How To Create a Work-Life-Balance in 2024 - The Six Sigma Way [Updated]

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Why Is Work-Life Balance Important? Well, if your work-life is not balanced, it may have a negative impact on your health and happiness. You may become feel more stressed and less in control at work as well as in your personal life. Those who have a good work-life balance are happier and feel less stressed. If you are happy, you feel motivated, productive and perform your work effectively.

Work-life balance means you prioritize your work tasks and time and put efforts in that direction. It will help to maintain the balance between professional and personal obligations. Work-life balance will make sure that you have enough time and energy to focus on your personal life.

Work-life balance will ensure that you have time for your friends, relatives and family members. You can enjoy your ‘’me time” and hobbies you love to do. There are many reasons which may impact your work-life balance like your demanding job, family obligations, and responsibilities both at work and at home. Therefore, it signifies that you should feel satisfied with your work to improve performance, productivity and commitment.

During lockdown due to COVID-19, many companies are asking their employees to work from home to remain safe and unaffected. As the coronavirus is spreading rapidly and people are struggling to find stability due to ever-changing updates about the virus.

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Advantages of Work From Home

Working from home has various advantages like:

Reduced Childcare costs – parents who are working from home can look after their kids which may cut the childcare cost on play schools or after schools, tuitions etc. You can look after your child personally.

More productivity – while working from home you can be more productive due to less office distraction and can manage your work well.

Flexibility – working from home environment is more flexible than working from office

Cut in travelling time – while working from home you can save time on travelling and can be utilized to maintain the balance between work-life balance.

Financially Beneficial – for employers, it can be financially beneficial as there is less cost on office space, electricity and other infrastructure. It’s not only economical for the employer but also for employees as they don’t have to spend on commutating (fare of public transport or fuel) while working from home.

Environmental Friendly – as people will be operating from home then there will be less air pollution leads to natural conservation and planet will be more protected.

Wider scope of employees – people who can’t go out and work like people with disabilities, pregnant women or senior citizens, work from home is good option for them. They don’t have to worry for earning while having limitations.

Disadvantages of Work-From-Home

While there are few disadvantages as well while working from home;

Difficulty in monitoring performance – well, for managers it is very difficult to monitor the progress and performance of their staff.

Decrease in team effort – when you are working from home then you need to do small things yourself which might be done by staff members when you work from office. Further, there is less communication among team members hence decrease in team efforts.

Difficult to Problem Solve – some problems like software issues, become more difficult to solve if you’re not in the office. It takes more time to resolve or over the phone than in person.

Increase in telecommunication Costs – while working from home you may have to spend more on your telephone expense or internet connection etc.

Distractions – while working from home there are various types of distractions like internet connection, kids, pets, expectations of family members, noisy neighbors, family phone calls. This may lead to less productivity and work performance.

Missing office environment – working from home also means you are missing the colleagues, workstations, casual coffee break, lunch chats, and after-work hangouts.

Well, debating on working from home vs working from office will never end. Of course, there are pros and cons of everything. Therefore, it is important for you to maintain that work-life balance which again depends on the person to person.

How to balance work and life? Well, it is a million dollar question. Work-life balance can be achieved by prioritizing your work, planning and scheduling the tasks efficiently. It is important for you to manage your time well and use techniques to complete your tasks in given period of time.

Here is the list of some work-life balance tips for a maintaining healthy relationship between your professional and personal life.

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Tip 1: Work Space

While working from home, you may have a habit of sitting on your couch or bed with your laptop. Instead of that you should be having a space that you use for your office work. This doesn’t need to be an elaborated home office.

It can be corner of your bedroom with a desk, office chair etc. (a defined space). It will help you to be productive, relax your mind and break the monotony. Your work should have comfortable chair to sit, good source of light. Try to set up your work space near window as natural light is a mood and productivity elevator. You can also listen to light or relaxing music to keep your mood right.

It important that you should keep your work space neat, clean and organized to avoid distractions. Also, make sure that you have everything you need like pen, notebook etc. Further, be careful about the background, if you have to take video call. Also, be aware of other distractions from pets, roommates, or kids.

Tip 2: Work Schedule

When people work in an office, their work schedule is determined by their organization. They expect you to be in the office for specific set of hours. There you have control over your schedule to ensure that your work is done during that block of time.

