How to Create a Work-Life Balance and Maintain It

Now that summer is slowly approaching, many of us don’t have the luxury of being able to be free all summer and have to spend it working. Whether it’s working to support yourself or working a summer internship for your college, you don’t want to get bogged down in the summer under hours of work. So why is it important that you keep a healthy balance between work and having an exciting and relaxing summer? Overworking will lead to physical and mental burnout, and it will also stunt any self-development or self-improvement you hope to complete. Similarly, creating a healthy work-life balance will allow you to be more productive, which helps you to get your work done quicker and provides you with more free time to relax and enjoy the summer!

SET BOUNDARIES

One of the most important, but sometimes one of the scariest, ways to maintain a healthy work-life balance is to set boundaries within yourself and your work. It’s essential to set and continue to maintain clear boundaries between work and your personal life. If possible, it’s important that you set specific working hours and avoid working during those times. Set yourself as “away” or on “do not disturb” on your work laptops and emails to give yourself that personal time. Turn off notifications from work and any colleagues and don’t get involved, even if asked by your coworkers, unless it’s a dire emergency. 

PRIORITIZE SELF-CARE

Take care of both your physical and mental health by prioritizing your self-care. Make sure your sleep schedule lines up with your work schedule, and that you are getting at least a full eight hours every night of uninterrupted rest. Also try to incorporate some form of exercise every day, whether that be a morning yoga stretch or a jog in the evening, any sort of movement is good! It’s also important to prioritize your mental health, as well! That means taking breaks whenever needed, even if that means a whole day off from working. You can even try to practice relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga, or even pick up new habits like journaling to deal with stress.

PLAN YOUR TIME

Effectively planning your time by creating schedules to include both your work and personal activities is a great way to create a healthy work-life balance. Creating a schedule will allow you to see how much free time you have during your day, and also allow you to allot time for yourself after work. Creating a schedule will also help you to plan out what events you want to do after work, which allows you to look forward to something exciting and relaxing every day after work.

LEARN TO SAY NO

Learning to say no is one of the most important skills you can possibly possess in your adulthood. Without the adequate ability to say no and set boundaries between yourself and anyone else in your life, people will take advantage and walk all over you. In order to create a healthy work-life balance, learning to say no is one of the biggest learning curves. Learn to say no politely and respectfully to not offend anyone, but be strict with your words so others know that you are not someone they can take advantage of or assign their extra workloads to.

TAKE BREAKS

Taking breaks is another crucial part of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Taking regular breaks throughout the day will help you refocus and recharge to go back and maintain full focus on your work. Some great things to do during breaks include taking short, brisk walks, stretching, or doing something else that you enjoy to relax your mind. Some other break ideas that are not recommended include scrolling on your phone for endless hours or watching TV.