There is a sharp co-relation between your personal and professional life. If things are not well in your personal life, then there is no denying the fact that it is going to affect your work life. For instance, if you are suffering from high blood pressure and anxiety issues, this will have a negative bearing on your work. Now, if you begin to take the right kind of diet and follow a proper exercise regimen, your personal care will enhance your efficiency and competence at the workplace. Every person should strive to achieve proper work like balance. This will not only bring normalcy to their life, but it will also reduce the stress levels which can mar work performance. In current times managing work and personal care have become a daunting task. People are worried about their jobs like never before and this is the reason that they are working for longer hours. Everybody is on a race to prove that they are an indispensable part of the team and this why they are working harder. Augmenting the pressure at work are portable electronic devices. Now, you are accessible to your employees wherever you go and this blurring the line between work and home. Even if you leave your office premises, you are obliged to answer the calls of your co-workers, supervisors and even customers and this can even happen at odd hours. There has been a constant decline in work-life balance. People are so busy working that they forget to lead their lives. Everything seems to be just about work and nothing.
But what is startling is that most productive employees have a well-balanced and well-rounded professional and personal life. Most of the successful companies think about employee health as well as well-being is directly linked to an organization’s performance and productivity. Most of the employees understand this fact. This is the reason why work-life balance is a vital attribute while choosing a company. It actually holds value next to only compensation.

What do you mean by work-life balance?

Attaining a good work-life balance essentially connotes handling both our professional and personal life in a sustainable fashion so that the energy flow in the body is not hampered. It is hugely vital for our minds and bodies to be happy as well as the content.
Everything which you do should enrich your mind and body be it be your work, career, health, fitness goals, family, relationships, hobbies, passions, intellectual stimulation, etc.
Now, how do you attain this balance in life? Given below are some essential steps to work-life balance.
Establishing healthy work-life balance

1. Keep a track of the time you spend on different activities

It is vital that you know where your time is going. You shouldn’t be devoting excessive time to a single activity as this means you are ignoring something or the other. Create a time log for everything you pack up in a week, this encompasses both work-related as well as personal activities. By doing so you will understand which activities take most of your time and where are you wasting your energies.

2. Establish Your Priorities

Spend some time reflecting on what things hold maximum importance for you. Build up a list which contains your top priorities both at work and at home. After this, analyze what things you should stop doing, where you can save your time, etc. This will prevent you from going overboard on things.

3. Set fixed goals

Build up a list of all your priorities. Turn them into tangible and quantifiable goals. Fix your time for specific activities in the same way how you fix your time for meetings.

4. Schedule your things carefully

Successful people plan whatever they wish to do in a systematic manner. It is really important to have a date planner. This way you will know what needs to be done when. Put aside a few minutes at the start of the day or at night before you sleep to plan things which you will be doing the next day.

5. Set clear-cut boundaries

It is imperative to fix realistic and fair limits to what you do at home and at your office. Let people around you such as your spouse, co-worker or even the supervisor know about these limits. For example, you might be clear that you won’t be working late on certain days unless an emergency crops up. At home, you can fix that you will not be checking any work-related emails when you are spending time with your family.

6. Stay vigilant of your health

Health should be your first priority as if your health is fine you can achieve just about anything in life. If you are affected either mentally or physically, both work life and personal life will have to bear the toll. Take good care of your health by consuming healthy meals, following a good exercising regimen and sleeping for a minimum of seven to eight hours every night. Exercising relieves stress from your body. Your energy levels become better, the stamina increases, mental clarity is improved, and your immune system gets the much-needed boost. In short, you become a more productive person. Furthermore, refrain from excessive use of tobacco, alcohol or drugs. All these things tend to put your body in a stress zone.

7. Care for your relationships

Relationships which you foster with your family or friends are without any doubt the greatest source of inner peace and satisfaction. In case your job is having a detrimental effect on your personal relationships, eventually, you will have problems in both areas. There can be days when you need to work overtime but this should not become a problem. Prioritize your personal relationships as this will enhance your productivity and effectiveness at a job.

8. Schedule time for your own self

We all know that work, fitness, and relationships take most of your time. But you must put aside time for your own self also. Pamper yourself with small pleasures once in a while. Connect with the higher force. This will help build up your inner strength and resilience.

9. Do not take your work to your home

Build up a mental switch on-off between your work and home. This enables you to establish a midway ground between two realms. When you leave your office, tune your mind to other things such as listening to music on your way back home or doing any personal errands, indulging in shopping, etc. This will relax your mind and release your tension.

10. Check all your available options

Most of the progressive companies are coming up with policies which lead to work-life balance. Check what all options your company can offer you. This can be in terms of flexible hours of work, telecommuting, job-sharing, compressed workweek or even part-time work. Search for an arrangement which facilitates productivity, while freeing up time for personal pursuits. In case your boss does not offer flexible scheduling program, give suggestions to include one.

11. Do things in a smart way

You should learn how to make the most out of your time. This skill is important for anyone from a receptionist to a CEO. Adopt the right kind of time-management practices which can enable you to save an hour every day. Use technology to become more organized, group your emails and the voice messages, do not procrastinate and learn to refuse things which you do not like.

12. Know when to ask for help

If you feel you are overwhelmed with work, and it is leading to excessive stress in your life there is no need to suffer in silence. Leave the superman/woman tag and ask your boss or coworkers for help. Unsustainable work situations should be alleviated, but this calls for some assertiveness on your part. Now, if you feel you are feeling uncomfortable due to a draining relationship, get in touch with a counselor who can help you come out of the situation.

Wrapping up

There is no fixed rule on how to strike the perfect work-life balance. Each person has to find his or her own unique way of balancing work, relationships, and personal care. What you feel at a given frame of time might change in times to come. So, you have to evolve constantly to strike a balance. Big changes cannot be made at once. Implement small strategies one at a time. Begin with one goal and then move to the next. All things cannot be done in one go. So stay calm and composed in everything you do.
The entire process of establishing a work-life balance is akin to becoming a professional athlete or training for a marathon. All this requires a great effort but then it is worth putting in this kind of effort. It is not impossible to have a successful professional career along with a satisfying personal life. Take full control of what all you do. Be sensible about where you spend your time. Have a balanced and fulfilling life.

Author's Bio: 

Rahul Mathur is the founder and managing director of ARKA Softwares, a company renowned for its outstanding mobile app development and web development solutions as well as specialized in Android and iOS app development. Delivering high-end modern solutions to all over the globe, Rahul takes pleasure in sharing his experiences and views on latest technological trends.