As the world progresses, we struggle to find time for ourselves while maintaining a healthy, ambitious and fruitful career. While it can be challenging, there is no doubt that it is, indeed, an essential aspect of life.
It is quite common for work to take precedence over every other part of our lives. But, on the other hand, our need to maintain a social life in order to have fulfilling experiences constantly clashes with our desire to succeed professionally. Therefore, Jana Abelovska at Click Pharmacy deems it necessary to incorporate a harmonious work-social life balance to improve our physical, emotional and mental health. Following are a few tips to achieve the perfect professional and social life balance:
Why is a Harmonious Professional and Social Life Important?
In simple terms, professional and social life balance can be considered the state of equilibrium where a person prioritises the demands of their career and their personal life with equal care. There are a few factors that contribute to a poor professional and social life balance, and they are:
- Increased responsibilities at work
- Working longer hours
- Increased responsibilities at home
- Having children
Path to Achieving Perfect Harmony in Life
In order to unburden yourself from the unrealistic expectations you have built for yourself, try to accept reality and come to terms with the fact that having an extremely productive day at work and then having the perfect hangout with friends or family afterwards is not possible every single day. While it is ideal and, ultimately, the goal – it is simply not realistic.
Striving for the perfect schedule is useless – instead of focusing on achieving 50/50, try opting for a realistic plan that makes you happy. Some days, you might have to concentrate on work more whereas on some days you might have to pay attention to your social life more.
It is a given that one should enjoy every aspect of their job. While work is an expected societal norm, there is no reason your career should be restraining. Even a little kid understands that one can not be happy if they force themselves to go through something that makes them unhappy regularly.
Your main concern should be your overall physical, emotional and mental health, not your professional life and social life. This is especially important for those who struggle with mental health issues like depression or anxiety. Keep in mind that overworking can be harmful to your overall being as well. Therefore, your first and foremost priority should be yourself. If you are content with yourself, you will be happy regardless of your situation. Furthermore, it allows an individual to become their best version. It enables them to become better employees, friends, and family members.
A worker needs to cut ties with the outside world from time to time. It allows one, as a person, to recover and decompress from the weekly stress that could be piled on for an extended period. In addition to this, by unplugging, one can form a better relationship with themselves, leading to productive thoughts and ideas to emerge. Unplugging can mean something simple like not taking work-related calls after you clock out.
Another form of unplugging is taking frequent vacations. You can divert your attention from work and dedicate that time to yourself. Also, it can result in some quality time with loved ones.
There is no doubt that a career is important. But, it does not necessarily mean that your entire existence should revolve around your professional life. You are your own person, and you need to remember that. This means prioritising your hobbies and activities and taking care of yourself.
Furthermore, another vital factor in planning time with loved ones is appropriately dedicating time to them. Ensure quality time with them without any type of work conflicts.
You need to avoid burnout under any circumstances. Often, it takes people years to recover from burnout from work. Solely for that reason, it is essential to establish boundaries for yourself and your colleagues. When you leave the office, the best thing to do is untether. Avoid calls, texts and emails regarding work and try not to think about upcoming projects regarding your position.
In order to achieve the perfect harmony between your professional and social life, remember that you are an individual. You are one of the company’s building blocks, and that block needs to take care of itself. Therefore, do not lose yourself in your job. You can do that by setting achievable goals by implementing time-management strategies. Moreover, you can analyse your to-do list and cut out tasks that are not useful or do not provide any comfort to you.