Once you’re done with work, you can stop your work and move out of the office. But when you work from home, your work schedule is less structured. Some organizations use time tracking software to ensure that people are working during specific hours and other doesn’t bother much.

Therefore, it is required to have work schedule to make sure that work doesn’t stretch throughout all hours of the day. To be more productive it is advisable to have a specific time of working may be 9 am to 5 pm or maybe you can start early.

Further, it is advisable to plan your day in advance and stick to that. You need to see how and when you want to start and end your day. What all activities you will be doing including your personal responsibility like taking your pet for a walk, cooking or spending time with kids or family.

This type of schedule will be more realistic. It will help you to maintain work life balance and be more productive in your work. Also, you should stop all your office work when it is time (say 5 Pm as decided) and go do something else.

It is recommended to avoid the temptation to work whenever because you know you can so you will. It will help you to maintain work-life balance, when you are working from home.

Tip 3: SMART goals

You should have SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that you can use for goal setting.

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Relevant

T – Time bound

Specific – your goals should be clear and specific. You can try to answer these questions:

What do I want to do?

Why is this goal?

Who is involved?

Where is it located?

Which resources or limits are required?

Measurable

It is significant to have measurable goals, so that you can track the progress and stay focused. To measure a goal, try to address these questions

How much?

How many?

Achievable

Further, goal needs to be realistic, achievable and attainable. An achievable goal will usually answer questions such as:

How can I achieve this goal?

How realistic is the goal? (keeping in mind all the limitations)

Relevant

Your goals should be relevant and can answer “yes” to below questions:

Is this the right time?

Does this match our other needs?

Am I the right person to reach this goal?

Time-bound

Every goal needs to be completed on target date.

Therefore, you have a deadline to focus on and something to work forward.

You can answer these questions:

By when?

What can I do today?

Tip 4: Dress up

Yes, you have to properly dress up while working from work like a professional. You are not leaving the house, but that doesn’t mean you are in your pajamas or night dress all day. As dressing up professionally help you to make right state of mind to work.

Tip 5: Morning Routine

When you go to an office, you have some sort of morning routine. As distance between your bed and office is few steps, there will be chances that you go to work straight way when you wake up.

It’s good to have a morning routine that you do before start of your work. It will help you to maintain balance between your life and work and you will be more productive. You may have few activities in your morning routine:

Drinking a glass of water (or two) helps you to keep you hydrated.
Eating balance and healthy breakfast having proteins, carbohydrates, and good fats.
You may include exercise, walk, yoga to keep yourself fit
Planning your day early morning helps to keep you focused.

Tip 6: Lunch Break

Well, lunch break is important to make work life balance when working from home. It is significant to step away from your work while you eat lunch. You may read book, go for a walk, and watch your favorite TV show, or do something that relaxes you. Taking lunch break will make you productive for your work post lunch.

Tip 7: Short breaks

When you are working from home you can’t enjoy your chit chat over coffee with your colleagues. But you should not stop yourself from taking short breaks while working from home. It is a good way to handle stress at work. You can take short breaks every hour or so, in order to revitalize your mind. During this time you can do stretching, or utilize the time to do your personal chores.

Tip 8: End of day routine

It is good have an end of day routine; in this process you will be planning for next day to be more productive. It may include

Making of to-do-list
Checking calendar for next day

It is important to have this habit when you are working from home to maintain work-life balance. Don’t have temptations to work for tasks that can be done or finished tomorrow. Instead of that you can utilize that time in making to-do-list for next day or spending quality time with your family.

Tip 9: Avoid Checking E-mail after work

When you are working from home, you are accessible 24×7 over phone, email, chat etc. When you are working from home, it is required to maintain work-life balance. It is recommended to avoid responding to office e-mails, and checking email or any other office related apps, after your work is done.

Tip 10: Post-work plans

To maintain work-life balance while working from home it is important to have “me time. During that time you can plan to call or meet a friend, do yoga, try baking, doing some hobby or playing your favorite game. These activities are important for your overall well-being and help in a positive work-life balance.

Tip 11: Take care of yourself

While handling work it is important that you should take care of yourself. It is significant to prioritize your well-being and you should feel happy and satisfied.

