Finding a Work and Life Balance

***This is a repost from 2016 that I have brought back to this blog***

Often it is said that home is where the heart is. What does home mean to you? Is home a house, the place where you go to sleep or maybe even just the spot you go to change out your clothes before you head back out onto the road. Home to me is the place where I find my sanctuary from everyday life. It provides you a place to rest from the storms which rage against you in the workplace and the outside world. Is your home where your spouse is or maybe even where your pets are? Home can wear many different faces but it should always serve the purpose of being your sanctuary.

Image: A balance with the blocks spelling Work Life.

I believe in a strong work/life balance which is often very difficult to find. Companies often brag about the amount providing a balance in the work they assign the employee and the time away from the craziness which can often be our workload. The reality often falls much shorter of this balance though. How often are you asked to spend time after your typical day should have ended to complete tasks due to an “important” deadline? Are you on salary for your work and a 45-hour workweek is the standard? Maybe you have your work email on push to your phone so the insanity follows you with continuous dings throughout your evening. That work/life balance is tipping in a negative direction a little more with each email you decide to review in the middle of your conversation with your loved one. I’ll give five tips to bringing balance to your life.

Schedule a cool-down period – What I mean by this is that you need to begin scheduling a cool-down period to your workday. Every day in which you are scheduled to work, take the last hour of your schedule and block it off. This final hour will be used to clean out your email folder and respond to any critical emails that have been awaiting your answers from throughout the day.
Set your cellular email hours – Most mobile email apps have the capability to set your work hours. I know that my “Good App” on my phone has the ability to set your work hours so that you only receive emails during that time frame. If you wish to retrieve your emails after your work hours you will still have this capability but you may be defeating the purpose of restoring your work/life balance.
Create rules – Set up rules in your email system so that you begin to have better control of your work life. Are you included on distribution lists to receive emails not pertaining to you just because you are a specific department within the company? Create a folder in your inbox and then make a rule that pushes all these emails from the pile which is still important. Once a day go into that folder and skim these emails just to ensure nothing looks important if not, Control + A, Control + Delete. (You are welcome).
Use your vacation – The saddest sight you can behold is the vacationer who is checking their work emails. The vacation is provided to you to help you keep your sanity. It may behoove you to leave your cellular device at home if you do not have the gumption to restrict your access during your sanity break. You may even remove your app from the phone altogether (check with your IT department) when you go on vacation and then reinstall once you have come back to work.
Set the precedent – If you don’t start making these changes in your life then how do you expect to lead your company in having a work/life balance? Many leaders are now taking the lead with mandatory blackouts for technology to restore a much-needed break from the workplace. Whether it is taking the time to make sure your team is not responding to emails in off hours or ensuring the team that you support their ability to disconnect, the change must start with you.

It is of utmost importance that you as a leader find work/life balance. Humans are only made to function firing on all cylinders for a set amount of time before they experience fatigue and burnout. Setting your life boundaries so that you will have your balance is crucial to your success overall. You cannot be a successful leader if you have mentally worn yourself down so take your time and start finding that delicate balance between your work and your life.