Though the boundaries between work and home life used to be quite clear, in the past decades they've become increasingly blurred due to fear of lay-offs, mobile communications, and social media. For many, balancing work and health has become extremely challenging and, when work takes up the bulk of their time without any respite from responsibilities and worries, they become overstressed and eventually sick. However, with smart planning, learning to say no, and learning healthy habits, balancing work and health doesn't have to be all that difficult. The following steps will show you how to balance work and health.
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:
Evaluating Your Workload
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Estimate how much time you're spending at work or occupied with work when you're not at your workplace. If you can't make an accurate estimate, take a week to note down all the hours that you're occupied with work.
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Consider what effect your high workload is having on you.
- If you're extremely tired all the time, this will adversely affect your ability to be productive at work and can compromise your career due to underachieving.
- If you always work extra hours, you might be in line for a promotion and salary raise�but if this leads to even more hours, balancing work and health will become even more difficult.
- If you're always working, you'll probably miss a lot of family events, which in turn takes its toll on your family life. Your family will feel neglected and you might feel left out.
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Determine how much time you spend at work doing things that aren't necessarily constructive, such as social networking, talking to co-workers about unrelated topics, or writing personal emails. Estimate how much time you'd spend working productively by eliminate these distractions, and make up your mind to do so.
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Speak to your supervisor about taking measures that would make your job less stressful, such as sharing tasks with others at work. Determine whether your manager's expectations are unrealistic or whether you're setting imaginary expectations for yourself. [1] X Expert Source Julia Yacoob, PhD
Clinical Psychologist Expert Interview. 11 August 2021. -
Learn to say no when you're already facing a full workload. Whether it's heading a new project at work or supervising an event at your child's school, don't agree to do it unless you have time and are rested. [2] X Expert Source Julia Yacoob, PhD
Clinical Psychologist Expert Interview. 11 August 2021.- Take small steps towards working less. For instance, if you're a salaried employee and usually work 60+ hour weeks signing off at 8PM, try to leave at 7:30PM instead. [3]
X
Expert Source
Julia Yacoob, PhD
Clinical Psychologist Expert Interview. 11 August 2021.
Advertisement - Take small steps towards working less. For instance, if you're a salaried employee and usually work 60+ hour weeks signing off at 8PM, try to leave at 7:30PM instead. [3]
X
Expert Source
Julia Yacoob, PhD
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:
Taking Care of Yourself
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Schedule family time each week. You need to spend quality time with those you love, so make sure you turn your phone off and leave the laptop at home so you don't feel as if you're on call during your leisure time.
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Set aside at least an hour a week to do something you enjoy. Everybody has an activity they enjoy, whether it's reading or shopping, that allows them to relax without thinking of responsibilities. Making time for yourself will help you relax more.
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Exercise regularly. Though it might seem impossible if you have a family and a demanding job, spending even as little as 30 minutes a day exercising will boost your energy levels and increase your overall health.Advertisement
Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow do you maintain a healthy balance?Dr. Julia Yacoob is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist practicing in New York City. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults coping with a variety of symptoms and life stressors. Dr. Yacoob earned an MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University, and pursued specialized training at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Institute for Behavior Therapy, and Bellevue Hospital Cancer Center. Dr. Yacoob is a member of the American Psychological Association, Women’s Mental Health Consortium, NYC Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association, and Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies.A work and life balance is going to look different depending on what your goals are and where you are trying to get to. You have to look inward, at what matters most to you, and what your values are. When your values don't really match up with the actions that you're taking, then you're going to be more likely to feel really distressed and unhappy.
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QuestionWhat do you do when you feel out of balance?Dr. Julia Yacoob is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist practicing in New York City. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults coping with a variety of symptoms and life stressors. Dr. Yacoob earned an MS and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University, and pursued specialized training at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Institute for Behavior Therapy, and Bellevue Hospital Cancer Center. Dr. Yacoob is a member of the American Psychological Association, Women’s Mental Health Consortium, NYC Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association, and Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies.First, you need to understand what the consequences are and what changes do you want to make to restore balance. It's usually a question of setting limits. Then you need to evaluate what limits are feasible and what are the consequences of setting them. Start making very small incremental changes, testing out whether or not they have an effect and if there's really something to be worried about.
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