Work is not the only thing in life. Nowadays, the need to find the right balance between your private and professional life has become fundamental for a great number of people. In 2018, according to OPE’s survey on balance between professional, personal and family life, 92% of the French workers asked consider that the balance of time devoted to professional and personal life is an important subject, even very important.
Reconciling personal and professional life is a decisive criteria for young generations who are beginning their careers. Succeeding in finding a balance allows to have teams who are motivated, involved, performing well and who take pleasure in coming to work. Conversely, a professional life that is too invading can have consequences on the productivity of your colleagues, harming their health and leading to a burn-out.
Discover 8 tips to effectively combine private and professional life, and to no longer feel overwhelmed.
1. Define your priorities
You cannot be on all fronts because no, nobody has found a way to split themselves into two yet. To be really effective and avoid dividing yourself, you need to define your priorities at the office like at home.
At work, what really interests you? What skills would you like to showcase or develop more? Which projects would you like to involve yourself in? What are the tasks that you could delegate?
In terms of private life, do you want to spend more time with your family and friends? Would you like to have the time to cook more often and do a regular activity?
It is down to you do put all your work in order to reach your objectives. Balancing private and professional life should become your project and you should work towards its success.
2. Organise your days
In order to achieve your objectives, it is imperative to be organised. For example, making to-do lists will help you greatly. Start your day by writing everything that you wish to accomplish (by staying realistic), then get yourself to work straight away. Tick the completed tasks as you go along and at the end of the day it will give you a real feeling of accomplishment.
Another important point:Â make work timetables a necessity and respect them whatever happens (except in emergencies, of course). It is not useful to stay just to put in an appearance if you have finished your tasks for the day or if you are tired and less productive.
3. Learn to delegate
Stop putting yourself on every front and wanting to do everything. Concentrate yourself only on the most important tasks and learn to delegate secondary ones:
- identify the tasks which you can delegate ;
- choose competent colleagues who you can entrust them with ;
- discuss all aspects with them (objectives, deadlines and demands) ;
- have confidence in them and congratulate them for their work.
4. Learn to say no
If you already have lots of work, it is pointless to put yourself under even more pressure by accepting new tasks. Reflect and ask yourself if it is really worth it to say yes and put yourself in an impossible situation just to please your boss and colleagues.
Explain the situation and the reasons why you can’t do it clearly and honestly. With experience, you will no longer blame yourself for saying no and you will feel a lot better.
5. Disconnect completely
At work like at home, we are constantly hooked to our smartphones to read an email, find out the time of the next meeting or check Facebook or Instagram. Constantly called upon by notifications, our brain does not manage to concentrate, which makes us totally unproductive and ineffective.
In order to perform well and therefore avoid working overtime, you have to concentrate on what you are doing. To achieve this, turn off email notifications, turn off your phone, indeed isolate yourself completely. Only look at your emails two or three times a day at a set time.
The same thing should apply at home. Turn off absolutely your professional notifications, but also various social media alerts. Make the most of the moment with those you are close to instead of being attached to the screen of your smartphone.
6. Take a real lunch break
As its name indicates, the lunch break is a break. So avoid eating a sandwich quickly in front of your screen and make the most of it by disconnecting from work. Leave to eat outside, alone or with colleagues (but don’t talk about work worries), go for a work, go shopping or do sport. In short, take the time for yourself.
This short break is beneficial for your well-being and allows your brain to rest at the same time. In this way, you come back to your job revitalised and ready to work in a productive way all afternoon.
7. Do physical activity
Sport is an excellent way to get over the stress of the day, to decompress and to make the transition between work and home. All activities are beneficial: walking, running, swimming, cycling, doing zumba, yoga or meditation allows you to take time for you and to eliminate the tensions and pressure felt at the office.
Furthermore, it is important to do at least 30 minutes of physical exercise every day, especially when we spend it sat in front of a computer.
8. Think about working from home
Have you thought about working from home? More and more businesses allow their employees to work from their homes one or more days every week. Admittedly, this is not suitable for everybody, but working from your home allows, for example, parents to take and pick up their children from school, all while working more effectively the rest of the day as they are not interrupted by meetings, discussions with colleagues or the phone ringing.
Nowadays, new technologies and particularly collaborative platforms like Wimi have made working from home easier. All you have to do is log on wherever you are to have access to all the data for the project you are working on and be able to discuss in real time with colleagues. What a breeze!
Finding the right balance between your personal and professional life is essential for your wellbeing and success. It is down to you to better organise your time and make the necessary efforts to achieve this.
