plans taking into consideration the most pressing tasks and the “clock-out” time

Identify the time brackets for the most pressing tasks, and the time for resting. The latter is key, no matter if you actually leave your office, or just close the laptop’s lid on the kitchen table. Remote work does not facilitate such division, however it is still a deciding factor in keeping yourself sane while working in a hybrid variant. Too many tasks force you to take overtime? Perhaps it’s time to talk about it with your supervisors?

Take micro-breaks

Plan taking a few minute break regularly. This will help your eyes rest, let you do some exercises or just take your mind off things. Setting an alert in your mobile to remind you to take a break isn’t really much of a problem, is it? 

Create a to-do list and enjoy crossing out tasks off it

Updating daily to-do lists, both professional and private ones, is just a necessity, no doubt about it. Whatever shape or form it may take. It can be a notebook page, alert in your Google calendar, or one of the many apps for organizing your tasks (e.g. Todoist, Microsoft To Do, Taskboard or Minimalist). It is surely worth making yourself use them. It won’t be easy at first, but the benefits are unquestionable.

Eliminate distractors

Turn off all the notifications of software and apps not related with doing your job, and ignore all other distractions, whether they are social-media services, phone calls, snacking or chatty workmates at the desk next to you. Practice focusing on one task only. Multitasking is nothing more than a harmful myth. If you work by yourself, try saying out loud things you are just going to do – it really helps.

These might also interest you: Is multitasking real?

Observe “offline times”

Watch the hours when you are off your company phone and you don’t read company e-mails, unless it is absolutely critical to do so. Your brains too needs some time to not receive any more professional life information. It is very important. Ideally, it should be formally regulated in your company, but it is also good to be assertive and strike some deal in this regard with your employer.

Take care of your social life outside the office

Expand your social circle outside the company. Do not allow your weekends to become unbearably hollow, while your afternoons and evenings are filled with work. This is a straight path towards burn out. If your old friends start to forget what you look like, because you are always at work, simply call them and set up a meeting.

Read also: Six Methods to Increase Productivity 

Plan your resting time

Plan your after work time. Develop extra-professional passions – they help your overstimulated brains rest, and the endorphins they release are priceless. Everyday small pleasures will let you better manage your time, and will help you find motivation for work.

Recent years have been hard and they surely caused a certain numbness, and many people decided to escape reality into their careers. The result is a growing number of burn-out and depression cases. The necessity to stay at home and to keep social distance, effectively made us forget so many pleasant activities. Luckily, the situation slowly comes back to normal, and in 2022 you can begin to look after your work-life balance again.

Are you looking for a prestigious and comfortable working space? Click here and check out the Solutions.Rent’s offices.