Juggling your work and home life can be a huge balancing act. Between the conference calls, errands, home duties and family outings you may feel like a work-life balance is just something you will never master. Plus, with more and more people working remotely from a home office, there is often a huge work/life overlap.
The good news is you can achieve a healthy work-life balance without adding more hours to the day. It may just take some new habits and a new mindset.
Build Downtime Into Your Schedule
This may seem counterintuitive if you are already struggling to find more time during the day. But scheduling a specific time to relax may actually make you more productive during working hours.
Setting aside as little as fifteen minutes for some quiet time or meditation in the morning can help you gather your thoughts and set the wheels in motion for positive thinking throughout the day. Think about how often you are distracted by screens and social media. You owe it to yourself to spend at least fifteen minutes a day to unplug and reset.
Rethink Errands
Errands and chores can easily fill up your weekends or even weeknights if you let them. Are there any errands you could outsource to someone else? For example, landscaping, housekeeping or even something as simple as grocery delivery.
These services may be worth the investment if it means you can spend time advancing your career or dedicating more time to family.
Drop Activities that Drain You
Take inventory of all activities outside of work and family. Are there any that feel more like obligations than enjoyable? For example, you may feel obligated to help a friend by dedicating your time to specific activity. It is alright to say no. Or, perhaps you can offer another way to help that friend that doesn’t require your free time.
Get Moving with Exercise
We all know that exercise provides benefits for your physical health, but did you know it can help improve mental clarity and motivation? In addition to scheduling quiet time to clear your thoughts, make a routine of exercising to get those endorphins going. Like most good habits, the key is to make a routine and stick to it. So schedule time before work to hit the gym or take a walk in the evenings. You don’t need to do a strenuous workout either, as long as you make it a habit to stay moving.
Automate Good Money Habits
Maintaining your physical health and well being is important, but what about your financial health? Are there any money saving habits that can be put on auto pilot?
Setting up automatic transfers to your savings is one of the easiest ways you can automate a good money habit. Or, you may want to consult with a financial planner to track and analyze your financial picture.
A Little Relaxation Goes a Long Way
As mentioned, scheduling at least fifteen minutes of downtime can help you clear your thoughts and make a positive start to your day. But sometimes you need a a little more downtime to recharge your batteries. Whether it’s a Netflix binge session or a weeklong tropical getaway, unplugging and doing things that you truly enjoy can actually help you feel more refreshed and ready go when it’s time to get into work mode.
Reduce Stress by Scheduling Activities that are Important to You
Before you can evaluate which activities to include in your daily schedule, it is important to determine what your true goals are.
Then when you are deciding whether or not to spend time on a given task, simply ask yourself, does this activity help me get closer to my goals?
About Michigan Mortgage Lender, Julie Krumholz
Julie Krumholz is has been helping homebuyers throughout Michigan for over 30 years. On a personal level, you will find her to be friendly, straightforward, honest and extremely dedicated to helping her clients.
