Maintaining a Work/Life Balance

Friday, May 30th, 2008 RSS Feed | Trackback

Today, I’d like to introduce Angela McMurray, QuantumDigital’s Human Resources Manager, to the blog. She has an important topic to share with us that’s often overlooked by busy professionals with equally busy schedules at home. Enjoy.

People in the workforce today have a great ability to multitask like never before. We can manage multiple projects, quickly adapt to a variety of changing situations, communicate with many types of people and connect with different parts of the world on a daily basis. In contrast, as Americans are learning to juggle a wide range of tasks at work, many are having difficulty in finding that perfect balance between their work life and personal life. More and more, the dividing line between those two worlds is becoming blurred, and in some cases, is disappearing altogether.

Why?

Our environment, both in terms of work and life, has changed dramatically over recent years. Our economy has gone global. We routinely conduct international business. Advances in communication technologies allow people to be reached virtually anywhere, anytime. There is a general expectation to work longer hours, especially to move up the corporate ladder. Additionally, family roles and dynamics have changed. All these factors put tremendous strain on individuals trying to do it all—maintain a fulfilling career and enjoy quality personal/family time.

Making sure we maintain a well-proportioned work/life balance is an important part of achieving a great overall quality of life. Well rested, relaxed people generally experience a more productive work day and an office environment that has less stress and promotes innovative thinking. So, how do we start building a harmonious work/life balance?

Make a list of specific elements that are really important to your life, and then prioritize that list. I’m sure we’ve all done it before. How would yours look? Family first, then career, health, travel, etc? In our daily lives, we get caught up in all the different tasks we need to accomplish that the balance of those things on our list might become disproportionate. Writing down your priorities and visualizing them pulls in your focus.
Don’t be afraid to eliminate unnecessary activities so you can make room for the things that are important to you (the things on your list). These ‘unnecessary activities’ can be as little as making your bed in the morning or watching TV to larger activities like being the president of the PTA. Remember, it’s okay to say ‘no’ sometimes.
Protect and nurture time at home and make it separate from time spent at work. If you are at work, dedicate your focus and energies on work tasks only. If you are at home, dedicate your focus and energies on home life. There needs to be a healthy separation of both to achieve true balance.
Ask for help balancing elements of your life, if needed. Don’t be afraid to delegate projects to other people or invite help from other sources. For example, if lawn work or house cleaning takes up three hours of time every weekend—time that could be spent with your family or getting healthy, etc.—hire a gardener or cleaning service to alleviate you of that activity (if you are in a position to do so).
Plan fun and relaxation. It’s so easy in our hectic lives to keep ‘grinding the wheels’ and forget to take some personal time. If needed, set aside a period of time to do things that you enjoy, like reading a book or date night with your spouse, etc. Whatever happens, keep the date!

Maintaining a good work/life balance is an important part of keeping yourself healthy and happy. A healthy and happy you makes your time at work and at home productive and enjoyable.

I hope this helps to put your work/life balance into perspective. Have a great weekend!

Angela McMurray,
Human Resources Manager