Finding Equilibrium: The Work/Life Balance

The work/life balance is something we all think about a lot. It’s easy to wonder if you’re putting in enough at work, or if you’re putting in enough at home and for yourself. This balance looks different for everyone, but it’s important for us all to monitor.

But how can you achieve this balance when you want to stand out as an employee? Working hours upon hours of overtime may make sense if you have a deadline, but it’s not sustainable for your wellbeing and oftentimes it won’t even boost your productivity. Long story short, being burnt out isn’t good for anyone, especially yourself.

In his article, Praveen Tipirneni makes some suggestions on gaining more of a balance between life and work while maintaining and even increasing productivity.

• Gain knowledge and pay your dues: Tipirneni has a simple recommendation: “Be good at what you do.”. When you repeatedly demonstrate that you’re on top of your job, your colleagues and supervisors see that you have discipline and know your stuff. Once you’ve proven yourself, you’re more likely to get access to things that can help maintain work/life balance, such as work from home days. In short, your supervisors trust you to get the work done.
• Plan ahead: Think of times in the future that you’ll need more flexibility, such as when you have kids. Try to work as hard as you can in the early days of your career so you can be assured you’ll have the flexibility you need when you need it. Tying into Tipierneni’s first point, this is a time to pay your dues as well. All of it will pay off in the future.
• Plan and optimize your days: One of the most important things I learned in my own job is how important organization is. I start each day with a list and a plan. Tipirneni suggests this approach as well, and also recommends fitting it to your own strengths. Know when you’re at your sharpest throughout the day, and plan around that. If you’re very alert in the morning, get the high-priority stuff out of the way then and save the more mindless tasks for the afternoon.

Image retrieved from Pixabay under the public domain.