A Peek into Maintaining Work-Life Balance in 2021
2020 has conveniently managed to have all of us put the work in work-from-home every day, while systematically taking away the life from work-life balance. 2021 is upon us, bringing with it an even more pronounced absence of the joys of both from-home and life. How do we then navigate the tricky terrain of work-from-home to achieve work-life balance?
Let’s include a little 6th grade level math here to understand this better.
For work-life balance to be equal to work-from-home, we need to develop a mechanism that equates the ‘life balance’ part with the ‘from-home’ part.
Essentially, we need to make certain tweaks in our daily routine to ensure that while we are at home, we also get to experience the comfort and mental peace of living in our own homes. This is how we will be able to redefine work-life balance in 2021.
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Prioritize your health: Need I even say anything more? We are still barely grappling with the second wave of the pandemic that has proved to be deadlier than ever. Taking care of your physical and mental health is of paramount importance. Along with keeping a regular eating schedule where no lunches or dinners are skipped over work calls, learn to say NO to extra tasks as a mechanism to safeguard your mental and physical well-being. Without proper health, to what extent will you even be able to work? And, with that thought, always get your priorities right, keep your diary notebook closer to keep track.
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Ultra-define your boundaries: WFH has bleaked the boundaries between personal and professional life. However, to maintain a healthy work-life balance, it is time you pick up a marker, a planner diary, and demarcate the boundary extremely well. Make it a point to not tend to any client messages or internal calls after working hours. Do not entertain working hours’ extension beyond a certain limit set by you and communicate the same very clearly to your team. Unless you want to be trampled all over by a cruel world wanting to exploit you, stand up for yourself and speak up for your right to own your own life.
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Make time for yourself: The burden of responsibilities often makes you want to work overtime just to finish your tasks and smoothen out the forthcoming days. However, it is important that you take a step back, plan your tasks according to their priority in a planner and leave some time at the end of the day for yourself. Be it watching a show, listening to music, exercising, meditating, or simply catching up with your near and dear ones, you can get your down time every day if you plan your day well.
Burning out early on in your career is not cool at all. Since 2020, WFH has been pushing us in this downward spiral. But, a steady work-life balance will change the narrative for the better. Adopt these healthy practices and enjoy a longer productivity channel that will be here to stay!