What Causes Poor Work-Life Balance?
Poor work-life balance can stem from a multitude of factors that characterize the modern professional landscape. The pervasive connectivity of smartphones and the rise of remote work have blurred the lines between professional and personal time, making it challenging to truly disconnect. The ever-growing demands of the job market often push us to put in longer hours and take on more responsibilities, sacrificing leisure and family time in the process. Company cultures that prioritize constant availability and equate long hours with dedication can contribute to the erosion of work-life boundaries. The result is a delicate equilibrium disrupted, leading to stress, burnout, and strained relationships.
For these reasons, I asked members of my Leadership For Women Facebook group to provide their tips on managing work-life balance. They did not disappoint! Read on for tips from the pros.
What Is a Good Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance is elusive, you think you have achieved it, and something changes. Energy levels change from season to season, day to day. The pull of social media and consumerism is strong and hard to resist but saps energy and precious resources. The key is to choose where to focus attention. – Patricia
There are seasons. Some seasons are focused on work and some seasons are focused on quality of life. Each feeds the other. Work-life balance has been presented to me as ideally everything in your life gets the same amount of attention. 100% effort towards every goal one might have. But I have found that if I choose to focus on orientated goals (physical & mental health) after a period of a different goal (job security, family planning) I tend to implement more foundationally strong roots to those goals and branch out of those goals is more realistic, less stressful for myself.- Menard
How Do You Manage Work-Life Balance?
I’m a senior IC, no staff, so I schedule time during the day for things like paying bills or ordering groceries. My mantra is “Today is a result of yesterday” so Today Me needs to consider how Tomorrow Me wants to feel. I am also ruthless about my calendar which is filled with meetings that I don’t need to attend if I am a C or I on the RACI. Sometimes it’s better to read the Teams Copilot summary or watch the recording at 1.5x playback speed. I also start each day with only 3 tasks, and those tasks are scheduled into my calendar as appointments, instead of the Outlook generic “Focus Time”. When I start to feel overwhelmed, I do not work extra hours! I take 5-10 minutes and think about who I can (safely) disappoint, and then I reach out to re-set expectations. – Melanie
When you are off work you are off work.. don’t mix. – Crystal
I set limits on my time so when I’m home with my family, they are the focus and work is left behind and won’t interrupt that precious time. – Marguerite
Boundaries. Doing as much as I can in the morning before I go to work. Working as a team with my husband to share household duties. – Coronicca
Steps to Achieving Work-Life Balance
Teach your subordinates everything you know. Delegate what you think they can handle and then give them more tasks as their experience grows. Trust your team. Let them know you trust them, but be available for questions or issues that may occur. Take at least one full day a week per week to not think about work. Set boundaries! – Sara
15 minutes before your “end of day” happens, make a list of things you want/need to accomplish for the next day. This helps me to find a good stopping point, to get prepared for the next day, and at the end of the week, I can see all the things that I’ve accomplished. What doesn’t make it to the “done list” by Friday becomes my most important to-do for the start of the week! Block out time on your calendar for repeating tasks like reviewing work from colleagues, adding time and progress to our online tracking system, sending positive notes, etc. – Penny
Schedule self-care! No matter what that is for you. – Jennifer
Having a routine to start the work day and a routine to finish it really helps. – Jeanette
I like to have the first 30 minutes of the day as quiet time. It sets the stage for the rest of the day. I get everything prepared to complete, delegate, presentation and meeting prep. When employees start coming in for the day I can read their energy and delegate to their strengths. I did my best to use the 5-minute time between tasks or meetings to do staff check-in, or complete quick tasks. Wednesdays were always pile-on meeting days. I made a list, and pile of projects after the meeting, then left for home. Wednesday night was self-care time. A good dinner, bath, relaxation all gave me the lift to power through the rest of the week. On the way home, I made calls from my car to contacts that needed immediate follow-up. Then when I got home, no more work. – Shelley
Work out what’s important. Do that, or things that get you closer to that. – Think Play Say
Get Help
If you struggle with prioritizing multiple projects and tasks check out my free task prioritization matrix here. I am always available for one-on-one coaching too. If you would like to learn more visit my coaching page here.
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