Let’s start by going a few centuries back. What do you think ‘work life’ and ‘home life’ consisted of then?
Before industrialization, the workforce routinely woke up at the crack of the dawn and went into their farms to look after their domestic animals and fields. At sunset, they would head back to their houses to have dinner and to relax & rejuvenate for the next day.
During those times, the things that were defined as work were clear, and the timeframe to get the work done was extremely clear right from the time when chickens went to roost.
Our ancestors simply indulged in activities like bringing food to the table, collecting eggs, milking the cows, and making scarecrows to keep their crops intact from the birds. While at home they were simply indulged themselves in making the home comfortable, fixing a leaking roof, splitting firewood for colder nights, and doing laundry. This was all the trivialities of the ‘work-life.
On the other hand, ‘home life’ would include a period that they didn’t have to work. So when families assembled together in the evening, the parents would tell their children stories or do music jamming, and this way teach them and pass down knowledge.
Sundays were all about family visits to the church which can be categorized under ‘home life’ as they provide nourishment for the soul than for the body.
Arguably, life is not a bed of roses and may not have sounded as idealistic as we put it, but the idea here is to show that there was a time, there was a clear distinctive time for work and time not meant for work.
In the 21st century, this fine line of distinction completely fades away. The internet era has boosted globalization, clubbed billions of people together, and have us connected 24 hours a day and making work-home life a new normal.
A notable survey done in the oil and gas industry showed that 55% of workers in the industry took their work home and 38% felt guilty when they did not carry something from the office.
Another study conducted by ‘New Evolution Performance’ found from their coaching experience that employees in the workplace are merely 60% productive as they could be. This clearly signifies our office routine, that we go to work and constantly check and reply to our emails, do a fraction of work that we’re supposed to do, then check our social media, and then our minds still on meeting deadlines from work, go home. When we get home, we spare a fraction of time from ‘home-life’, before or after dinner, to get working on the work we didn’t do.
As you hit the send button on the reports or the project you have been working on, your email pings. Your proactive manager or supervisor has already assigned you to draft a presentation for tomorrow. It seems like a lot of work, you think. Next, what you do, you shut off your laptop, your head fills with mental images of all assigned tasks that have been unaccomplished and the next-day meetings that you’ll have to attend. With this stream of thoughts, you go to sleep.
The next morning, you woke up with a groggy head, and you are back to work. And you repeat the cycle every day because you do the same work every day and getting yourself occupied on the weekends because your proactive supervisor knows that you’re only an email away.
This is why the conversation on work-life balance is important. It might seem generic but is not at all healthy that you’re at work all the time. Some of the side effects include fatigue, constant exhaustion, and, elevated stress, a sizeable reduction in the time spent with family and friends, and increased expectations from your proactive supervisor on the part of your employer.
So how do you balance out your work and home life, in a way that is healthy but still ensures that you keep your job?
Track Time Spent
Begin by analyzing how much time you spent in either of these lives. Start a diary routine, and during a normal week, log in the amount of time you spent doing productive work at the office.
Please ensure to account for the time you wasted or distractedly spent on social media and otherworldly things. How long your daily chores take, and the amount of time you spent unplugged. Analyze your diary daily, weekly, and on a monthly basis, find what seems problematic for you.
Can you see that you spent too much time at work? And, what fraction of that time is spent productively? Or, maybe the problem is more about the fact that the time you’re supposed to be winding down is spent thinking about work.
Diagnose the problem
You need to diagnose the specific problems that stand tall in creating the misbalance between your work and life. Identify what would an ideal work-life balance look like for you? How much time do you need to spend at work to ensure that all your duties are met? What would wind down look like for you?
Diagnose your daily time spent by drawing a pie chart that shows the percentage of time spent doing all our important or must-accomplish activities. Pin this on your desk at work and your fridge at home. Then work on achieving this balance slowly and steadily. One of the main reasons why most of us do not stick to our New Year’s resolutions is because we try to chew too much too fast. Remember! Rome was not built in a day.
Stand up to your Boss!
For you to achieve a steady work-life balance, you may have to stand up to your boss and insist that they do not call you with work during weekends. Sounds gutsy! Understand, if your weekends are spent correcting your mistakes in your week’s work, you and your supervisor may rub shoulders.
Before calling your day at work on Fridays, you could peruse your work to correct any mistakes that may have been present. Then, if your boss calls you on weekends to give you more work, you can very creatively say no. And, if your work has no problems, your boss will not call you.
It is vitally important to completely unplug when you’re away from work. Turn off your computer and don’t look at your work email. Better yet, spend this time with your family and friends or the latest upload on Netflix or scrolling down the latest trend on social media, or spend time doing something with your kids.
You may be important at your workplace, but not so much that the company would fall down.
I rest my case!
If someone or some activities are not doing you any good on either your professional or your personal front, cut them off. We hope that you see the merits of balancing your work and your personal lives. It has a concrete effect on how you well perform at work and the quality of your rest.
