8 tips for balancing work and life

One of the most important things in life is having balance. One of the hardest areas to find balance is between work and life. If you have a nine-to-five, you know all too well how much time work eats up. To live a happy, productive life we have to balance between work and everything else. It's not easy to find this balance. The key is to do the best you can. And, to help you do that, I've provided some tips below. Check'em out!

1. Decide what's most important to you each day.

Each morning (or, better yet, the night before) think about what you really want to accomplish that day. Is the most important thing completing a big project at work? Remember to think about the day in terms of your whole life - family, friends, you, work, etc. Deciding what's most important every day helps you to gain focus and to tackle the most important tasks.

There are plenty of things you can put on your "To Do" lists that really don't need to done immediately. Of course these shouldn't be ignored, but make sure you do the most important things first, and to do that you need to take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule to identify what really matters today.

2. Keep everything organized.

Think about how much time you will save if you know exactly where everything is. As a basic principle, everything in your home and at your office should have a place and you should do your best to always keep something in its place.

When you know where things are, when you can actually see your desk or your bedroom floor, you will feel a lot better about everything. Organization cuts down stress because you know where to find things and you don't have that frazzled, where-are-my-keys feeling.

3. Delegates as many tasks as possible to others.

Delegating can be an absolute lifesaver when you're dealing with an overwhelming, action-packed situation. Think about all the tasks you do every day (write'em down if you have to) and consider who would be able to do these for you.

Can you afford to hire a housekeeper if it will keep you more sane? Can you ask your spouse to take care of something that you usually handle? Is there a co-worker who's always asking to help but who you always turn down? Whatever you do, don't turn down help unless you really, need to do a task yourself.

4. Give yourself mini-breaks whenever you can.

No matter what your job is or what's going on in your life, you deserved a break. We all deserve to have a break every once and awhile. A mini-break can be a spa day, a weekend getaway, a stop on the way home for a much-deserves snack.

A mini-break can be a quite night alone, a small party with friends, or a morning sleeping in. A mini-break can be whatever you want it to be, but whatever it is you need to take a step out of your routine and relax for a bit.

5. Many every moment of the day count.

When we are dealing with a day, we are dealing with a mere twenty-four hours. When you are at work, focus on task at hand. Give yourself a specific amount of time to work on a project and devote all your attention to it, pushing from your mind whatever personal issues you may currently be dealing with. We can't be everywhere at once, so focus on being where you are right now.

6. Negotiate your work load with your boss.

This one depends a lot on where you work and what you do, but a lot of places seem to becoming more and more flexible with the way work is conducted. Because of this wonderful invention we call the internet, people can work from home or on the road or in a different country.

There are lots of ways we can be involved at work without being at work. In addition, there are a lot of books written about how we can work smarter and not harder.

7. Don't put off things you can get done today.

Don't put off sending an email or calling a friend. Don't cancel plans if you can help it. If you aren't terribly ill or completely worn out, make sure you use the time you have after work to be productive with life activities. Spend time with friends, or call up your parents just to chat.

8. Allow yourself the freedom to say "no".

It's much better to say "no" every once and a while and keep yourself balanced that it is to say "yes" to everything and feel like you never have time to relax. When you receive a request, seriously consider if you can do it. If you can't, be nice, be honest, and just say "no!"

Taken from: News Straits Times - 10 September 2012 (article), Google (images).