Work-Life Balance: Make It Your Business

If you’re finding it difficult to balance the different elements of your life, you’re not alone. 58% of Canadians report “overload” associated with their many roles – work, home and family, friends, physical health, volunteer and community service. Check out this link on how to find out if you are in balance and some tips for getting balanced. http://www.cmha.ca/mental_health/work-life-balance-make-it-your-business/#.V_PRtOUrKig

Are you balanced? Take the Quiz to find out. Download PDF of Quiz here >

FIVE WAYS TO GIVE IT YOUR BEST AT WORK AND AT HOME

Giving it your best can energize you and can benefit the people around you — your family, friends, partner, and co-workers. The Gallup Organization has found that engaged employees are more optimistic about their personal lives and less likely to bring stress home. Many studies show that work take less out of you if you feel positive about it. In fact, it can revitalize you! And that positive energy spills over into all areas of your life. So why not get started learning how to give it your best?

• Set both easy and hard to reach goals. Say, for example, that your goal is to begin an exercise program. A starting goal might be to get outdoors and walk three times a week for 10 minutes. Then, when you’re ready for a more challenging goal, work up to a 30-minute walk four times a week in six months. Achieving your easy goal will give you a sense of accomplishment, while your harder goal will give you something positive to work toward over time.

Try setting easy and hard to reach goals in all areas of life, whether you’re tackling big projects at work or cleaning out your basement.

• Track your goals and progress. Keeping track of your goals helps you stay the course. Let’s say you want to adopt a healthier diet. Create a paper or electronic document to track what you eat and changes you want to make. Be specific. You might write, “Stop drinking soft drinks in the late afternoon. Drink water and bring pretzels and a piece of fruit to snack on.” You could also use one of the many available apps and tracking tools, some free, for sophisticated tracking of diet, exercise, and other goals.
• Celebrate small steps forward. This is the “progress principle,” so named by Harvard Business School professor and author Teresa Amabile. In 15 years of research, she found that workers who noted their “small wins” or “minor milestones” working toward a goal were happier. Try it at home, too.
• If you have goals at work you aren’t achieving, ask your manager to review your workload with you and help you prioritize.

 

Check out the whole article and other great Life Works articles here:

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