7 Effective ways to increase your work-life balance

Let’s face reality. Many of us live in work cultures that demand our 24/7 attention. We answer phone calls at 11PM and get to the office at 5AM to assist with projects and crises. We prioritize work over the rest of our life. There are some industries that are more demanding than others but following the strategies below in any capacity will help you break the vicious cycle of imbalance. 

Assessment

You might not know you have a problem. So let’s go through a few questions:

·         Do you check your work email consistently when you are not at work?

·         Do you answer all work related phone calls during events with friends/family?

·         Do your friends and loved ones tell you that you neglect them for work?

·         Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed by your work duties?

·         Does your workload exceed your standard work hours per week?

·         Do you miss out on things you would like to do because of work?

These sample questions can help determine if you have imbalance in your life due to work. You have to acknowledge if you have deteriorating relationships, lack of stress relieving activities, or excessive mental and physical issues that can be traced back to work. You may need to ask those around you about your behavior because sometimes you cannot see the changes yourself. Take feedback and apply it to your prescription to fix it.  

Buckle in and let’s get started!

Boundaries

Perhaps you already know that you do not have a great work/life balance. Maybe you’re reading this at work or right before you go to sleep because you are at wits-end. The one thing everyone can do—no matter their position—is create boundaries. It will be uncomfortable for others and yourself in the beginning. People may be used to you answering your phone or responding to emails at all hours of the day and weekend. You will have to change this and communicate to others about those changes. It can be as simple as the following:

Phone Calls

Jim used to answer phone calls up to 12AM from clients. To create boundaries, Jim limited his responses to 8AM-5PM. After 5PM he would let calls go to voicemail. If the voicemail determined the situation was urgent, he would give a call back immediately. If it was not determined to be urgent, Jim would wait until the next morning and provide call backs and follow up emails to calls in a prioritized manner. Jim placed his office hours and availability into the signature of his emails and when providing call backs would begin with “Hi, this is Jim. I’m in my office and wanted to give you a callback. I listened to your voicemail and…”

Emails

This works for emails too! Stop the grip of emails by checking at pre-determined times during the day. Everything is not urgent and important. It may feel like everything is but the reality of that mindset is, it leaves no room for prioritization. This advice isn’t to say you have to leave emails unread for multiple days. If you can’t help but reply all the time—prioritize and give timeframes.

For example:

“Hi. I have received this email. To provide you with the best solution and resources, I will need to gather more information on this. Please provide 2-3 days for me to get back to you.”

Fear of fallout

This will be 100% foreign to you and the people who are used to your unending availability. They are going to feel like you do not care anymore. It will be your duty to let them know that you want to provide them with the best information…the quality of doing that at 11PM when you are tired and possibly drifting off to sleep is not likely to be as great as giving a call back the next morning.

You will also have to deal with people who feel entitled to your time. Reclaim. Your. Time. You’ll need to be direct and quick about this. If you receive a “Why didn’t you answer my phone call?!” –you’re going to need a response. You could try the following:

1. “Hi (insert formality or name), unfortunately I wasn’t at work when you called. I’m here now, I did listen to your message and I believe next Thursday would be…

2. “Hi (insert formality or name), my availability is 8AM-5PM. However, we do have an on-call number for you to reach at any time. Do you have a pen ready to take it down?”

3. “Hi (insert formality or name), I was not available. Thank you for leaving a voicemail, I have a few follow-up questions so I can best assist you- what…”

**Also, do not apologize for not being available 24/7. You are not supposed to be available 24/7 regardless of your work culture (unless, you are truly “on-call” 24/7, in which case, flee as fast as you can because the money may not be worth your happiness! Set those boundaries!)

Scheduled Breaks

This may sound obvious but you need to schedule breaks. Even if you absolutely LOVE to work, you are reading this blog post for a reason. Set a standard schedule such as, every Tuesday you’ll do movie night with a friend, once a month you will take a Saturday and Sunday to go hiking, every Thursday night is happy hour with co-workers, Friday evenings you have date night, every three months you take a two-day staycation…the list can truly go on.

The benefit of scheduling these breaks from work is that it is consistent, planned, and something to look forward to. Think of these breaks as immovable objects on your calendar. Even if your plans fall through- you still have blocked time where you are not doing work.

Another benefit?  You can easily use these to decrease your work burnout. I have a task for you to complete. Go to google scholar and type in “work burnout“. I am willing to bet real dollars that there is a peer-reviewed study that looks at work burnout in your overall industry. I will also bet real dollars that a contributing factor is over working/over time. Help yourself by providing yourself with structured time to do anything or nothing at all!

