Work-Life Balance? – 3 Tips to Keep Work from Tipping the Scale

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Ryan Walter CPC, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Work-Life Balance – It rolls off the tongue. This is a phrase that we hear everywhere – company marketing materials, job descriptions, and recruitment pitches. But what does it really mean? A company may describe work-life balance as the promise of working from home, a flexible work schedule, more PTO, or a discount for your favorite gym membership. And yet, even with the promise of these benefits, Americans are working longer hours, suffering from mental health issues, and experiencing greater levels of burn-out.

In February 2021, Indeed surveyed 1500 U.S. workers of different age groups, experience levels, and industries to gauge the level of employee burn-out from pre-pandemic levels in January 2020. More than 67% of the respondents indicated that the level of burn-out increased during the pandemic. Intuitively, it might make sense that workers would feel more energized given the ability to work from home, but the opposite effect is happening. Why is this?

The truth of the matter is that when work is always around us, it becomes harder to tune it out. It becomes difficult to resist the temptation to respond to one more email or check one more calculation. The old phrase that “Work will be there in the morning” seems to have lost its meaning as workers toil into the night while burning the midnight oil. Some organizations may even promote this type of continuous work culture, which makes it even more challenging to log off for fear of not fulfilling (in some cases ridiculous) expectations. It is important to understand that it is not your company’s responsibility to make sure you are getting your other life needs met. It is YOUR responsibility. Below are 3 tips to keep work from tipping the scale:

Tip #1 – Assess Urgent Verses Important Tasks

The best way to get more balance in your life is to prepare for it. You know your work habits and tendencies the best so be conscious of the times where the temptation to work late is greatest. Is it a reactionary response to some circumstance? Or perhaps you just work “a normal day” until something urgent comes up that keeps you working longer. If you are reacting to something, it is important to assess whether it is urgent, whether it is important, or both. Nowadays, with the speed of technology and ability to stay connected, it is easy to fall into the trap of urgency.

In his renowned book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey developed the time management matrix which identifies specific quadrants where people spend their time throughout the day. Each quadrant includes doing activities that are (I) urgent & important, (II) not urgent & important, (III) urgent & not important, or (IV) not urgent & not important. He notes that the most effective people spend most of their time in quadrant II working on tasks that are important and not urgent. As he describes, importance is related to results. If something is important then it contributes to our values, our mission, and our high priority goals.

If you find that you are commonly classifying many of your tasks as urgent and important (quadrant I), then you will most likely have a hard time disconnecting from work. Admittedly, there are occasionally times where we need to be working on those tasks that fall into quadrant I. But it’s good practice to always question what you are working on, why you are working on it, and how much time you are spending on it. If it is not in quadrant I, then chances are it can wait until tomorrow.

Tip #2 – Set and Keep Personal Appointments with Yourself

An effective way to keep yourself from overworking is to be proactive about setting personal appointments with yourself. What might proactive appointment setting look like? Instead of saying you will go to the gym after work, physically put it into your Outlook calendar. Once it is in your calendar, treat it with the same level of commitment as you would any other appointment with your client or co-worker. You would never blow off an appointment with them, so why should you treat yourself any differently? Understand that you are your greatest investment and your ability to be effective at work is directly related to your overall well-being.

The simple act of putting something in our calendars is effective in that it triggers a natural human response to “make the appointment.” It becomes easier to follow through on the task when we can see it in front of us as an actual event and not some fading thought in our heads.

Remember that these appointments are not just for things such as chores or going to the gym. Perhaps for you it is going for a walk at the arboretum, taking a trip to Best Buy to shop for a 4K Ultra HD TV, or a stopping at your community college after work to sign up for a comedy class. Get creative with this and condition the habit. It may seem strange at first but have some fun with it. Assess the things you have been considering doing for a while but have been too distracted with work to pursue. Whatever it is, be proactive about putting it in your calendar and you may be thankful later on that you did.

Tip #3 – Expand Your Relational Unit

When you are experiencing the effects of work stress, it is important to not isolate yourself and feel like you are facing all of this on your own. Include the people in your life who are closest to you – your family and close friends. Ask them if they have noticed a change in you or in your relationship with them because of work. Let them know your frustrations and do not be afraid to ask for help outside of work when you need it. This can be especially difficult for some who may not prefer to talk about work issues. In that case, many organizations offer employee assistance programs with hotlines for people to talk to a confidential third party as an alternative.

Also, you should assess if you may be working longer hours as a way of avoiding some other area of your life. You may have developed the unhealthy habit of working continuously to distract you from some other pain point. Work can provide us a sense of certainty in our lives but when it fills the space of other human needs (connection/love, variety, growth, and contribution) then we know the work-life balance is uneven. Stay connected to people, communicate often, and recognize that you never have to go it alone.

Indeed Survey: Employee Burnout Report: COVID-19’s Impact and 3 Strategies to Curb It (indeed.com)