5 tips to help you manage your work-life balance.
Many women — and men, for that matter — face the challenge of trying to manage a successful career, a happy family and a fulfilling personal life. But it can be difficult, especially if your job requires long hours.
How can you make the juggle easier? Some tips:
1. Realize you can't be everywhere at once.
One problem is that women often have unrealistic expectations of work and family. You don't have to be perfect — no one is. Life is full of compromises, and sometimes you have to make difficult choices about how you spend your time. Learning to say “no” and prioritizing your time is a key step in managing the juggle.
2. Write daily to-do lists.
Though lists won't buy you more time, they will help you prioritize. Research has found that writing short yet realistic to-do lists can help you stay on track. You might use technology, such as an online calendar program or mobile app, to schedule specific times of the day to do certain tasks, with alerts when you need to start or stop those tasks.
3. Evaluate your time.
Chances are, like most people, you probably aren't using your time as efficiently and rewardingly as you could. Consider writing down how you spend your time, both during work and non-work hours. This will help you see how you could be saving time and devoting more time to activities you care about.
4. Learn to unplug.
Technology has in many ways made juggling our work and personal lives easier. But sometimes you might feel like you're working all the time because you're always looped into work through your phone and email. People who've been most successful at balancing their personal lives with work commit to “unplugging” by turning off their phones and not checking email — whether in the evening hours after dinner or over the weekend. This helps ensure they're devoting quality time to their personal life and not letting work consume it.
5. Make time for exercise.
Yes, it takes time. But research shows that exercise is a great stress reliever — and people trying to manage hectic lives need to learn how to manage their stress levels, too. Even a 20-minute walk a day can help you feel better and more balanced.
