Very few Brits have managed to achieve a healthy work-life balance. In fact, we work the longest hours in Europe at an average of 42 hours, compared to the EU’s average of 40. Work even dominates our life during our time off, with a quarter of us struggling to take our minds off our jobs. And if you’ve been working from home recently, you’ve probably found that your work-life balance has gotten even worse. This is bad news, as a poor work-life balance causes nothing but trouble. Your career, mental health and relationships will seriously suffer if you can’t bring back the harmony between your career and the rest of your life. To get you started, here are 5 tips for achieving a better work-life balance.
- Take Mini-Breaks Throughout the Day
Believe it or not, our brain is not built to work for hours at a time. But for some reason, British work culture encourages employees to carry on until they drop. Many workers brag about working through their lunch break or feel smug about working solidly from 9–5. In reality, these workers are the ones who will suffer in the long-run. By not letting your mind rest for a few minutes, you’re wearing it out. As a result, you’re likely to make more mistakes and work less efficiently. People who take regular breaks, on the other hand, are far more likely to be productive. One study found that taking just two minute breaks regularly increased the productivity of participants by 11.15% an hour.
Being productive in the workday is key to making sure you maintain a healthy work-life balance. You don’t want to be stuck at your desk throughout the night because you’re struggling to concentrate and keep yourself motivated. So, don’t forget to give yourself a break! Although there’s no one agreed-upon time frame for them, there’s a general consensus that one should be taken every 30–90 minutes. My method of choice is the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working for 25-minute stretches, then taking a 5-minute break. I find it far easier to keep myself motivated in these short stretches of time, and my break leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to go again.
2. Set Some Boundaries
Setting yourself boundaries is one of the most important things you can do, not just for work-life balance but for your life as a whole. When you were working from the office, you probably stayed there later than usual every so often, maybe even a couple of times a week. But at the end of most days, you finished up your work, left the office and left your work at the door. But when you start working from home, you don’t get the same feeling.
When your home space is your workspace, the lines become blurred. So over the past few months, you’ve probably been working longer than usual. Your routine is different, and the boundaries you need aren’t there anymore. These days, you might find yourself working well into the twilight hours. But this isn’t healthy, or sustainable. Although you’re working longer hours, the quality of your work is likely to suffer. And on top of that, you’re losing your precious free time. You should be spending your evenings catching up with a loved one, or doing your favourite hobby, not working until the crack of dawn.
In order to maintain a healthy work-life balance, you really need to set yourself some boundaries. One of the most important rules to implement is a clocking off time. Even though you can’t leave your work at the door anymore, you can still leave it at the desk.
To make the end of the workday seem final, switch off your laptop, tidy up your desk and don’t return until it’s time to work again. And speaking of your desk, try to make sure that you work there at all times. Of course, this isn’t possible for everyone as we don’t all have a desk or table to work from. If you’re in this boat, invest in a laptop stand and designate yourself a chair or section of the sofa to work from. When it’s time to clock off, leave this area and don’t return until it’s time to start working again. It may seem like a small change, but it’ll do you a world of good.
3. Prioritise Your Health
Looking after our health has become more important than ever this past year. We have to protect ourselves from the virus, from any other illnesses which may weaken our immune system, and of course, protect our mental health too. By protecting your health, you’re giving yourself a better work-life balance too. When you’re ill, you can’t produce the same quality of work that you do when you’re well. This leads to you taking more time to fix mistakes you’ve made, which consequently eats into more of your free time.
What’s worse, working when you’re ill will leave you stuck in an unhealthy cycle — this is because it will make your condition worse, which makes your work worse, which leads to longer hours, and so on. After a long week of pushing your body and mind to struggle through the illness, you probably don’t feel up to doing much with your free time either. So don’t be one of the 70% of workers who goes to work when they’re ill, take the day off. You really need it.
As well as giving ourselves sick days when needed, we should also try to prevent the need for them in the first place. Make sure to eat a balanced diet full of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to fight off disease. It’s also important to keep active, as this helps both the brain and the body. If you haven’t exercised in a while and you find the thought of it overwhelming, check out our article on how to develop an exercise routine.
4. Keep In Contact With Loved Ones
When you’re so focused on your career, it’s easy to lose yourself in your work and ignore everything else. Neglecting things like your housework, hobbies, or exercise routine can be seriously harmful. But the absolute worst thing to neglect is your relationships. If you forget about your loved ones in favour of work, you may find that they aren’t there for you when you need them most. And having healthy relationships can even improve your health too. People with a strong friendship group are less likely to suffer from colds or stress. And we already know that better health leads to better quality work being produced, which leads to a better work-life balance. It’s clear that these relationships are vital for your wellbeing, so you must protect them at all costs.
In order to maintain connections with your loved ones, make sure to set aside time to spend with them. It doesn’t even have to be in person; in fact, it’s safer not to meet face to face at the moment. Why not catch up over a Zoom call or even a good old fashioned phone call? And don’t just give them a vague “I’ll call you sometime” — make sure to set an actual date and time. If you do, you’re far more likely to follow through with your plans. It doesn’t have to all be just talking either. Play a game or do a quiz to make the catch-up an event.
5. Learn How To Say No
This last tip is the one you’ll probably find the hardest. Saying no to someone, especially at work, feels like you’re letting them down. But in reality, all you’re doing is putting yourself first, which is okay. And no one will hold a grudge if you say no every once in a while. If you end up agreeing to everything that everyone asks of you, your work is likely to suffer. We already know that by completely ignoring the importance of work-life balance and running yourself into the ground, the quality of your work suffers. But if you do a poor job on a project that someone asked you for help on, you may end up damaging your relationship with them too. So for the sake of your work, your relationships and your wellbeing, learn how to say no every once in a while.
It doesn’t have to be awkward or rude. Make sure to be firm with your answer, but give a reason for saying no. It’s okay to admit that you feel overwhelmed and you need to protect your health — honesty is far better than a straight-up “no thanks” without an explanation. And try not to feel guilty for it. If you’re a people-pleaser, this can be pretty difficult. But remember that sometimes, saying no is for the best.
Written by Siobhan Kelly
WellBe is spearheading the way to a brighter future for corporate wellness. Our innovative portal is scientifically designed and tailored to each individual employee to improve their wellbeing. We specialise in a range of services from coaching and therapists, to meditation and reading materials. Our aim is to reduce workplace stress that costs UK businesses £42 billion per year. Get in touch with us by visiting our site wellbe.global for more information.
