How to find balance in life, how to manage everything, how to find time for everything: psychologist's advice

Hard work and high capacity for work are important in any activity, the main thing is that the desire to work does not acquire a painful form of workaholism, dangerous to the physical and mental health of a person. In developed countries legislatively reduce the length of the working day and introduce bans for overtime work.

Otherwise, workaholism negatively affects a person’s personal life and destroys relationships with loved ones. Let’s try to understand how to find a balance between career and other aspects of life.

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Without desire, changes will not come, but, on the contrary, will take even more strength and energy.

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Why is balance important?

Researchers at the National Research University Higher School of Economics have identified two types of work process organization. The essence of the first one is the coordination of work. That is, with the help of employees, companies find non-standard and effective ways to solve problems. They are focused on the result, not on the number of hours spent in the office. But it is in such organizations that people get carried away by the process, and overwork becomes the norm and brings neither material nor career benefits.

The second type of companies exist because of the routine work of their employees. In such organizations, overworking becomes a forced measure to maintain the position and gain financial benefits.

In both cases, workers experience burnout as a consequence of overwork. And to avoid such consequences, it is important to maintain a work-life balance. Work-life balance is necessary for a productive personal and professional life.

Employees who have no problems balancing these areas of life are more likely to feel motivated and less stressed at work.

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A happy person is one who has managed to find a “job to his liking”, to be recognized by his colleagues and to storm the career ladder. But it is very important not to disturb the balance in the other spheres. It is impossible to divide the time between work and personal life in equal proportions, but it is still possible to avoid “distortions”. Where to start? By defining your values. Workaholism is a symptom of a limited consciousness, which negatively affects the emotional state. I recommend to realize the quality of life, to ask yourself the question: “Where am I now and do I have the desire to change something?”.

How to build a line between personal and work?

In order to feel comfortable in the fast pace of the modern world, without forgetting about personal interests and without destroying relationships with loved ones, you need to follow a few rules.

Allocate time only for yourself

If you work until late in the evening, allocate for yourself the morning hours to gather your thoughts. Drink coffee in silence, take a tonic shower, do stretching exercises – dedicate half an hour to yourself and relax.

Learn to delegate responsibilities

If you learn to delegate work responsibilities, you’ll be able to focus on more important tasks. To do this, you need to surround yourself with people you trust.

Also, try to loosen up control where you can do without it. Trying to control all areas of life will not be beneficial and will only drain your inner resources.

Watch your concentration during the working day

If you devote all your working hours to your work, you will be more productive and you won’t have to stay in the office too long.

It is important to prioritize yourself and if your personal life comes before work, then the main goal is to work efficiently so that you can go home on time.

Don’t schedule work meetings on weekends

Dedicate your weekends to resetting and recovering. Spend time with relatives, spend more time walking and thinking, and take up a favorite hobby you haven’t had time for in a while.

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Competently organized time management will help to improve the quality of life.
Make a clear schedule of the day with designated hours of labor, rest and household chores and strictly observe it. It will be useful to do yoga and meditation – it will teach you to relax.
It is important to remember that labor should serve the person, and not vice versa. If you can not cope with the search for balance on your own, you can ask for help from a specialist.

There have long been trackers for habits, sleep patterns, water balance, apps for meditation and expense records, and timers for work. In addition, there is a system that allows you to choose the most important and urgent tasks from the entire flow of cases, and the rest of the tasks are divided by the parameters of the speed of their realization and value to you.

This method is called the Eisenhower Matrix(Dwight Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States. – Ed.), and its main feature – that rest should be included in the list of priority tasks.

The Eisenhower Matrix consists of four squares. On the vertical line you need to assess the importance of the task at hand, and on the horizontal line – the urgency of fulfillment. To determine how important a task is to you, ask yourself if it is a key link in your global goal and aligns with your values at that moment in time. If the answer is yes, the task can be labeled important.

To determine the urgency of getting things done, you need to understand what the negative consequences will be from not doing it. If the consequences will occur here and now, the task is included in the urgent group.

Eisenhower Matrix

It is often thought that the tasks from square D refer to rest, but this is not true. A person needs to recognize what activities help them rest and recover – and bring them into square B. Rest often has not urgency, but importance and long-term consequences.

If we continually put off rest, prevent ourselves from recovering, and inspire ourselves with non-work activities, it leads to burnout, decreased motivation to work, anxiety and depressive disorders, all of which are poor investments in the future.