Managing Work-Life Balance

Do you have trouble balancing work and your personal life? If so, you’re not alone. According to Mental Health America (MHA), almost 40% of U.S. adults who are employed full time reported working 50+ hours a week, and 18% work 60+ hours.

Despite how common it is for people to work long hours, having a healthy work-life balance is critical. Working too many hours—especially if it bleeds into your evenings, weekends, and holidays—can cause you to:

• Feel stressed and burnt out
• Strain your relationships with your loved ones
• Neglect your hobbies and self-care activities

All of this, in turn, can negatively impact your physical, mental, emotional, and social health.

How to Achieve a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Creating a healthy work-life balance can sometimes be difficult, but it’s certainly doable. Here are some steps you can take to balance work and your personal life:

• Manage your time. There are various time management techniques—such as Pomodoro timers—that can help increase your productivity, meaning that you’ll get more work accomplished in a shorter amount of time.
• Multitask. If your job allows it, try to get some work done while simultaneously engaging in a self-care activity. For example, you could listen to a seminar while you go on a walk or do some laundry.
• Set boundaries. Decide what times you’ll be starting and stopping work each day and stick to that schedule as best you can. Also be sure to set aside time for vacation days even if you’re not planning an out-of-town trip.

Get Help Balancing Your Work & Personal Life

Work-life balance plays a crucial role in our overall health and happiness, so if you’re struggling in this area, please contact Dr. Simms and schedule a therapy session. She looks forward to helping you take the steps needed to balance work and your personal life.