Work life balance is very poorly understood by many. What does it really mean and how could one achieve it, despite not compromising on productivity? Read on!
Everyone strives to attain steady growth in their career and simultaneously maintain a healthy body and great relations with family and friends. But that’s easier said than done. Most of us struggle in achieving a satisfactory work life balance.
On one side of the spectrum, there are some of us who invest too much time meeting our professional commitments, and on the other, that some of us feel too much of our time is consumed meeting personal responsibilities.
In this article, we will discuss the various work life balance strategies which you can adopt to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
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What is work-life balance?
Before we proceed to discuss work-life balance tips, we need to understand what is work-life balance and what is the need for work-life balance? The answers to these two questions will eventually guide you to understand the methods for achieving work-life balance.
Work-life balance is a conscious attempt to maintain a healthy professional life devoid of excessive stress coupled with strong interpersonal relationships between family and friends not overruling personal interests.
The concept enables dividing an individual’s time between professional and personal commitments. A person capable of inculcating the habit of a healthy work-life balance can overcome any kind of mental and physical anxieties and worries.
The greatest advantage of work-life balance is satisfaction and an increase in the motivational level. The ultimate result is an improvement in work quality and efficiency. Both the individual professionals and the companies are benefitted enabling faster future growth.
Note: Before adopting and practicing the strategies that drive work-life balance, it is important to understand the concept and its positive impacts on your professional life.
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What is the need of work life balance?
The work-life balance must not be overlooked and avoided. Its importance is immense, preventing burnouts and eliminating negative health impacts like hypertension, pains, digestive issues, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
Essentially work-life balance reduces depression and excessive mental stress. We are going to discuss various work-life balance strategies to assist individuals in understanding when to plug off from their work and switch to the personal life mode.
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9 Step guide to achieving work-life balance
Here is a 9 step guide to achieve work life balance,
1. Prioritize your work
Many of us possess a good habit of listing down the To-Do activities but we sometimes ignore the concept of prioritization. In your list, if you sit down and rank the tasks based on their importance, you save time and effort in dealing with each of them.
It even helps you to decide which one to focus on first, second, third, and so on. Based on the priority, your next action should be to allocate time for each of the tasks listed down. Prioritization never overburdens you with less important and non-value-adding jobs.
It assists you to concentrate on the tasks that need focused attention. You can switch off from your work as per the normal schedule and dedicate your time to pursuing your interests along with spending time with your near and dear ones.
Tip: Failing to understand the tasks which are of high priority is a risky action. It may result in wasting time and effort on a non-critical task, severely hampering your productivity and deadlines. It will eventually disturb work and life balance.
Hence it is advisable to receive guidance and support from your peers, managers, and mentors in analyzing the tasks and their significance to the company and its business.
2. Understand your bandwidth
Professionals, specifically those who work remotely, often tend to accept work more than their capacity or threshold limit. Some hesitate to say No to their supervisors and some feel performing more amount of work will lead to faster promotion, an increase in salary, and exponential growth in their future career.
But little do they realize that in due course, they would strain out their mind and body. They would not be able to continue their work at the same pace seamlessly. Their social connections will be lost. Their thinking power will considerably reduce, hampering their productivity and work quality. They will fail significantly in achieving work-life balance.
Therefore it is important to analyze your work bandwidth and brain capacity. Stressing your body and brain beyond the threshold limit will not only deprive you of your success but also severely affect your personal life.
Understand the complexity and priority of the work assigned to you. Chalk out the time you would need to finish the assigned tasks. Inform your supervisor or manager whenever you anticipate risks in completing assignments due to a lack of bandwidth. It is better to speak out rather than gulping everything and then suffer later.
Remember: It is good to be a careerist and ambitious but not for the sake of your health and leisure time. It may eventually ruin both your professional and personal lives leading to a bad work-life balance.
3. Practice healthy habits
We all know “Health is Wealth”. But do we religiously maintain healthy habits especially in our workspace? Remote professionals are mainly constrained in a chair or a couch inside their homes.
Staying at home does not necessarily imply working continuously without any breaks. If you feel working together at a long stretch saves your time and turns you to be super-efficient, then you are wrong.
Working continuously without investing time in exercises or any kind of sports activities like walking, running, swimming, hiking, biking, etc. is not a sign of a healthy mind. It shows your lethargy as well as ignorance of your wellness and care.
At the end of the day, you are eventually harming your body and mind slowly without realizing its severe impacts. Early morning walks or running and workouts are very good methods of energizing your body to remain active throughout the day.
Consuming a cup of green tea or a cup of warm water with lemon in the morning before breakfast detoxifies your body and increases your metabolism rate. Occasional breaks in between your normal work schedule are very much advisable.
