How can you improve your work-life balance?

At some stage in your working life you will undoubtedly seek to improve your work-life balance and there are many strategies you can incorporate right now into your daily routine which will help you achieve a more harmonious relationship between your professional and personal life.

It just takes some time and basic planning.

Here are my 5 top tips to get you started:

1. Set yourself realistic boundaries: make sure you set yourself clear and defined boundaries between work and personal time. You should decide on and stick to specific working hours, this ensures you disconnect from work-related tasks after hours.
2. Check and manage your stress levels regularly throughout the day: seek out ways to reduce your stress levels, make sure you take regular breaks, keep yourself hydrated, go for a short walk, practice mindfulness, and ensure you have time away from the screen.
3. Nothing is set in stone: despite your best efforts, you must always be prepared for unexpected work tasks or a change in your personal needs and adjust your daily schedule accordingly without compromising your work commitments.
4. You don’t have to be a perfectionist: whilst you should always strive for greatness in your work and personal life, you are only human and being a perfectionist can be counterproductive and can negatively affect your self-esteem. Remember to be kind to yourself and accept that you have done your best and that is good enough.
5. Prioritise your personal hobbies: you should always make time for you, and factor in your favourite hobbies or pastimes into your day. You can’t pour from an empty cup and taking time out each day to enjoy your hobbies will help you to relax, recharge and promote a sense of wellbeing.

Here are my 4 top tips for personal happiness:

If you want to delve a little deeper into your personal life and how you can improve your wellbeing you may want to give these a go:

1. Get out and connect with nature: try to spend some time outdoors each day if you can and practice mindful moments in nature, you could go barefoot even for 10 minutes and feel more grounded as it engages your senses, lifts your spirits and helps you to feel more peaceful.
2. Focus on building strong relationships: spend more time with family and friends as nurturing your relationships will have a positive effect on your emotional wellbeing.
3. Take stock of small wins: look at your achievements however big or small because celebrating them can help with self-motivation and keeping positive.
4. Personal goals are important: once a week sit down and write down what you want to achieve in your personal life and set yourself some realistic goals. Review these every week and tick them off and add in new ones. This can be anything from improving your health, taking up a new hobby, travelling or learning a new skill. Remember, your personal wellbeing is your priority, it is really important you look after yourself and your happiness. As L’Oreal says “you’re worth it”. Have a go and experiment with the above techniques and find what works best for you. It’s important to make relaxation a regular part of your routine to get the most benefit.

And finally here’s my 3 top tips which could add value to your work life:

1. Keep organised: it’s nothing new but it really is true; a tidy workspace and a clear organised schedule can greatly reduce stress and increase efficiency.
2. Look for the meaning in your job: look at and understand how your job role contributes to the bigger picture for your work place. Acknowledging that your specific job has a purpose can increase job satisfaction.
3. Make achievable goals: it’s good practice to break down your daily and weekly tasks into manageable chunks. Achieving these goals can give you a sense of accomplishment and boost your morale.

It may take some time and a few tweaks to find the right balance, but if you apply these strategies it really can help you achieve a healthier, and more fulfilling work-life balance. It is all about finding the right balance that works for you and which will allow you to thrive in all areas of your life.

At Macbeth we prioritise getting the work-life balance right, because being happy is by far the best perk of any job.

Take a look at our work with us page to find out more.