Having the right balance between work and play is critical to our physical, as well as mental health. Work-life balance is about maintaining a healthy split between work and other activities that are important to you. It sounds simple, but for many of us the concept of ‘work-life balance’ is a myth and getting through the working week is more about endurance, rather than enjoyment. Sound familiar? It’s easy to let your career, family life and growing to-do lists make you feel like there’s no chance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle, but there are simple tweaks you can make to refocus your weekly routine and achieve better balance in your life. If you want to find out how you can stop your life revolving around work without quitting your day job, read our top work-life balance tips below.
1. Seek out opportunities to create more meaningful work
If you want to transform your life so you’re not merely living for the weekend, you need to get more meaning out of your work. This means actively thinking about how you can transfer your personal passions to add value to your workplace and ultimately have more fun. To identify where your passions lie, start by keeping a daily journal and writing down what makes you happiest in your day-to-day life. This will help direct you towards potential opportunities that will give you the greatest fulfilment and enable you to get more meaning out of your work. Then look for ways to incorporate more of these activities into your day-to-day work, whether it’s helping others, learning a new skill, reading more books, listening to music or meeting new people. Keep your passions top of mind and don’t be afraid to sign up for new projects at work that resonate with your passions, or propose new projects which can add value to your organisation and in turn give you greater purpose in your role. It might be an idea that will build a better company culture, deliver a better service to your customers, or improve operational efficiencies. If you’re actively looking for ways to have more fun at work, you can easily redefine your working life.
2. Create calendar events rather than to-do lists
Do you write to-do lists and get to the end of the week to find that your list has grown and you’re questioning what you actually achieved? Join the club. This was certainly my reality before I made a conscious decision to move away from writing to-do lists and creating calendar events instead. This shift has been a game changer for me because I’m constantly having to evaluate how long each task is going to take, which means I can set realistic deadlines and am conscious of not spending more time than I should on one single task. In addition to being more productive, I’m also more in control of identifying when I should be making time for “life” and a quick glance at my plan for the week will let me know if my work-balance is out of whack.
3. Get up early and do something for yourself before starting your working day
Do you feel like your week revolves around work, and everything else comes secondary? Getting up early and making time for “you time” before work is an easy way to refocus your day and gain better control of your work-life balance. This could mean doing some exercise, walking the dog, having breakfast with your family or practising mindful activities like meditation, journaling or yoga. The important thing to keep in mind is that getting up early shouldn’t mean sacrificing on sleep. If you’re making a conscious effort to get 8 hours sleep each night and creating some time for yourself before you start your working day, you’re actively demonstrating that work doesn’t rule your life. Giving yourself device-free time before you go to sleep and immediately after you wake up is a simple habit you can adopt to support a better start to your day too. See How To Reprogram You Morning Routine For Success for further tips.
4. Quit rushing to work and don’t skip breakfast
Rushing to work and skipping breakfast is an unhealthy reality for many. Waking up in a rush sets you up for an unsettled day, and skipping breakfast only adds to the recipe for disaster. If you’re not taking the time to fuel your body before work, your productivity and energy levels are ultimately going to take a hit as the day progresses. This means you’ll have less motivation to make the most of your day, which leads to a decline in productivity and missed deadlines. Taking the time to prepare a nutritious breakfast in the morning does’t have to be difficult or time consuming. If you’re looking for an easy way to integrate fruit and vegetables into your diet with a breakfast that takes 2 minutes to prepare, try a Craft Smoothie box delivery and see how that impacts how you feel during the day. Look after yourself in the morning and the rest of your day will take care of itself.
5. Try something new each week
Does each week fly by and before you know it, it’s the start of a new month? Making time to try something new each week is an easy way to stop life from passing you by and give you something different to look forward to. Whether it’s trying a new recipe, hiking track, craft class, e-learning course or having coffee with someone new, allowing yourself time to do something out-of-the-ordinary helps to bring more meaning to your week. That’s what I love about Craft Smoothie - you get new smoothie recipes to try all the time, so breakfast never gets boring.
6. Make time for holidays to disconnect and reconnect with what’s important
Even if you think you’ve got your work-life balance down pat, it’s important to take a break from your day-to-day routine and plan for a holiday at least once a year. Choose a new destination that fits your budget - it does’t need to involve a flight or flashy resort, but finding a way to disconnect from your 9-5 and reconnect with yourself is an important for everyone in supporting a healthy work-life balance.
7. Make exercise a priority
Being too busy is a common excuse for not exercising, but if you’re not making time for exercise, you’re really telling yourself that it’s not a priority. If this is the case, your long-term health won’t be impressed. Regular exercise is critical for maintaining a healthy body weight, building strength, boosting energy and managing stress, as well as reducing the risk of developing certain types of disease. If building up the motivation to exercise isn’t your strong point, reframe your exercise routine as a social event and get together with friends or family members who can positively impact your motivation to keep active.
8. Form a tribe to support you in achieving better balance
A powerful way to commit to change is to share your goals with someone else. Tell a friend or family member about the changes you plan to make in your life so they can give you support in achieving your work-life balance goals. And you might even inspire them to make a healthy change too!
We're proud to be supporting thousands of Kiwis to achieve better work-life balance with a quick and nutritious breakfast solution, which means they're spending less time in the kitchen, and more time on activities they're passionate about. To see if Craft Smoothie is right for your lifestyle, try a smoothie kit delivery today.