How to manage stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance?

When you have to manage your employment, personal life, and relationships with your family and friends all together, you will need to balance your work and life in a correct way to avoid any complications or stress in your life. 

What is work-life balance?  

Every individual’s idea about work-life balance is unique, and usually, everyone obviously wants to give their best to their jobs.

In simple words, work-life balance means, you are not investing all of your time working or thinking about work. Rather you are focusing on every aspect of your life for a healthy and happy life. 

Whether it is traveling, spending time with friends and family, or socializing, you make time for the things you enjoy doing. You also set out time for yourself, whether it be investing time in fitness activities, or just relaxing with friends. 

What is the importance of work-life balance? 

It is said, work is worship, but that does not mean you have to let your job rule your life. Putting your personal needs first is essential.

Your health could be negatively impacted by excessive stress. You may experience mental stress leading to high blood pressure, which can further impact you physically and could be even fatal many times. 

A recent study by the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation found that working more than 55 hours a week increases your risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke, as compared to working for 30 to 40 hours a week. The more hours you put into your work, the more will be the risk of heart disease or brain stroke. 

There are several advantages to achieving a better work-life balance. Here in this blog, we will look at some useful advice for enhancing it.

How to manage your non-work hours?

Almost everyone experiences difficult periods at work. Over time due to workload, tasks pile up, you have to stay up late, and you have to work on the weekends, evenings, and holidays, but you keep receiving emails, calls, and messages.

If this is happening to you, you need to reevaluate your work-life balance and make some healthy changes to prevent job fatigue when this hectic schedule becomes normal.

How do you assess how your life and employment are conflicting?

Indications to reset your work-life balance needs

Technology has streamlined our work. However, the increase in remote work has also made it harder to unplug, which has affected our work-life balance. Here are some indicators that your work-life balance needs to be reset.

1. Create distance between your work and personal lives

You automatically have a physical distance from your employment if you commute to and from work. Working from home is another thing.

Working from home at times is undoubtedly a wonderful bonus of a remote position. However, turning your living room into your permanent office may actually make things more stressful. After all, if it is the weekend and you turn on a movie, you will likely mistake your comfortable surroundings for your workplace.

Therefore, create a separate workplace space from your sleeping or leisure areas as a solution. Even a specific table can be used instead of needing a separate room. Even if you only have to go 10 feet from your bed to your office space, the aim is to create a discrete space for work. 

2. Distance from personal gadgets when you are at home 

Distance yourself from all personal gadgets, especially your phone. We do not need to remain connected all the time. Continually reading and replying to texts and emails increases stress levels, creates obstacles in relationships, and has a bad impact on sleep. Turn off (or mute) your phone or keep it in a different room if you find yourself responding to every message or email that comes in, even after office/work hours. 

3. Increase your efficiency

Concentrate on one task at a time and work on it continuously until it is finished. Never attempt to multitask. To reduce distractions, shut off your phone and close your email. It is very important to finish our tasks within office time, and then reach home on time and spend time with our family.

4. Give yourself a priority  

Self-care is vital. Decide to schedule some time to work out. Plan and select wholesome meals and spend time with friends and family. Make sure your schedule includes those as non-negotiables. Never forget that taking care of yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. 

5. Take holiday breaks

Breaks between hectic schedules can be very refreshing. Take a break, whether it is a day for your mental health when you stay in bed and watch movies all day or a Friday when you leave early and meet friends for dinner. It is important to keep ourselves recharged and take a break from work every now and then. This will help us ‌stay focused and productive. 

6. Do not allow others to invade your personal space

Do not allow your professional life to mix with your personal life. You have fixed office hours, try to finish all your work in those hours, so that you do not receive calls, emails, and messages when you are spending time with your family. Let your team know that you would prefer not to mix your personal and professional lives, as this can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. 

7. Search for a new job

Unfortunately, there are times when working in your current position will make it impossible for you to maintain a work-life balance. Perhaps the problem is a bad work environment that does not value vacation time or a corporate culture that does not match your values. Finding new employment in this situation, or at the very least creating an exit strategy is definitely your best option. Your health is important. 

8. Take professional help

Do not be afraid to speak with a therapist if the stress is truly getting to you and having an effect on your mental health. Numerous employers provide employee assistance programs, which can put you in touch with a mental health expert who has knowledge of helping people manage their stress.