Achieving Work-Life Balance in the New Normal

Achieving a work-life balance can seem like an impossible task these days. There are so many demands on our time from family, friends, bosses, coworkers, clients, and even ourselves that it’s hard to fit everything into the day. We feel stressed out because we don’t have enough hours in the day or energy left at night to accomplish what we need to do before bedtime.

How do we achieve work-life balance in the new normal? We will be discussing the five following ideas to help get you started:

• • Manage your Time Wisely
  • Practice Self-Care
  • Openly Communicate
  • Remain Social
  • Reach Out for Help

Manage Your Time Wisely

Managing your time wisely in the new normal means prioritizing what matters and delegating tasks effectively to prevent overworking yourself. By managing your time wisely, you will understand how long certain tasks should take and become more mindful about where you can spend your spare moments outside office hours. Consider maintaining a time log or schedule to help guide you.

Practice Self-Care

Self-care can be difficult to prioritize amidst the chaos of work and family responsibilities. You can consider creating a healthy eating plan that can help with your stress levels and get the needed nutrients during intense work hours. Or, you might also find it helpful if you take periodic breaks throughout each day, like taking 10 minutes every four hours. Taking some “me” time will help you feel refreshed so that when it’s crunchtime at work, your energy levels are high.

Openly Communicate

It’s important for employees to openly communicate with their supervisors about how they can improve work-life balance. Whether it be by changing the amount of hours an employee works or taking a day off every week, employers should take note and provide options that will make both parties happy.

Remain Social

One way you can remain social is by maintaining a healthy relationship with co-workers outside of the workplace to help foster more trust and understanding. Examples can be as simple as scheduling virtual game nights or Zoom happy hour on Fridays. The same can apply with friends and family to help give you a well-rounded social life.

Reach Out For Help

Lastly, don’t be afraid to reach out for help! With the new normal making work-life balance a challenge for everyone, it’s time we all start looking out for each other. Reach out to coworkers, family, friends, and other support systems who can help you make sense of the emotions you experience as you navigate the new normal.

Conclusion

The key to achieving work-life balance in the new normal is making sure you have a realistic schedule, one that can be managed by your current resources. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with tasks and deadlines from all angles. Instead, try to find ways to manage them more effectively so you don’t feel like you’re always running behind. Make time for family, friends, hobbies, and self care every day. You’ll likely see an improvement in mood as well as productivity at work if you do this regularly!