Call it what you want: work/life balance, work/life integration, work/life synergy.
It goes by many different names, but ultimately what it means is finding a place of peace, harmony and happiness among your career, side hustles, passion projects, hobbies, family and life.
While work/life balance can definitely feel like a struggle (and don’t get me wrong, sometimes work takes precedence and sometimes life takes precedence), achieving that balance is possible.
Here’s how:
1. Accept That Everything Will Not Always Be Perfect. Let’s get this out of the way up front. Don’t get upset or frustrated when what you perceive as balance isn’t perfect. Balance ebbs and flows, but that’s the funny thing about it — balance always rights itself, but maybe the journey to get there isn’t necessarily the way you thought it would be.
When you feel yourself spending more time on one area of your life than another, take a deep breath, push through and understand that everything balances out with time.
2. Practice Energy Management. One of the best ways to find balance is to figure out when you’re most productive and effective. Maybe you’re an early bird, or perhaps you like to stay up late into the night. Whenever that is, use that time to work on whatever is most important to you.
For me, I’m at my creative peak in the very early mornings; I use that time to work on my blog and freelance work. Similarly, I tend to lose my creative energy in the late afternoon, so I save that time for simple tasks like managing my inbox or having meetings where I can engage with others without needing full-on creativity and focus as I do when I am writing.
Remember, your priorities shift and change with time. While I’m training for a big race, sometimes running takes precedence during my mornings; when I’m working on a big freelance or blog project, that may become a morning priority.
3. Find a Passion. When you have something you’re passionate about, whether that’s writing a book, training for a race or pursuing a side hustle, you naturally want to spend your leisure time working toward that goal. For example, I love yoga and practice 3-4 times per week. At the beginning of the week, I select which classes I plan to attend and commit to those, which then ensures that I complete my work and other duties to make sure I get to class.
Channel the energy and excitement you feel for whatever makes you happiest, because when you find that, you’ll create time to make it happen.
4. Set Boundaries. Easier said than done, but setting personal boundaries (even small ones!) can go a long way in the pursuit of work-life balance.
Maybe you decide you won’t check your email during meals. Perhaps you agree that you can *check* your email at night, but you won’t reply until the morning. Maybe taming your inbox for a half-hour and creating your weekly to-do list on a Sunday afternoon helps you prepare for a smoother work week — that’s totally fine, but set a time limit for those tasks and stick to it. Figure out where your pain points are and make a choice to tackle them head-on by creating rules for yourself.
5. Remove the Clutter. I don’t know about you, but I often feel overwhelmed by clutter, both physical and digital. That clutter can sometimes prevent me from being productive and leads to wasting time. Ensuring I have a clean and organized space at work and home helps me to stay focused to make the most of my time.
Similarly, digital clutter (like the constant stream of emails!) can also lead to distractions — that’s why I’ve developed a personal email management system to prevent me from being a slave to my inbox. When you remove the clutter, you’re able to more clearly see the tasks and goals ahead of you.
Do you think it is possible to achieve work/life balance? Have any additional tips to share? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
A version of this post originally ran on CareerMeh: smart, actionable advice for Millennials, by Millennials. Feel free to view the original post here.
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