Sometimes the demands of working can leave little time or energy for other parts of your life, like social time, leisure activities or learning, health and fitness. Sometimes you can make those sacrifices for a short period of time, but consistently sacrificing those aspects of life can impact your mental health.
Why is work-life balance important?
Difficulties in balancing work and private life is known as work-life conflict. Research is finding that work-life conflict can affect our work satisfaction as well as our health and wellbeing. Striking a healthy work-life balance, where you adjust your daily activities to achieve a sense of balance between your work and personal life, can:
reduce stress levels, at work and at home
increase your job satisfaction, and satisfaction with life in general
enable you to participate more fully in family and social life
give you more time to pursue personal goals and hobbies
improve your overall health and wellbeing.
Tips to take action to improve your work-life balance
Recognise the importance of the non-work dimensions of your life: Exercise, friendships and participating in leisure activities act to protect your mental health and enhance your resilience to stress.
Monitor the hours you work: Calculating your hours should also include the time you spend thinking about work in your personal or family time. If the time you spend with your business is consistently causing work-life conflict over a period of time, consider redefining your working hours.
Work smarter, not longer: List the tasks you need to get done, prioritise them, allow yourself a certain amount of time per task and stick to it. Avoid wasting time on tasks that don’t add value. Defining your personal goals can assist you to prioritise.
Arrange your work schedule to meet commitments: Where possible scheduling your work around your personal and family commitments.
Set boundaries: No matter how many hours you put into your work, there will always be more you could do. The key to achieving a healthier work-life balance involves setting boundaries and respecting them.