Remote professionals can hop into a café for tea or coffee. They can venture outside for a walk with their pets or kids and play with them for a while. It pacifies your mind, relieving excessive stress leading to a healthy work and life balance.
4. Plan for Vacations
Vacations are considered efficient weapons to refresh your mind and body and spend fun-filled time with your family or friends. It is one of the best work-life balance tips that individuals can think of. Planning for vacations to travel out from your home town brings in with itself two very important advantages.
First and foremost, if you are traveling with your family or friends, you stay happy and delighted amongst their loving company. If you are traveling solo, you can fulfill your heart’s desires without any disruption.
The second benefit is, you come back from vacation rejuvenated and re-energized which significantly boosts up your potential and eagerness to work. The result is you can manage a steady work-life balance.
Tips: Vacations must not be just leisure out at home by watching TV or sleeping. They must be planned with care and utilized to their full limit. It is advisable to visit a place of interest and completely disconnect yourself from your work.
You must not open your laptop to check your office emails and drag yourself into it. This will ruin your vacation and the objective behind plugging off from your professional environment during the leave period.
5. Disconnect from digital addictions
Switching off social media applications during your scheduled hours of work prevents distractions and unnecessary disruptions to your workflow. Constant focusing on emails and smart devices is also a way of losing focus and attention.
You will fail to finish your tasks as per the stipulated time which may lead to unnecessary work burden, stress, tension, and burn-outs. It may impact your relationship with your manager and company, leading to a loss of trust and confidence.
It is therefore advisable to remove the social media applications or disable notifications from your digital devices during your work hours. Your concentration level will enhance leading to efficiency and effectiveness in the work quality.
Another common problem faced by professionals is constant exposure to the computer screen without resting their eyes. The eyes are the delicate part of human beings, constant exposure may lead to negative effects damaging the eyesight or exposure to other visual ailments. Hence reserve some breaks for your eyes or follow the eye-related exercises in between your work.
While you are on vacation, stay away from official phone calls and meetings. A conventional method is to click photos with your cameras instead of mobile phones or iPads. It not only enhances your creativity and appreciation of the beauty around you but also prevents distractions from social media, emails, and chats.
6. Plan and organize your day
Organising your day is a great strategy for finding a good work-life balance. The planner must not be created on the day you start working. It should be completed either before the start of the week or the day before.
For remote professionals, the planner must not only focus on your professional activities but your commitments too like visiting a doctor, buying your groceries, attending to your kids, spending time with family and friends.
While penning down your tasks related to work, ensure those do not overlap your personal space. Allocate time judiciously to each task within your scheduled work hours. Set up your tasks in the planner and assign time for each, not intruding into the professional space. The planner must be followed religiously as a checklist for you to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Tip: The remote professionals should display the planner in front of their desk so as not to miss out on the tasks. Having the planner in front of your eyes keeps you focused on the activities without paying attention to any diversions.
You can easily maintain a balance between your professional and personal activities, resulting in high motivation and satisfaction levels. Your company gains trust and your social and personal relations stay steady.
7. Sleep well
Overstretching your body and mind without adequate and proper sleep is a serious issue for many professionals. A person deprived of sleep is bound to be lethargic and undergoing chronic stress. Productivity and work quality are severely hampered leading to negative impacts on a person’s future career and the company’s reputation.
To overcome the situation, it is recommended to finish your work as per the planner set. The threshold limit of a person should be respected by both the company and the individual. Personal life must never be ignored as all human brains need rest and recharge.
Regular 6 to 8 hours of sleep is mandatory. Once you are lethargic and tired, you will fail to invest time in your personal life. Your social connectivity will be seriously affected. Friends and family may not be able to connect with you well. The result is disturbed to work and life balance.
Many professionals tend to overburden themselves with more work beyond their capacity and ignore sleep. They forget the importance of sleep and feel their body can tolerate the extra hours of work. You need to remember and follow the medical journals and advice of doctors on the recommended hours of sleep.
Tip: If you feel you are not able to adjust your time for sleep, it is better to include the habit in your daily planner. Make it a habit to adhere to the time and steadily you will be inducted into the practice. Your body will feel rejuvenated and energized, resulting in the proper balance between work and personal space.
8. Design your workspace well
You may wonder how workspace design can affect your steady work-life balance? Well, unless your workspace is interesting and motivating, you won’t feel the zeal and enthusiasm to complete your work as per the schedule.
A dull workspace even tires your eyes and reduces your thinking ability. The result is a failure in meeting the deadlines, ultimately leading to overstress and unnecessary frustrations. Select a good ergonomic chair and desk.
