The numerous crises affecting the world at large have got people rethinking their priorities and realizing the need to spend more time with loved ones and doing the things they love but which they have kept putting off due to lack of time. The need to strike a balance between work, family and yourself is something that needs to be addressed and we shall look at ways you can set your priorities right and give each of these aspects their due time and space.
Work Life
Office work takes up a major portion of your day, whether it is the hours spent in office, commuting or working from home (WFH). However many times at the end of the day you find that though you have spent many hours working the actual productive hours have been minimal. This not only results in the piling up of unfinished work, but also many more extra hours of work trying to complete these tasks (time which could have been spent with your family).
Let us take a look at the usual ways you end up losing productive working hours and how you can remedy it:
In-Office – What usually happens is that you end up taking numerous extended coffee breaks chatting with colleagues or a quick clarification discussion ends up becoming a long-winded conversation. To ensure maximum productivity:
- Set a timetable with tasks to be completed within a certain timeframe and stick to it.
- To avoid distractions, most times try to bring your coffee mug back to your table and continue working
- Set aside a couple of times during the course of office hours where you take a break to stretch your legs, and catch up with colleagues over a cup of coffee (try not to let it extend beyond the time frame).
- A quick lunch and a walk with colleagues is also a good way to spend time with them without compromising your productivity.
- In this way, you can finish your tasks for the day and leave the office at the end of office hours
At Home – While you save on commuting time and chats with colleagues WFH poses its own distractions like household chores, family interruptions, television etc. To ensure maximum productivity here:
- Pick a spot which is secluded (and also where there are no distractions like a television) and make it your designated workspace
- Set ground rules where family does not interrupt you during work hours
- Utilise time saved on commuting to get your work done thus ensuring you finish your workload for the day earlier
Family and Personal Life
Once you are back home from office or finish your WFH workload earlier (as we just saw), put all thoughts of work out of your mind and enjoy family and personal time by keeping the following guidelines in mind:
- Once you are done with office work hours, make it a point to not answer work related calls, messages or e-mails. You can get back to them the next day during working hours.
- Spend time with family playing games, talking or even watching television together
- Make it a point to eat dinner together as a family
- Set aside an hour or so each day for either a walk, yoga or any other form of exercise or sports
- Weekends should be set aside for family and friends where you catch up with everyone.
- Also spend some time pursuing your hobby during the weekend. It will help you relax and feel good about yourself
In this way you ensure that family, personal and work life get equal priority.
