If you are feeling overwhelmed with your work or feel that all you do is work, you are not alone. According to a survey, more than sixty percent of the population worldwide believe that they struggle with maintaining a healthy work life balance.

In this article we will be discussing the following:

Defining work life balance 

Significance of work life balance 

Ways to achieve a healthy work-life balance

Work life balance is defined as having a lifestyle in which you are able to prioritize your professional and personal life in a way that no part of life is neglected and you feel nurtured in all areas of life. It is the your ability to manage your daily routine or time in a way that you are able to complete not only your work tasks but also focus on your health, as well as, personal and social relationships. In simple words, it is working and also making time for your personal life.

It is important to maintain a healthy work life balance in order to live a long, healthy and fulfilling life. There are numerous benefits of a balanced work-life including good physical health, good mental well being, increased motivation, productivity, creativity and job satisfaction with reduced stress and burnout. With more balance and time at hand, you are able to invest in your relationships as well as have some time for yourself. Your stress levels are reduced and overall life satisfaction is enhanced by a balanced lifestyle.

Here are a few strategies that are recommended to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life:

Prioritize 

Most of the times people feel overwhelmed with their work or personal life because they are not prioritizing the tasks and focus on the number of tasks they have to accomplish. This can induce anxiety or stress and makes it difficult to work effectively. Making a list of the most urgent to least urgent tasks helps in prioritizing and providing a sense of satisfaction that you are doing what needs to done, what is important is to know when it needs to be done. 

Fixed Time

Fix a specific time for each task and don’t engage in the overtime. Every day there are a number of things that are required for a normal healthy functioning and we often make the mistake of giving more time to one activity and neglect the other things. It is true for most of us that when we have more work we take it home and instead of spending time with family or exercising we invest all that time finishing up work. Therefore, it is important to fix a time to check messages or take calls, respond to mail, exercise etc, to free up your mind for the rest of the day when you are not doing anything.

Delegate Tasks

You do not have to do everything by yourself, delegate tasks at work and in personal life whenever you can, let your support system help you find a balanced way to manage time.

Practice Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness on a daily basis helps in training mind for stay focused on the present and the task at hand only. It is known to reduce stress, boost mood and have a positive effect on mental health because it trains you to invest mental energy in the present rather than worrying about the future or thinking about the past.

Stick to a Hobby

Make a list of all the things you occasionally do or want to do and out of them chose top three which you would like to often engage in, it can be paintaing, drawing, sketching, rock climbing, learning to play any musical instrument etc. Pick out three days from your week and fix a time for yourself to let yourself enjoy any leisure activity you like.

Rest and Revive

Remember the key to being more reproductive and creative is by remaining stress free and relaxed. Put notes or reminders in your office and home that remind you to take mini breaks of 10-15 minutes after two hours. You can download applications on your devices that will notify you of your daily time limit you have designated for a task and give you reminders to stop and start another activity. Smart watches, AI health apps are helpful in keeping track. Make sure to take rest and give yourself time to rejuvenate. 

There are no fixed hours of a day that are scientifically given that can be universally applied on each person, however, there are a few things you can take care of such as take 7-8 hours of sleep, take small breaks to practice relaxation exercises, mindfulness through out your day, prioritize your tasks on the basis of their urgency, importance and make sure to give some time to yourself and your relationships each day to have a wholesome life experience and experience a healthy work life balance. 

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