Creating a sustainable work life balance can be a challenge.
We all juggle a variety of roles in our day to day lives and for most of us, it can be difficult to make time for ourselves.
We all face challenges and research shows that 1 in 5 people will experience mental illness during their lifetime so establishing tools to improve your overall well being and enhancing your work life balance is crucial to increasing resiliency.
Accept Yourself
While we can relate with others we are each going through our own trials, so try not to compare yourself to anyone else. Comparison makes us feel inadequate, so instead try your best to accept who you are in your current stage of life.
Maintain the Basics
Adulting is not easy! Remember as a child when all you wanted was to be a grown-up? What were we thinking!
There are days that it feels impossible to even get the little things done so how can you add in treating yourself to something special?
This is where you have to remind yourself that taking time for you isn’t always doing something special. The essentials are a building block to good self-care; Showering and brushing your teeth daily, moving your body, eating nutritious foods and getting enough sleep.
Recognize your Happy Habit
Fulfilling your responsibilities is not enough self-care, but you also have to recognize what it is that brings you extra joy and relaxation.
This differs for everyone and what works for one person won’t work for another. Think of what makes you happy, accomplished and relaxed and add that into your daily routine.
Simple examples are usually reading, listening to music, working out or writing just to name a few. This allows you to build your self-care routine over time where it works for your schedule and benefits your overall health.
Make Small Goals
We can’t achieve success overnight, and self-care is no different.
Be patient with yourself and instead of adding pressure to immediately establish the perfect self-care routine, set one small goal at a time and build.
You are at your own pace and change takes consistency. Wherever you need to start, from getting in bed every night early enough to be well rested, to adding in a 15 minute walk everyday, or prepping healthy meals for the week, we all start at our own point.
Create Boundaries
Sometimes self-care means recognizing you are giving too much of your time and energy to other people.
Tough conversations are inevitable sometimes but approaching the situation with an honest conversation with people will help you set boundaries.
Your time, emotions, possessions, relationships and overall health is important. Make the boundary and prioritize your own mental health first so you are able to then be there for others.
Be Mindful and Know Your are Not Alone
At any point of a day you can choose to take time to slow down, breathe deeply, focus on your senses and be aware of your present surroundings.
This quick technique will help reduce stress while empowering you to care for yourself in the midst of a challenge.
You are not alone in the struggle to care for yourself and we won’t all be perfectly balanced all the time.
As circumstances change you’ll have to rethink your routine. Never forget to ask your friends or family for help in a challenging situation, there will always be someone who understands where you are coming from.
Make your work life balance a priority!
Written By: Morgan Henry
