6 Ways For You to Embrace Work Life Balance
In episode seven we are talking about work life balance. Many of us are probably thinking, “Okay, Brittany but that’s not a real thing.” I get it. I used to believe that too but over the last few months I have started to experience more of this elusive work life balance thing that everyone talks about. Now I am not claiming to be an expert or that I have it all figured out. No, of course not. But there are some things that I have done over the last few months that have made a huge difference. In this episode I am sharing the six things that I think will help you experience more work life balance. I encourage you to listen with an open mind and give some of these practices a try.
To listen to the full episode click here for Android, and here for Apple.
Okay, here we go!
Here’s how I define work life balance: Feeling that inner sense of calmness and feeling like you’re spending the appropriate amount of time on work vs your personal life. You feel like you’re nurturing your career and your dreams and your professional goals just as much as you’re nurturing those relationships that are so vitally important for you and you’re really cultivating that personal community.
Here are my six tips for embracing work life balance:
#1: Doing work at home should be the exception, not the rule (This also relates to the “solopreneurs” and the people that work from home full-time)
Why is this so important? Many of us has gotten the idea in our head that to get ahead, we need to work harder and work ourselves into the ground so that we can stand out and perform better. Some of us have also gotten into our heads that we don’t have enough time in our day to get everything done so we have to bring it home with us to get it done.
TRUTH BOMB: You DO NOT need to be the hero. Your work is always going to be there. Just because you bring it home with you does not mean that you’re getting a head start. Instead you’re taking precious time away from spending time with your family and spending time with yourself to recharge.
If this is something that you feel a lot of resistance towards, I challenge you to do a two week test. Go into work everyday at your normal time, and when you leave, I want you to be done with work. In those two weeks of leaving your work at work, I want you to write down if something dramatic happened, something that happened because you didn’t take your work home. Also, write down how it made you feel, and what you did with that extra time at home.
#2: Busy is not a badge. Busy is bullshit.
We LOVE telling people how many things are on our plate. But you know what we don’t love? We don’t love the feeling of being busy doing things that aren’t meaningful, that aren’t bringing us joy, and aren’t having a real impact.
Typically when we start wearing that badge, we aren’t doing the meaningful stuff. We are doing the fluff stuff.
#3 Do the hard stuff first. When you’re at the office (or during your working hours if you work from home) you are doing the things that matter most.
Email is not number one! Once we start to do the hard stuff first, we will see how much more efficient we are with our time.
#4 Limit screen time for more dream time.
If you have a side hustle or a dream to start something that you’ve been dreaming about and you’re not seeing progress, it’s because you are spending too much time on your screen. Even if you are creating content, doing things that matter and making momentum, you aren’t getting that key thinking time.
#5: Not all of your conversation should revolve around work.
#6: Make time for you, while you’re at work.
It’s important to remind yourself that you aren’t one sided. You are a dynamic individual. You have your work self and your real self that make up your whole self.
Maximize your lunch breaks. Actually take a lunch!
Take a break to call someone you love!
Alright guys, those are my six tips. I’d love for you to give them a try and if you notice a difference, let me know! You can find us on Instagram @whatyoudomattersmentality.
If this episode was valuable to you, please take the time to share it with a friend. It’s one of the best ways to support the podcast and helps more people find these conversations. Thank you so much for your support!