Protocol

Are you the person everyone contacts for…well, everything? Look into the type of contact people make with you. If there are things that could be delegated to someone else, delegate! If people are contacting you for things that is someone else’s job, send them to that person! If that person isn’t doing their job make sure to CC or notify other people and/or escalate for a resolution. There are some other things you could do:

-          Provide people with a communication chart that outlines what people do and when they should be contacted (if you supervise). If you don’t supervise, at the next team meeting bring up how much easier communication would be if the chart existed.

-          Provide an emergency protocol. Maybe before contacting you, there is a litany of other resources someone could use but they don’t know about it!

-          Say “I don’t know” sometimes. Do not spend more time on other people’s problems than they are spending on their own problem. At times, it is best to provide resources, not answers.

You may need to restructure the ideas that people have of your duties and position. Of course, read your job description and confirm your duties before making these “lines in the sand”. If your supervisor expects you to do things beyond your job description on a regular basis, request that you, your supervisor, and HR sit down to get it formally added to your job description!

Communicate Culture

As stated in the introduction, there are many work cultures that support a 24/7, never sleep/never do anything besides work environment. “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  Seriously, it is going to take you being direct about not being available 24/7. If you are a supervisor, you need to make it clear that this should not be the expectation at any position level. If you are a front-line staff person you should make it explicitly clear that you’re dedicated and your best work comes when you have a work-life balance.

Understand that it may just be you and one other person who strives for this balance. Others may feel accomplished that they never take time off or come into work sick to spread their germs. That does not have to be you. If you are delivering results, completing your work, and meeting professional goals…do not feel bad about balance. If you aren’t meeting your goals and delivering results, staying four extra hours won’t actually help you. The solution you require is not wrapped in long days. It is likely wrapped in sitting down with your supervisor to outline your needs and strengths in formal check-ins.

Shift the way you think and then spread it among others. Say it loud and proud. A great employee is able to deliver results without having to compromise their personal life. Personally, I find it more impressive when someone is at the top of their game and able to live their best life. People who are working 12+ hour days and living off of microwave burritos seem to have a poor work management. I ask myself What is their time management like? Do they have the technical skills to do their job efficiently? Are they lacking prioritization skills?

    

Time Management

Let’s say you are the person who has the many deadlines looming that we all face but can’t seem to stay on top of them. Your work-life imbalance may be due to a lack of time management.  This is also something that is hard to see when you are in the thick of your work. You need to sit down and outline an average work week. Where are you spending most of your time? Then, figure out where you can cut out things. Similar to the tips under protocol, see if you can delegate or renegotiate some job duties/expectations. If you are unable to do that, categorize your work and put it into blocks that it will be completed. Stick to this schedule and learn to say “no”.

No! You do not have to go to that volunteer workgroup meeting.

No! You do not have to stay after to attend an event

No! You do not need to come in early the next day to help a coworker with that “thing” after you’ve worked a hard and long day.

This may sound harsh…I know. Saying “no” doesn’t mean you hate your team or your company. Saying “no” means you understand what you, as one person, can reasonably complete. When you say no you can also be very honest about why you are saying no. For example:

1. “I’d love to take on another project. At this time I’d like to provide the best product possible for the things I am currently working on. I can help find someone who is able to take on the new project.”

2. “I am not available to work this Sunday.”

3. “I’m not able to stay late tonight to help you with this. I know a few good resources online that can guide you through this program, let me email you the links right now.”

4. “I can’t lead that meeting, I am booked that day. Want me to ask the team if anyone else is available? Let me know when the next meeting is and I will put it on my calendar!”

Bottom line: You don’t have to be the facilitator of every meeting or every project. Your accomplishments are not solely tied to the number of activities you complete but also from the superb and unique quality of the work you do.

Ask for help

I need somebody
(Help) not just anybody
(Help) you know I need someone
(Help)

Finally, if you need assistance- get it. There’s no reason to drown in work…even if you like the feeling of drowning. A healthy work-life balance helps your body and your brain. Your creativity will be increased once you are able to experience life outside of an office building, hotel room, or plane seat. Ask a friend to have dinner at their house or to come over to just sit together and read books. Ask a loved one to tell you about their week and talk about their future goals. Ask your supervisor for a day off. Ask your co-worker to cool it with the endless reply all emails with workplace “jokes” that are crowding your important emails. Ask google to set an alarm at 2PM tomorrow to take a short walk around the building. Help is all around you, use it!

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