A not-so-expert view on how to strike a work-life balance in the new norm
At times when we’re slaving away at work, we tend to forget that we’re only humans and not super robots. And there’s only so much that we can do to ensure that we keep our jobs to survive this economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In today’s unforeseeable and constantly evolving world, I can safely say that finding the right work-life balance is somewhat impossible. Just when you thought you’re done with a task, another one comes up.
More so in prevailing circumstances. It’s harder to maintain a work-life balance since Covid-19 plagued the world.
Working from home is the new norm as lockdowns and partial lockdowns are implemented to check and contain the spread as Covid-19 infection rates increase.
Photo by Nelly Antoniadou on Unsplash
Working from home means that work is possible anytime and anywhere, enabled by technology – the ubiquitous Internet and with that, a thin line separates work from our personal life. Rather daunting and scary!
Before we get carried away and drown in the ever piling work, it would be good to pause, step back, review the situation and consider some guide and imminent steps to follow. It’s for our own sake so that we don’t literally burn the candle from both ends!
Admittedly, I’m no expert but I think It will be prudent to take a break, from time to time, to create a well-proportioned work-life balance. This makes good sense for one’s physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. I believe that maintaining a good work-life balance can’t be taken for granted, more so now that the work/home environment becomes one.
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As work and home environment merges, there can be a tendency that the 9-5 time boundary disappears and before we know it, the comfort of the home may have assuaged us to lose track of time and just work on.
Or on the flipside, the distractions, disturbances and discomfort of the home environment may build up stress and result in unsatisfactory productivity and accomplishments.
Such two extremes point to the need for a balance, undoubtedly a work-life balance for the mental health that too is at risk.
Simply I would like to look at it from this perspective: Our mind is like a temple that should be kept peaceful and tranquil at all times. Overworking can lead to stress contributing to burnout.
Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash
Feeling burnout not only affects our mood but also our work performance. We know how it is when we are tired. We get irritable easily and prone to lash out on fellow colleagues or the boss even distance apart as technology and the speed of things can make unguarded, offensive words travel real fast!
I am for it too that from time to time, when feeling out of character or feeling undervalued, we just take a break and take a deep breath and always remember the 101 other things we’ve done right.
Other pointers that I have collated to maintain a work-life balance lest we unknowingly go on work frenzy are:
Learn to ask for help when we have too much on our plate and can’t get it done
Draw up a to-do list that prioritises the most important task to the least important task
Schedule some ‘me time’ to take a breather before going on to the next task
Another important factor to keeping a work-life balance, is it gets us to maintain and improve our relationships to those dear to us. When we put your work first, we to tend to distance ourselves from those who care for us; our family, lovers and friends.
Here’s to have happy, healthy working experience in the new norm!