Your career is a huge part of your life and it’s essential to feel happy and comfortable with it. Sometimes, it can feel like all you do is work and then sleep, and every time you blink, you’re back at work again. Careers can consume your life and there can often be no work-life balance, making you feel negative about your work and affecting your mental health.

So, how do you achieve a healthy work-life balance when there’s so much to do in your career and at home? Use these tips to have a work-life balance in your career to help you be happier with your work and have a positive mind frame, boosting your mental health.

What is a work-life balance?

A healthy work-life balance is keeping a peaceful relationship between your work and personal life. It requires you to be organized and manage your time and energy to meet your professional and personal needs. At the heart of a work-life balance is taking care of yourself and focusing on your wellbeing.

A healthy work-life balance includes setting boundaries between work and personal life, organizing and prioritizing tasks to have enough time to meet work requirements as well as personal ones, managing your stress levels, and having flexibility to tackle unforeseen circumstances.

If you’re addicted to working too much and don’t balance this out, you can experience burnout, fatigue, and stress-related health issues. It can also lead you to work more hours but not actually be productive.

Ways to have an effective work-life balance in your career

Put these tips into motion to have a healthy and effective work-life balance in your career for a healthier and happier life.

Set realistic goals

For your working day and personal activities, you need to set realistic goals that you can achieve, allowing you to meet them easily. Be honest about your capabilities for the day and set achievable targets. This is essential for work as it’s easy to think you can take on everything in one day and then stay working later and later to achieve this. If you have easy-to-achieve goals, you can stop feeling overwhelmed and have control over your work and personal life.

Have boundaries

Think about clear boundaries to set between your work and personal life so that you can balance them better. Consider what you can do to reduce staying late or being overwhelmed with too many tasks so you can meet your personal needs. You could set limits on how much you check technology in your working day. For example, you can check your emails at certain times and stop taking calls at a certain time. This lets you focus on your personal life during non-working hours.

Practice self-care

Having time to practice self-care is vital to achieving a healthy work-life balance as it prevents burnout and boosts your overall wellbeing. Self-care can include activities like meditation, exercise, rest, or just taking time to enjoy what you love. Try to schedule self-care into your weekly routine and stick to it, like you do for any work task! Creating this schedule reminds you to put yourself first and prioritize your own wellbeing, giving you energy and motivation to productively complete work tasks.

Make time for personal timetables

Consider what your personal life requires and make a personal timetable around your working hours to meet these needs. Some people can have basic personal life requirements, while others can have added obligations at certain times due to religion. For example, Muslims will have to meet the requirements of the Ramadan timetable for the UK during the holy month as well as balance work and other personal needs. Creating a master timetable that highlights duties for work, personal life, and any other obligations can help you to keep on track and have a healthy balance of everything.

Finish work at a specific time

More often than not, work can easily spill into your personal life due to demanding tasks, too much assigned to you in one day, or losing track of time. This is especially the case for those who work from home as you are in your own space, and it can be easy to forget when work actually finishes. You need to set a time to end work for the day and stick to it by setting your work devices to power down at that time.

Delegate your work

If you can, it’s best to delegate your work to others effectively. This is especially the case for those in senior positions or positions of authority, such as managers, as these have a large workload. If you delegate tasks to others, you can focus on what truly matters and your own responsibilities, freeing up your time for your personal life. No matter how much you want to excel in your career, it’s important to remember that you can’t do it all and take on everything. Share your workload to get the jobs done quickly and effectively while letting you finish on time.

Have breaks and time off

During your working day, it’s important for you to take a breather by having short breaks. Having regular breaks can be as easy as a short walk, stretching, or taking a step back from your work for a minute. It’s best to spend these short breaks moving, especially if your work is in an office, as sitting all day staring at a screen is unhealthy. These regular breaks can help you avoid burnout and give your brain a moment to recharge and focus.

As well as short breaks, it’s essential for you to have time off when needed. Many times, it can be easy to try and work through illnesses or focus on work and only have one holiday in the year, but this is very unhealthy and can make you feel worse and affect your health. Take time off including sick time, personal time, vacations, bereavement, and for a wellness day to boost your wellbeing and help you recover.

Practice mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness is an effective way to help you have a work-life balance. Mindfulness allows you to recharge, refocus, and keeps you centered even with a hectic work schedule or environment. There are plenty of exercises and techniques you can have a go at, like guided meditations or deep breathing. Try to use an app or YouTube tutorial to help you successfully carry out mindfulness in your daily routine. Doing this helps to bring calm to your life and balance.

Find a hobby

To encourage you to make better use of your personal time, find a hobby that excites you and makes you want to finish work on time. Doing something you enjoy will make it much easier to disconnect from work tasks and messages, allowing you to finish on time and have fun.

Learn to say no

Saying no to anything can be a difficult task to do, never mind saying no to work tasks or work-related things. However, saying no is a great thing to learn, especially for your work life, as it helps to reduce stress and prevent you from getting overwhelmed. Be mindful of the commitments you take on and be honest with yourself and colleagues about what you can do. If you feel overwhelmed, you need to learn to say no and prioritize your wellbeing.

Use these tips to have a work-life balance in your career to successfully do tasks. If you have a healthy balance between your work and personal life, you can feel more fulfilled, happier in your career, and improve your overall wellbeing. You can be a better, healthier version of yourself that reaches success and takes your career and personal life to new heights.