Therefore, you should give time to yourself time after work. In addition, don’t feel guilty putting away your smartphone, disconnect from the outside world, and let yourself relax.

Further, give time for yourself and your loved ones. You can try to find small slots of a day to maintain relationships and treat yourself to something you enjoy.

Tip 12: Set expectations with family

Working from home is challenging and can put a strain on your relationships. It is important to set proper expectations with family otherwise you can end up neglecting your most important relationships.

To avoid conflicts at home, it is recommend talking with your family, roommates or whoever else you live with. You can tell them when and where you plan to work. In addition, setting expectations with your family members will ensure that you can work productively and maintain work-life balance.

Tip 13: Avoid non-essential activities

It might be tempting to do activities while working from home which can prevent us from being productive. We may get involved in tasks like checking personal emails, browsing social media and surfing the Internet without realizing that they are non-essential activities.

It is important to prioritize your time at work and doing regular assessment of your daily activities to determine which are least productive. Further, minimizing much time on these activities can help to remain productive while working from home.

Tip 14: Set expectations with colleagues

To maintain work-life balance it is advisable to define boundaries and expectations with your seniors as well as with your co-workers while working from home. Otherwise, you might be working by default in 24×7 culture. It is significant for you to be clear, how many hours are you expected to work? If you can get clear on this, you will have a better work-life balance.

Further, having open communication with your boss will help you to achieve work-life balance. You have to be honest with your manager if you’re struggling to balance your work and personal life. May be you need to adjust your schedule or redistribute your workload.

Tip 15: Learn to say “no”

It can be difficult to say “no,” especially to your boss. However, learning when to say “no” can be important to maintain work-life balance. When your answer is always “yes” to every task you may start feeling overburdened due to increase in workload, which may lead to stress and reduced productivity. Therefore, it important to evaluate your schedule and make sure there is a room before taking on new task.

Tip 16: Avoid Multi-Tasking

Avoid multi-tasking, as it becomes a problem when you are working from home. You may have a temptation to do household work which may be distracting. If you are working from home, keep yourself in work mode. Whenever, you take break during your working day, which time can be utilized to do household work.

Tip 17: Work Efficiently

If you made a schedule still, you find yourself “staying late” then you should look at how you work. Sometimes, there is a lack of focus or you need to change your work methods. Therefore, it is important to remove distractions like social media, your phone, and external distractions for working inefficiently.

Tip 18: Get organized

Use organizational tools while working from home to maintain work-life balance. There are various app available can be used to increase your productivity and work efficiency. Here is the list of apps can be useful while working from home.

Work-from-home apps for companies and teams

Clockify— for tracking work time
Asana— for project management
Slack— for team communication
Zoom— for face-to-face online chats, consultations, and meetings
Snagit— for screen capturing
Doodle— for coordinating meetings
Google Drive— for file storage and synchronization
15Five— for measuring employee engagement
Basecamp— for team and client collaboration

Work-from-home apps for individuals

Forest— for focused work
World Time Buddy— for easily syncing collaborative work across time zones
Seven— for home workouts
StayFocusd— for staying away from time-wasting websites
Spark— for managing emails
Todoist— for tracking your to-dos
Skitch— for brainstorming sessions
Focus@Will— for boosting productivity through music
MyNoise— for isolating yourself from background noise
1Password— for securing your passwords
Private Internet Access (PIA)— for secure browsing
IT— for remote desktop control
Focusmate— for staying accountable with your work
Plant Nanny— for making sure you stay hydrated
Krisp— for muting background noise during calls
Pocket Yoga— for yoga breaks during work time
Zen— for relaxing (and colorful) break time
iA Writer— for a distraction-free experience when writing
Simplish— a to-do list productivity tool based on positive psychology

Work-life balance can be achieved by proper planning, scheduling and time management skills. Maintaining balance at personal and professional front is important for your health, happiness, and your overall wellbeing. You can’t have a good life if you are neglecting your relationships or family and spending all of your time on work.

Well, balance can’t be maintained overnight. You need to develop the habit of maintaining a balance by improving on your time management skills, using intelligent techniques of working and scheduling of your work tasks. Work-life is not only important for health and well-being but also for your loved ones.

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