It might seem like a herculean task to stay focused or 100% especially after work considering the amount of energy dispelled.
As the cliché goes, the onion is in the details thereby those little activities like relaxing, prioritizing activities, taking time out to stroll, and rest are all important to find a balance in the tech space. The health implications and risk resulting from too much work and stress cannot be overemphasized as it leads to loss of sleep, anxiety, depression, and heart disease which affects not just the sufferer but their input and productivity hence the organization, leading to high turnover and health insurance costs.
No matter how effective you want to be in your workplace, finding the right balance is quintessential to productivity, another is knowing when to take a break and take care of yourself.
Here are tips on how to maintain a balance in the Tech space:
Understanding that “me time” is just what it is, me time. A time set aside for me and my personal interests alone. Not work, not an invitation, not a business lunch, just me and it doesn’t have to be available time, it’s just free time you created from your busy schedule. Protecting your free time is important in reducing the stress level.
Get a recreational activity and do something fun, it could be a walk, a movie, a nap even or a chat with a close friend. When you take time away from your workspace, you feel energized and important.
For a workaholic, this is no easy feat, it involves a lot of time management and discipline to build a solid support system instead of trying to control it all, trust and support your established system to take care of things sometimes while you take time off to relax and go offline.
2. Create a social life if you lack one
Most people who have been working and are so used to work find it difficult to socialize outside the work environment or their colleagues. Their lives revolve around the office, they don’t even take leave when it comes and soon is so disconnected from the reality outside the office. If they do take time off to go on a date or a vacation, they do a significant amount of work while away.
The best and quickest way to strike a balance is to take up a vocation or an activity that mixes both work and play, and when you plan at least one enjoyable activity during the week that incorporates both, you’ll be able to look forward to something interesting and still blow off some steam at work.
3. Have a Family Time
There is always going to be a conflict between work and family time, and trying to navigate both equally is always a challenge for workers trying to play their roles both at home and in the workplace.
Hence, the need to work towards achieving a balance between our work and family time is crucial in creating a healthy environment and state of mind for the worker. You must give priority to one without neglecting the other as failure to do this might be damaging.
Lastly, stop trying to do it alone because you can’t, involve your partner in the thinking and implementation process. Studies have shown that balancing your work and family life could boost your productivity in a nutshell.
4. Be anti-perfectionism
Once you understand what perfect means to you in an ideal situation, you will realize that the healthier option is to strive for excellence, not perfection. It’s easier to want to wear perfectionism as a badge of honor, in the past it sounded sweeter to boast in the workspace but studies have proven that workers who strive for perfectionism burn out much quicker than most.
Perfectionism is quite complex and is focused on a person’s quest for flawlessness and unattainable goals and standards, with a bird’s eye perspective on the performance of others. Organizations today understand that perfectionism is linked to accident-related disabilities, absenteeism, burnout, and low turnover in the life of the worker, therefore the key to avoiding this is to accept that it is okay to make mistakes, underperforming at times and learn from it.
5. Exercise and meditate
Don’t get too busy and forget to exercise, in fact, you should take time off to exercise when you are busiest as these activities require a minor effort but offer major payoffs. Exercise is a proven stress reduction activity. It fills your body with enough endorphins that lift your spirit and mood, and it comes highly recommended by health and even social practitioners.
It doesn’t have to be heavy-duty lifting; you can start small with simple and straightforward early morning exercises like jogging, brisk walk, or even meditative ones like deep breathing or grounding your senses in your present surroundings, the more you do these, the better you feel and become. But if you can lift a barbell, please lift one.
It could also come in handy as a great substitute to a bad habit like alcohol, so when we are addressing balance in the workplace, self-care is a priority so that your body, mind, and soul are constantly refreshed and reinvigorated.
If you are trying to see changes and make a difference, it’s best to begin one step at a time. If you have similar stories or tips to share don’t be shy, please leave a comment, a clap, and share.
Originally published on www.jdlab.ng
