Having a healthy work-life balance is crucial for mental health and well-being and enjoying your work and home time. Having an uneven balance can leave you not fulfilling your work goals and leaving you to come home unsatisfied and feeling burnt out.
Starting The Day
Having a good start to the day is a strong way to have a great work-life balance. This means going to sleep at a decent time the night before! Your body needs rest to be able to work properly. Without a minimum of 8 hours of sleep, your brain will not function to its highest capability. After those 8 important hours, the best time to wake up is an hour or so before you need to leave for work or start at home.
After getting ready so you are nice and fresh for the day, it is time for food. Many people do not eat breakfast in the morning before they go to work for many reasons such as time and just not being hungry however having some breakfast food will give your brain the fuel it needs to be able to work and get the clogs turning!
Mental Health
Prioritising your mental health is incredibly important to your work-to-life balance. This will allow you to keep your mind open and ready for new ideas and challenges. Below are some ideas for you to keep an open and healthy mind:
- Take a break – If you’re struggling with a challenge in your work and it’s starting to get to you, take a 5 or 10-minute break. Having these breaks of fresh air or listening to music can help cool you down and refresh your head. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by large challenges thrown at you during work, so by having these breaks, you’ll notice a big difference!
- Try new views – When you’re struggling with something at work, try tackling the challenge differently. Don’t be scared or worried about asking for a colleague’s view or help with it. Having these ideas and new views can help the way you face your challenge.
- Don’t be scared to fidget – Fidgeting is often an effective way to deal with stress or anxiety at work and home. Some people take a stress ball to work with them which is a great way to relieve some stress and anxiety. You could also have a pen and paper next to you to doodle on to relieve tension and a tight mind. There are many fidget toys on the market so have a gander!
- Control your breathing – Your breathing is a crucial part of relaxing your mind to keep it happy and balanced whether it is in the office, when you’re working at home, or even during your free time. Here is a tip to help your breathing if you are starting to panic or just to relax for a minute (the 4-2-4 method is a great method). Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold it for 2. Then let it back out for 4. Do this for as long as you like. You can read more about this HERE.
- Start organising things with colleagues – Organising activities or places to go with your colleagues is a great way to stay happy and positive. This could be going for a quick coffee, going to a nice place for lunch, or even going for a meal or activity after work such as bowling! It is a great way to keep a positive vibe throughout your workplace and yourself.
Keep it Separate and Having a Balance
Keeping work separate from your home can be quite hard but is particularly important. When you are at home, make sure you leave work at work! Try to avoid looking at your work phone, laptop, and other devices. Make sure to have two separate phones for work so you don’t end up taking your work with you wherever you go. Let your mind relax and you will feel better for it.
If you have access to an office, close the door so your work equipment and area are out of sight when you leave. If you do not work in a separate area, still pack your work stuff up at the end of the day to clear your mind completely. You can also get a better night’s sleep without stressing about work when you are at home. As hard as it is to keep work out of your head after work hours, it is the best way to keep a good balance.
Another way of keeping your home and work life separate is making sure you book your time off. We know it is so easy to forget to take your holidays and time off to relax but it’s so important. Do not wait until the end of the year to take your holidays. Taking your time off will help improve your mental and physical health, productivity, personal growth, and keep your whole work and home life balanced. On your time off, you could reconnect with family, book a holiday, spend time in nature, or simply just chill out!
Working from Home
After Covid-19, many businesses have been working at home for a long time. In doing so, many employees have lost motivation and struggled to work. To help this, we recommend going to a cafe or coffee shop and working there if you can. Having this change of environment is a great way to change the scenery around you to get back the motivation you once had! Feel free to change it up and order a nice coffee or tea to have whilst working. It’s all about having that balance!
At CT Skills, we know mental health is a crucial part of having a good work-life balance so we hope this blog has allowed you to discover the benefits of an as well as how to do so. If you would like to discover more about mental health, we provide over 30 different free online courses that can help you find out more about not just mental health, but social care, health care, childcare, business skills and IT skills!