Let’s start by going a few centuries back. What do you think ‘work life’ and ‘home life’ consisted of then?
Before industrialization, the workforce routinely woke up at the crack of the dawn and went into their farms to look after their domestic animals and fields. At sunset, they would head back to their houses to have dinner and to relax & rejuvenate for the next day.
During those times, the things that were defined as work were clear, and the timeframe to get the work done was extremely clear right from the time when chickens went to roost.
Our ancestors simply indulged in activities like bringing food to the table, collecting eggs, milking the cows, and making scarecrows to keep their crops intact from the birds. While at home they were simply indulged themselves in making the home comfortable, fixing a leaking roof, splitting firewood for colder nights, and doing laundry. This was all the trivialities of the ‘work-life.
On the other hand, ‘home life’ would include a period that they didn’t have to work. So when families assembled together in the evening, the parents would tell their children stories or do music jamming, and this way teach them and pass down knowledge.
Sundays were all about family visits to the church which can be categorized under ‘home life’ as they provide nourishment for the soul than for the body.
Arguably, life is not a bed of roses and may not have sounded as idealistic as we put it, but the idea here is to show that there was a time, there was a clear distinctive time for work and time not meant for work.
In the 21st century, this fine line of distinction completely fades away. The internet era has boosted globalization, clubbed billions of people together, and have us connected 24 hours a day and making work-home life a new normal.
A notable survey done in the oil and gas industry showed that 55% of workers in the industry took their work home and 38% felt guilty when they did not carry something from the office.
Another study conducted by ‘New Evolution Performance’ found from their coaching experience that employees in the workplace are merely 60% productive as they could be. This clearly signifies our office routine, that we go to work and constantly check and reply to our emails, do a fraction of work that we’re supposed to do, then check our social media, and then our minds still on meeting deadlines from work, go home. When we get home, we spare a fraction of time from ‘home-life’, before or after dinner, to get working on the work we didn’t do.
As you hit the send button on the reports or the project you have been working on, your email pings. Your proactive manager or supervisor has already assigned you to draft a presentation for tomorrow. It seems like a lot of work, you think. Next, what you do, you shut off your laptop, your head fills with mental images of all assigned tasks that have been unaccomplished and the next-day meetings that you’ll have to attend. With this stream of thoughts, you go to sleep.
The next morning, you woke up with a groggy head, and you are back to work. And you repeat the cycle every day because you do the same work every day and getting yourself occupied on the weekends because your proactive supervisor knows that you’re only an email away.
This is why the conversation on work-life balance is important. It might seem generic but is not at all healthy that you’re at work all the time. Some of the side effects include fatigue, constant exhaustion, and, elevated stress, a sizeable reduction in the time spent with family and friends, and increased expectations from your proactive supervisor on the part of your employer.
So how do you balance out your work and home life, in a way that is healthy but still ensures that you keep your job?
Track Time Spent
Begin by analyzing how much time you spent in either of these lives. Start a diary routine, and during a normal week, log in the amount of time you spent doing productive work at the office.
Please ensure to account for the time you wasted or distractedly spent on social media and otherworldly things. How long your daily chores take, and the amount of time you spent unplugged. Analyze your diary daily, weekly, and on a monthly basis, find what seems problematic for you.
Can you see that you spent too much time at work? And, what fraction of that time is spent productively? Or, maybe the problem is more about the fact that the time you’re supposed to be winding down is spent thinking about work.
Diagnose the problem
You need to diagnose the specific problems that stand tall in creating the misbalance between your work and life. Identify what would an ideal work-life balance look like for you? How much time do you need to spend at work to ensure that all your duties are met? What would wind down look like for you?
Diagnose your daily time spent by drawing a pie chart that shows the percentage of time spent doing all our important or must-accomplish activities. Pin this on your desk at work and your fridge at home. Then work on achieving this balance slowly and steadily. One of the main reasons why most of us do not stick to our New Year’s resolutions is because we try to chew too much too fast. Remember! Rome was not built in a day.
Stand up to your Boss!
For you to achieve a steady work-life balance, you may have to stand up to your boss and insist that they do not call you with work during weekends. Sounds gutsy! Understand, if your weekends are spent correcting your mistakes in your week’s work, you and your supervisor may rub shoulders.
Before calling your day at work on Fridays, you could peruse your work to correct any mistakes that may have been present. Then, if your boss calls you on weekends to give you more work, you can very creatively say no. And, if your work has no problems, your boss will not call you.
It is vitally important to completely unplug when you’re away from work. Turn off your computer and don’t look at your work email. Better yet, spend this time with your family and friends or the latest upload on Netflix or scrolling down the latest trend on social media, or spend time doing something with your kids.
You may be important at your workplace, but not so much that the company would fall down.
I rest my case!
If someone or some activities are not doing you any good on either your professional or your personal front, cut them off. We hope that you see the merits of balancing your work and your personal lives. It has a concrete effect on how you well perform at work and the quality of your rest.
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