the competition in every field is soaring high. To shine at anything that you do, you need to be an extraordinaire. The brightest students often burn the midnight oil to achieve excellent results in their studies. The most successful professionals put all their effort towards doing the best in their field. Hence, success comes at the price of sheer hard work. But sometimes this hard work could become a little too much for the life to stay normal.
A normal life would mean a balance between personal and professional life. It is an accepted fact that no matter how successful you are at what you do, you can’t be completely happy if you don’t have a blissful personal life. Similarly, an unhappy life could affect your performance at work too!
Nature of Your Job
The first step towards having a balanced life is to identify the nature of work that you do and the amount of time you wish to put into your personal life. Only then you will be able to plan strategies to achieve a balance in your life.
Some jobs could have harsh timings, such employees would need to make each and every moment of their life productive so that they don’t miss on anything.
A person associated with academia would not need to spend a lot of hours with his students, but to achieve success at his profession; he would need to work real hard at his own end so that he could be an effective teacher. On the other hand, a manager might not have a hectic job but he is often required to be physically present at the workplace to get the tasks done by others. So the nature and demands of professions often differ drastically.
Work Balance Means Time Management
It is indeed true that work balance means time management. Time management is such a tool that it could make the life of an extremely busy person easy and one could literally do a lot in a single day! It is often quoted that the most successful people never procrastinate. They often say that there is no time like the present.
Following handy solutions can bring balance to your life and make you a highly successful and HAPPY person.
List it down
Make a list, at the start of the day, of the tasks that you want to get done during the day. Today, everybody is accompanied with Smart-phones and PDAs and they always provide an option for making the to-do list. Use this feature; in this way you will know straight in your head that what the target is for the day. Then you can plan the strategy to achieve it!
Discover flexibility
Sometimes we overburden ourselves with extra duties. It could be the case that these duties are insignificant in eyes of the boss. Or maybe you are just doing too much to get the praise. Try to find some flexibility in your work—this does not mean adapting an irresponsible attitude. Leave the office as soon as you get your tasks done!
Avoid being too helpful
It is not to discourage teamwork and assistance at workplace but you need to learn to say no. You would find one or two colleagues at the place who would always want assistance and help for the task at hand. Offer help only when it is actually required, not when it is needed to just get the task done! You are paid only to do your chunk of work.
If you get out of the workplace after completing your tasks, you can have some time for yourself and the people around you.
Don’t bring Work back to home
In today’s corporate world, work is on everybody’s mind all the time. People stay connected with workplace issues and colleagues even when they are at home or at a social gathering. Smart-phones and Laptops could be legitimately called the culprit for this scenario!
Don’t use your laptop unless absolutely unavoidable. While you are at home, spend quality time with your family. Participate in their activities and let them know that you are there for them.
Treat yourself everyday
It is true that life have a fast pace but don’t forget to treat yourself every day. Find out time in your schedule to do something for your own self. This will give you pleasure and happiness. Go out with your family or watch a good movie. Relax yourself by doing yoga or going for a walk in the evening. Having something more in life than just a hectic job is rewarding and pleasing.
Recreation once in a while
Find out time once in a while to spend with your family members. Don’t forget the people, who make your life worthwhile, in order to make your career successful. Put your phone on silent mode and shut down the laptop to spend some memorable moments that remain completely undisturbed by the whims of work.
Don’t forget yourself
Many times, people just forget their own selves while finding a balance in life. We can’t afford to forget our children but we certainly forget our own selves. Once in a while, do what gives you pleasure. Go out to your favorite restaurant or watch a classic movie that never fails to make you laugh! It is crucial to never forget those things that make you YOU!
Avoid working extra hours
In this cut throat economic condition, everyone wants to find ways to make some extra cash. This could be the fruit of the desire for a dream home or quality education for the children. Whatever is the case, sometimes we become hard on ourselves to achieve materialistic goals.
Working extra hours can considerably affect the quality of your personal life. In worst case scenario, it can cause serious damage to your health and to the relationships that matter. Following could be the consequences of working for extra hours.
Suffering relationships
Relationships need quality time and effort to make them successful. Extra time at office would mean that you sacrifice the time that should have been spent with your family. You would certainly not want to miss the birthday bash of your brother or the first step of your son! Spending extra time at office would broaden the distance between you and the people you want to be with.
An exhausted mind and body
Extra work requires extra energy—make sure that you get an extra supply of energy to use it during extra hours of work. It is highly unlikely. Most of the times, extra hours at office would make you weary and tired. You would become exhausted within a short while. Exhaustion casts negative effects upon your productivity and the quality of work. This, in turn, can put a negative shadow on your professional standing.
Higher Expectations
If you don’t mind working for late hours, it could go in a negative direction for you as well. You could be assigned extra duties with or without any profit! Be careful or you could get caught in a burdensome and never ending cycle of work!
Sometimes it becomes unavoidable to work for extra hours at the workplace. It could be due to an ongoing venture or due to unexpected workload. If working till late hours starts bothering you, be straight forward and tell your boss about the situation. Explain that extra hours make you weary and hence you become too exhausted to give your hundred percent. Your boss will understand and let you have an easy schedule!
Hard work is the key to success—this is true but happiness and peace of mind are equally important. You can achieve bliss in a successful career but your happiness can’t certainly be complete without a blissful personal life. Work towards achieving a beautiful balanced life!
"Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua"
Raheel Ahmed Khan
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