Seek professional suggestions or google through various websites that provide consulting on the proper arrangement of your workspace. Prevent your body from wearing away due to continuous exposure to computer screens or sitting constantly at your desk.
If your supporting work equipment is efficient and comfortable, then your body and mind stay well and you can easily complete your tasks and activities as per the stipulated time. A person who can complete this work as per the schedule can dedicate time for personal commitments.
People will have time for vacations, spending time with family and friends, pursue his or her interests and hobbies. The ultimate result is an efficient and healthy balance of both professional and personal life.
9. Increase your professional and social network
Networking with like-minded people both professionally and socially is equally important for achieving and maintaining a work-life balance. For remote professionals, it is advisable to work sometimes in a co-working space.
You will be able to interact with professionals in similar fields of interest, engaging in an exchange of interesting ideas and conversations. These interactions often lead to additional knowledge and learnings which you may not be aware of or have not read about. Your professional horizon expands and enhances your future growth.
It also reduced the boredom of working alone and you feel encouraged to finish your tasks. The other good way to increase your professional connections is to attend various seminars and conferences where you can meet with several other individuals working freelance or with different organizations.
Similarly, you must strive to extend your social connections as well. You must not neglect attending parties and social events with your family or friends. It helps you in interacting with interesting people who may turn out to be good friends soon. You may meet people pursuing the same hobbies and interests which eventually turn out to be a boon.
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40 famous work life balance quotes
In this section, we will discuss 40 famous work life balance quotes. The quotes on work life balance will help you to understand what does work life balance means. Defined and pen down by eminent personalities, the work life quotes provide good guidance in defining work life balance and the intricacies of work life balance.
Great work life balance quotes
Two great work life balance quotes for us to remember while ensuring a proper professional environment at the office and good personal life at home,
- “You can’t have everything you want, but you can have the things that really matter to you”, one of the best balance life quotes from Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo.
- “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” – one of the divine quotes about jobs and life by Mother Teresa, saint and messenger of God Great quotes with incredible work life balance meaning.
Compelling work family quotes
Some compelling work family quotes as a guide to maintaining work life balance,
- “The most successful people I know create superior results yet still maintain a balance among work, family and recreation in their lives.” – one of the inspiring work and life balance quotes from Jack Canfield, American author and motivational speaker.
- “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”- an interesting quote on work life balance by Henry Ford.
Captivating work balancing life quotes
The two captivating work balancing life quotes for you to inspire from,
- “A man should never neglect his family for business.” – one of the best work and family quotes by Walt Disney
- “The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is good work.” – One of the famous work life balance quotes from Steve Jobs.
The above captivating quotes assist in understanding the work life balance definition.
Prominent quotations about work life balance
Here are some prominent quotations about work life balance,
- “You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” – a quote about work and life by Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker
- “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” – work to live quote by singer Dolly Parton
The above are prominent quotes providing accurate knowledge of work-life balance definition.
Inspirational quotes about work life balance
Here are some inspirational quotes about work life balance to spice up your day,
- “You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles”- one of the best inspirational quotes about life balance by Zig Ziglar, American author, and motivational speaker
- “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life” – One of the famous balancing work and family quotes by Dolly Parton, an American singer and songwriter
Above are inspirational quotes to be acquainted with worklife definition
Simple work balanced life quotes
If you want to refer to some simple balanced life quotes, then here is a list,
- “You have to balance your passions, not your time” – one of the famous work life balance quotes from Lisa Sugar, editor-in-chief and co-founder of POPSUGAR.
- “It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family” – One of the simplest quotations of work life balance by Philip Green, a British businessman
Above are simple quotes that act as guidance to understand work life balance definitions.
Motivating working life quotes
Enlisted below are some of the good motivating working life quotes,
- “Always take some of the play, fun, freedom, and wonder of the weekend into your week and work” – one of the motivating quotes about balancing work life by Rasheed Ogunlaru, business, and corporate coach
- “Most people chase success at work, thinking that will make them happy. The truth is that happiness at work will make you successful.” – a quote about life balance by Alexander Kjerulf, founder of Woohoo inc.
Above are motivating quotes that help to get work life balance defined.
Encouraging worklife quotes
Some encouraging worklife quotes for reference,
- “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – a quote about work and play by Stephen Covey
- “Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” – one of the work life balance quotations by Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur and motivational speaker
Above are encouraging quote offering proper knowledge of work life definition
Working life quote by executives and sports personalities
A list of working life quote by executives and sports personalities,
- “The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.” – one of the quotes about work and play by Lee Iacocca, American automobile executive
- “Work life balance is not an entitlement or benefit. Your company cannot give it to you. You have to create it for yourself.” – one of the balancing life and working long hours quotes by Matthew Kelly, an Australian cricketer.
