5 Tips for Women to Better Embrace a Balanced Life  

It is said that Americans live to work. While people in other countries use work as a way to fully sustain their personal lives, Americans sometimes seem to have no notion of preserving their personal lives. In today’s fast-paced world, with technology at our fingertips, it is harder to achieve a work-life balance. Technology allows constant connection with other parts of the world. Americans are spending more time in the office, and adding mobile technology to work priorities and a career-focused life creates the perfect opening to allow work to take over personal lives. When this happens, workers are putting their relationships, their mental and physical health, and their overall happiness at risk.

However, getting everything we want out of life is possible. We need to know what we want, plan ahead, and be open to incorporating more structure. Below are five key tips to create a more balanced life.

Let Go of Perfectionism
The “perfect balance” is impossible to find or achieve; sometimes work will take up more time one week than others. When leading a major project, the team lead determines how success is defined. The same concept can be applied to maintaining a work-life balance. As people grow, so do their responsibilities. Perfectionist behaviors need to be limited, and success needs to be redefined. Keeping up the habit of perfectionism is difficult both neurologically and psychologically. Trying to maintain this habit can be destructive and can cause burnout, so reducing the need for perfectionism is the first step to maintaining a healthier work-life balance.

Creating more balance does not require a dramatic upheaval. Investing time can slowly transform the quality of life and relationships. One can have both a successful professional career and a fulfilling personal life by taking control of work, planning, and being proactive with time.

Embrace the “Off” Button
Every piece of technology has an off button; we just need to use it. Technology has created an expectation of constant accessibility. Work can take over personal time because of constant phone, text, and email notifications. These notifications help people avoid missing anything important from work, but they also cause people to miss important moments of their personal lives. The combination of constant notifications, priorities, and distractions sometimes makes deciding on priorities difficult.

Deciding when, where, and how to be accessible for work can be challenging. Many people caution against using technology to be in two places at once. Mixing spheres can lead to confusion and mistakes. Sometimes we just need to shut off the phone and be in the moment. Unplugging and stepping back can provide much-needed perspective. When we “unplug,” we have time to think about problems, handle them with more clarity, be less reactive in the moment, and be more analytical.

Master Time Management
Time-management theorists propose separating out aspects of life so that each area can have individual focus and be given full attention. Failing to compartmentalize can result in creating “to-do” lists, which can lead to an overwhelming amount of responsibilities. Multi-tasking does not allow full attention to be dedicated to a single task because one always has something else to worry about. Instead, by concentrating on one thing at a time, tasks are achieved incrementally because the person is not intimidated by the full chaotic picture. Time is a valuable commodity in life, and it is one thing that cannot be purchased, so it shouldn’t be wasted. 

Prioritize Health and “Me” Time
Be proactive in practicing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Personal health should always be the first priority. When life becomes busy, exercise is one of the first activities to be placed on the back burner. If a person pushes himself or herself to the point of not feeling healthy, he or she is not able to perform any activities anyway. Exercise reduces stress by releasing endorphins, increasing energy levels, improving stamina and mental clarity, boosting the immune system, and improving a person’s mood. Not being in shape physically, mentally and emotionally can cause suffering to both personal and work lives.

Working a high-demand job can take over life, but developing new hobbies can help create a much-needed balance. A hobby allows a person to schedule events to switch up the daily routine throughout the week. Changing focus to something new, even for just a few hours a week, can provide a much-needed break.

Take vacations. Getting away from a heavy workload may be difficult, but research has found that after taking a vacation people are less tense and stressed. They become more productive and have lower levels of job stress and burnout because they are able to have a getaway and a chance to relax. Chronic stress puts strain on a person and can cause ill health. It is important to draw the line and take some time out to allow the body to turn off stress systems, recover, and repair.

Identify What Is Important in Life and Draw Boundaries
Reflect on priorities and draw firm boundaries so that quality time can be devoted to the high-priority people and activities. Having priorities makes it easier to determine what can be trimmed from schedules. Not all tasks are equally important, and it is okay to say no. Giving no more importance to one task than another is inefficient, and saying yes to everything creates the impression that the priorities of others are more valuable. It is important to have a mutual respect and accountability for time and boundaries.

Instead of trying to do it all, focus on activities and people you value the most. Certain deliverables can be delegated or can wait until the next day. If delegating at work, find out how to let go in ways that benefit others by giving them a chance to learn something new and freeing up your time to devote attention to higher priorities.

We all need to balance work, social lives, exercise and our relaxation time, plus more. If we prioritize and take control of our schedules, we will be in more control of the direction we are heading. Many people lead very active lives and would be much better off looking at things from the outside and scheduling ahead of time instead of trying to figure it out as the day goes.