Importance of Work-Life Balance for Mental Health

If you are employed in the year 2020, then you are most likely to know the textbook importance of work-life balance for mental health. However, you are less likely to have experienced it with the brand new global introduction of work from home. When we belong to that age where we are desperate, not only to make a living but also a successful career. Moreover, we want to leave no stone unturned, going that extra mile. To a certain extent, our personal life has to compromise for that extra mile.

“Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.” ―Hillary Clinton

How does this balance work?

We know how the continuous use of axe to chop wood flattens its edges. Therefore, it needs sharpening, just like our brain. Not that excess brain-storming damages our brain, but it loses efficiency. This balance needs a mix of multiple ingredients in a healthy proportion for a tasteful life.

Timing is everything, make some for leisure too!

Do not make it a habit to postpone your personal time with loved ones. That extra deck of work will hold no place in nostalgia when you look back at life. Have things planned in advance to avoid overlapping the two businesses.

Recycle that tired mind

If you find yourself stressing about a work regime or some new project, get yourself moving to shrug off the stress. Too much of workload can make you burst out of nowhere. Follow this rule: Plan, Proceed, Pause, Resume. Here’s how you can Pause:

• Take breaks
• Tune into your favorite music
• Listen to a rejuvenating podcast
• Get into a gossip session (I mean, healthy communication with colleagues, of course!)
• Get some air
• Resume

“You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life.”

―Heather Schuck, The Working Mom Manifesto

Is it worth it?

Always ask this question: is this extra work worth losing quality time with my spouse? Is this frustration worth relieving on my kids? This last-minute presentation, is it worth losing my holiday memories with everyone else? The answer could be anything. Specifically, urgency and importance play a big roll for your decision.

However, all you need to do is keep the balance, by separating your personal and professional time. Working during what is supposed to be your personal time is as unethical at cutting vegetables at your work station. Makes sense, right?

How to manage time better?

Communication is key. We unknowingly maintain a love hate triangle of “work-me-life” balance, so why not here? One can be stuck doing a task for several reasons. Some of them are: lack of knowledge or skills to do that job, lack of interest, distractions etc. What we must do in such a scenario is to take help.

Unless you are the smartest person in the room (you are in the wrong room though) there will always be someone who can help you out with that task. Otherwise, there are several other strategies you can take into consideration for a better work management like:

• Make a check list of work (important & urgent) and plan accordingly.
• Do not over-commit: It is better to keep a margin than to overwork to meet deadlines.
• Get support if needed: Do not be shy, you are not a one-man army. Use your interpersonal skills to seek help.
• Treat your mind & body right: Do not compromise your physical & mental well being for a temporary task.
• Take breaks, it is legal: A breather won’t harm you. Take intervals between long working hours.

A successful professional life is achieved by long term practice of focus, patience and smart work. It is not a short-term goal that one can meet immediately. Life is what happens when we are busy making a living. Here, the bad thing is, we need to learn to make both of them work at the same time. Good thing is, we can do it by learning the importance of work-life balance.