Research has shown that overworking can have negative effects on health and work performance. Sometimes overworking may feel like “overachieving” or as though it is necessary to get ahead. However, work-life balance contributes to health, happiness, productivity, and longevity. Why?
Striving for work-life balance will promote healthy lifestyle choices and prevent burnout. What this looks like in detail may vary between individuals, but there are a few ways to maintain balance as you pursue your education or skills upgrade and career.
Keep reading to learn more about some ways you can achieve balance.
Establish a Routine
Many professionals approach work-life balance as a framework for setting priorities. When you identify your priorities, the next step is to create a routine and develop habits to ensure you will prioritize the items at the top of your list.
For example, if one of your priorities is to do an administrative assistant program in order to open up more job opportunities, then set aside time for course work each day. A daily habit will help you tackle this important goal one step at a time. Experts say that establishing habits and routines is a great way to achieve goals. When you stick to your routine, you are sticking to your priorities.
Do One Thing at a Time
It goes without saying that life is busy. Many people may feel like they have to multitask, or do many things at once, all the time. Doing one thing at a time will increase your ability to focus and decrease stress. In fact, studies have shown that most of our brains are better at mono-tasking. That is, doing one thing at a time.
This means that if you are always checking your email, it may be difficult to focus on family time or cooking a healthy meal. The solution is to set aside time for email, or the tasks that you need to get done one at a time. Then when it is time for relaxation or socializing, you can enjoy yourself more fully.
If you are interested in taking courses to shift careers, or gain credentials, a career college training program may be right for you.
Put Relaxing Activities in Your Schedule
Your schedule will help you organize work activities, but it can also help you organize non-work activities. It is just as important to set aside time intentionally for activities that reduce stress. For some people, this may be a morning exercise routine. Others may benefit from a few minutes of meditation each day.
When you work from home, do online coursework, or other computer work, another strategy is to schedule no-screen time. This may be especially important before bed. It has been shown that the blue light from screens can affect the quality of your rest time. Whatever your relaxation activity is, including it in your work-life balance plan will help you show up to school and work refreshed and ready.
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