Finest quotes about work and life
Two of the finest quotes about work and life,
- “Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work” – one of the finest and inspirational quotes about balance by writer Gustave Flaubert
- “You don’t have to make yourself miserable to be successful” – quote by Andrew Wilkinson, founder of MetaLab for best work life balance
Above are finest quotes that help in working life definition
Work life quote by entrepreneurs
A list of work life quote by entrepreneurs,
- “You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life.” – a quote on work and life balance by Heather Schuck
- “Invest in your work life balance. Time with friends and family is as important as times at work. Getting that out of balance is a path toward unhappiness.” – a quote on life-work balance by Stephen Gillett
Best working too much quotes
Important working too much quotes mentioned below,
- “Too much work and too much energy kill a man just as effectively as too much-assorted vice or too much drink” – one of the best work too much quotes by Rudyard Kipling
- “Your business and your life are happening at the same time. Don’t separate them. Integrate them” – one of the interesting quotes about balancing life by David Taylor-Klaus
Phenomenal quotes about working too much
Some phenomenal quotes about working too much,
- “Pause, breathe, and smile. Anything that adds to your stress is likely not worth pursuing.” – one of the work and life balance quotes by Majid Kazmi, CEO of Valu Ventures
- “Taking breaks isn’t about cheating yourself, it’s about treating yourself.” – one of the quotations on work life balance by Curtis Tyrone Jones, coach and motivational speaker
Above are some phenomenal quotes focusing on understanding definitions of work life balance
Powerful working from home quotes
Here are two powerful working from home quotes,
- “Success isn’t owned. It’s leased, and rent is due every day”- one of the powerful quotes about balancing life by J.J. Watt, an American football player
- “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant”- One of the quotations on work life balance by Robert Louis Stevenson
Amazing work and play quotes
Some amazing work and play quotes mentioned below,
- “You can’t have everything you want, but you can have the things that really matters to you.” – quotation on work life balance by Marissa Mayer
- “When in doubt choose the kids. There will be plenty of time later to choose work.”- one of the famous quotes about balance by author Anna Quindlen
Work to live not live to work quote
Work to live not live to work quote by,
- Noel Gallagher, an English musician, stating “I don’t live to work, I work to live”; one of the work quotes to live by
- Abraham Lincoln – “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle”; one of the good work to live quotes
Charming putting work before family quotes
Here are some putting work before family quotes, teaching us to understand the value of balance between work and life,
- “A man should never neglect his family for business” – Walt Disney’s one of the finding balance in life quotes.
- “Work hard, but make time for your love, family, and friends. Nobody remembers Powerpoint presentations on your final day.” – Chetan Bhagat’s one of the balance in life quotes
Engaging work at home quotes
Some of the engaging and famous work at home quotes,
- “Remote work offers flexibility and I appreciate the work life balance that comes with that” – one of the engaging quotes about balance in life by Jess Scott
- “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” – definition of worklife balance as quoted by Winston Churchill
Fascinating choosing work over family quotes
Choosing work over family quotes from famous personalities,
- “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” – a quote on work and life balance by Mother Teresa
- “You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” – Charles Buxton’s quote on work and personal life balance
Love my work family quotes
Here are some motivating love my work family quotes for you to refer to,
- “The most successful people I know create superior results yet still maintain a balance among work, family, and recreation in their lives.” – life and work balance quote by Jack Canfield, American author and motivational speaker
- “Family is the most important thing in the world.” – a quote to balance work and life by Princess Diana
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How can working women find work life balance?
Working women are subjected to stress while maintaining a work-life balance. But now we are in a modern world and women have all the rights to possess a rewarding career and a happy family. So maintaining work life balance is crucial for them.
In this section we will talk about ways of work life balance women must try to focus on and answer the question of How can women find balance in their professional, education, and personal lives?
For women work life balance starts with setting priorities
For women work life balance starts with setting priorities both in professional and personal life. To achieve that, working women must question themselves on few vital aspects for balanced work life. For example, which activities are non-negotiable, which can be compromised, which are the important commitments for work family balance.
Working women and work life balance go hand in hand
Working women and work life balance can be twined accurately once they speak about their commitments openly to the managers. They should specify the flexibilities required and mode of working; thus paving a smooth work balance. Balancing life and work is essential for women but unless priorities are communicated openly, companies may struggle to cope up with them.
