14 Ways to Help You Find a Work Balance

We live in a world that has tossed aside the idea of work and life balance in exchange for making ends meet. Cell phones now have GPS trackers so that your boss knows where you are 24 hours per day while the 40 hour work week feels like a vacation from the typical 60 to 70 hour work week most people put in. Finding any type of life and work balance can literally feel like an over--achiever's dream. However, if you are willing to put forth a little bit of effort, you can restore a sense of life-work balance, do your job well, see your family and participate in your family's lives, and even take time out for yourself.

Work balancing feels like a circus act most often because we aren't even sure where our hours go every day. We might feel like we are spending our daily time allotment wisely but tracking it can tell us exactly how we are spending our time, who is benefiting, and where we fit in.

1. Step one in finding your work balance is to log your hours. This means logging all of your hours from the moment you wake up until your fatigued head hits the pillow. This tells you where you can trim your hours, what tasks you are wasting a lot of time on, and how you can organize your day to alleviate some of the wasteful time spending.
    
2. Trim down your hours where suitable for you, not your employer. You can be reasonable and give a fair amount of time to your boss while refusing to give 70 hours per week away to a 40 hour per week job.
   
   Keeping track of your time allotment can also become evidence for the importance of establishing a life and work balance by talking to your employer about the various work schedules that are becoming increasingly popular.
    
3. A compressed work week usually involves four work days, usually scheduled in 12 hour increments, and three days off. Job sharing benefits employers a little more and can consist of a pay cut or benefit cut. Nevertheless job sharing can be a good solution for many overworked individuals.
    
4. If you want to present the idea of allowing you to work from home to your boss, don't go in with a list of wants. Show him or her how it would be beneficial to the company for you to start working from home.
    
5. Remember that you have a right to refuse extra tasks and you have a right to close the door on the end of your work day. Both of these techniques can be huge time savers. Don't allow others to talk you into taking on additional responsibilities that help keep your work balancing out completely off kilter. If it is not required or reasonable for your situation, say no to the pressure.
    
6. Alternatively, close the door on your day when you leave. Work problems will be there in the morning and you don't need to spend your family time being upset about what will ultimately be stressful to you in the morning. That's like giving away double the emotion.
    
7. Add in some time management and prioritizing to your search for life-work balance. You can spend all your time off keeping up a perfectly spotless home or you can spend it with your family.
    
8. Learn to delegate chores. Doing things like learning to listen and communicate your needs effectively can not only mean more time that is not being wasted on arguments but it can make that time more pleasant as well.
    
9. Relax when things are not perfect. You may have a tendency to come home strung a little tight from work and transfer it to your home, kids, and spouse. Learning to allow the little things to remain little things will help create a much more relaxed environment for you and your family.
    
10. Finding a solid work balance also means remembering that if you aren't taking care of yourself then you are not effectively caring for anyone else. Give a little more to yourself every day so you can give more in return.
     
11. This might include finding new friends who can act as a support system to help you develop a better life and work balance. Friends who can be there as a supportive and caring part of your life help to refuel you, as you help to refuel them.
     
12. You might want to consider a few counseling sessions to sort out the issues that go along with developing a career, work balance, and strong families. Counseling is not a sign of a problem but a sign of health, and the stigma that used to go along with counseling is long gone.
     
13. Sleep well every night, adamantly refuse to work on your day off, and remember the importance of daily play time.
     
14. Most of all, work balancing works much better if you stop beating yourself over the head with the guilt that often goes along with working and raising a family. Regardless of your gender you can enjoy family time, develop an enjoyable career, and still take care of your needs.