Guide to a work-life balance for software developers
Don’t we all start out our coding careers with a lot of enthusiasm and zeal. Full of dreams and goals becoming the best software developer or maybe even starting your own software company.
But it so happens that along our journey of learning and growing, we reach a point where we feel stuck. Stuck in an endless rut. With no time for family, friends, and more importantly yourself.
This then forms an endless loop. An unsatisfying, boring loop. We crave to escape from the normal routine, and seek a balance between “work” and “life”.
After talking to the developers at Designway and adding my own experience to it, I’ve come up with the perfect answer to the question: "how to have a perfect work-life balance?"
The solution here, or rather the problem, is of two types.
One is a temporary feeling of “stuck”. Where you aren’t really stuck but just tired of the routine. Similar to the way you get tired of eating the same food every day even if it’s your favourite food in the world.
A more appropriate way of describing it would be “work-stress” rather than an unbalanced life. And we all find ourselves at this point someday or the other.
These tips can help you get your life up and back on track:
One misconception we all have about flexible timings is that having flexible working hours would enable us to plan our day more effectively. However, that is not the case. Having flexible timings gives you less personal time for yourself as you tend to laze around and procrastinate more than you normally would.
A sure-shot way of fetching yourself more time is by working more efficiently.
Start by looking at your daily schedule. Do you know how you spend your time every day? If not, the answer might surprise you! Being effective at work means you use the time to your advantage. Schedule high-priority tasks for the times of day when you are feeling most energetic. This increases the likelihood that you’ll resist distractions and enter a state of flow when working.
The second and more serious “stuck”, could also be termed as burnout. You feel like the only “living” that you do is in the 3 hours that you get for yourself. That doesn’t sound like a very glorious life, does it? Considering you just get one life to live.
Well here’s a truth bomb for you!
This concept of “work-life balance” is a myth.
Compartmentalising your life in this manner can be toxic. Where you dread one and love the other.
Researcher Loana Lupu of ESSEC Business School in France and Mayra Ruiz-Castro of the University of Roehampton in the UK argue that work-life balance is “a cycle, not an achievement”.
Work-life balance has more to do with your mindset than your situation. It happens when you go from working out of a passion to working for your employer.
The probable reason for this would be that you have forgotten why you started in the first place.
What was your goal? Your vision?
At this moment It’s important to ask yourself, “What is that you want to do in life?” Is what you are doing right now aligning with your goal?
Once you answer these questions you can then design your life accordingly and not live your life in the free time that you get. Work-life integration is a much better way of living rather than looking for a work-life “balance”,
In the process of living and working it’s very important to first dedicate time towards yourself, and for your growth. Keep learning new things to keep things interesting. In this way, you will be adding more value to your life as well as those around you.
Another very important thing you need to remember is to avoid burnout is to start living in the now. Rather than keeping your life on hold till you achieve your career or financial goals.
Once you start working towards your passion, taking care of yourself, and living in the moment, you will find that you are no longer craving for a “work-life balance” because you will find fulfilment in what you are doing.
Designway’s work culture is such that it does not allow its employees to feel such kind of burnout. Apart from having recreational activities, the company has a very interactive and friendly environment allowing an easy exchange of ideas between the team. The company uses advanced technologies allowing the employees to learn and work in a much efficient manner. The team gets awarded a day off on early completion of the project as an appreciation for their dedication and hard work towards the project.