Work life balance for women demands boundaries
Work life balance for women necessitates drawing a line between work and home. So when you are thinking of how women work, the answer is to create boundaries. Do not attend a phone call from the office or send emails while spending time with your partner or kids. So women balancing work and family must leave their work at the office while attending home chores.
Woman balancing work life and the art of delegation
The art of delegation is a very important aspect to focus on for a woman balancing work life. Instead of overstressing on performing all the activities single-handedly, it is crucial to segregate the activities among the team. This reduces unnecessary stress, leading to better professional and personal life work balance.
To maintain work life balance woman needs space
To maintain work life balance woman needs space and some “Me” time for herself. It assists in unwinding yourself and focus on your improvements and personal desires. Besides it also helps to reduce work life balance issues. After all, you must not believe that life is work and only work. You have a life beyond that.
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Millennials work life balance
What do millennials want in life? Is it only work for millennials and work life balance is not their primary focus? Or Millennials job satisfaction is earned only by following a steady work life balance? In this section we will deep dive into millennials work life balance priorities and needs and if at all work life balance is their focal point.
How millennials want to work and live?
Work life balance statistics 2016 and beyond till 2020 have proved that 80% of the millennials workforce are interested in work-life balance jobs. Millennials and job satisfaction hence are in sync only if companies guide them to understand what is work life balance, preferably the definition of work life balance.
What do millennials want in the workplace?
What do millennials want in the workplace? or What do millennials want at work? For a healthy work life balance millennials prefer the following,
- Companies with work life balance programs
- Flexible work environment
- Family-related benefits
- Social events
- Wellness programs for a proper work life balance
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Top 5 best work life balance jobs
Here is a list of the best work life balance jobs for your consideration,
- Marketing Assistant earning USD ˜32K per year
- Freelance Instructor or Teacher earning USD ˜65K per year
- Research Technical Consultant earning USD ˜33K per year
- Web Designer earning USD ˜37K per year
- Software programmer or developer earning USD ˜46K per year
- Content Manager earning USD ˜59K per year
- Marketing Manager earning USD ˜69K per year
- Data Analyst earning USD ˜73K per year
- Civil Engineer earning USD ˜84K per year
- Research Engineer earning USD ˜91K per year
These are the high potential jobs where you can achieve work life balance.
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Top 25 companies with best work life balance
In this section, we will list down the top 12 companies with best work life balance. These companies understand what is work-life balance, work life balance definition and have been offering a tremendous supportive work life balance during Covid situation that has hit worldwide. They are ranked and rated high in work life balance and are the best companies to work for work life balance.
The top 5 best companies for work life balance
The top 5 best companies for work life balance are,
- SAS Institute
- National Instruments
- Slalom
- Mitre
- Orbitz Worldwide
All of these are top work life balance companies with flexible hours of work, different modes of employment and rating above 4 on a scale of 1 to 5.
The second best work life balance companies
The second best work life balance companies are,
- Scottrade
- Mentor Graphics – one of the tech companies with best work life balance
- FactSet
- Agilent Technologies
- Nokia
The above are the top companies for work life balance with the good work culture. These are the companies with best work life balance when it comes to remote working and flexibility.
The next group of companies with the best work life balance
The next in ranking group of companies with the best work life balance and work/life balance rating as 4/5 are,
- Mathworks
- Autodesk
- AOL
- Citrix
- GlobalLogic
These are the companies with great work life balance and conducts various work life balance programs.
Work life balance companies with a ranking as 3.9/5
Work life balance companies that have earned a ranking of 3.9 out of 5 and are listed among the top 25 companies with best work life balance are,
- Yahoo – ranked high among best companies work life balance
- TietoEVRY
- Mastercard
- Morningstar
- Shell
These are the companies that promote work life balance and are some of the best work life balance companies to work for.
The last list of companies with good work life balance
The last list of companies with good work life balance,
- Bosch – one of the best companies with work life balance
- Chevron
- REI Corp
- STMicroelectronics
- NetApp
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Conclusion on work life balance
Once your professional and social lives are steady, you will not feel alone or demotivated. Your work schedule will be completed on time leaving you with sufficient time to spend with your social connections. You will be able to achieve a healthy balance between your work life and your personal life.
We have discussed some of the very important tips and strategies for maintaining and achieving an interesting and healthy work-life balance. You need to be cautious to pay adequate attention to the time allocated for professional and personal lives else you may ruin both.
If the tips recommended are followed diligently then you will be able to pursue a good future, pursue your interests and hobbies while spending quality time with your friends and family.
Balancing your work and life will relieve your mind and body of overstress, tensions, worries, and anxieties which all professionals want to be devoid of for achieving a better future and better personal life.
[…] Suggested read: How to achieve & maintain Work-life balance […]