Your work/life balance can be defined as how you choose to spend your time, and how you split your time between your career, or your business, and your personal life. It’s a lot more impactful on your physical and emotional health than you might think.
By having a good work/life balance, you actually feel more joy and gratitude. You are able to get more work done, as well as have enough time to focus on friends and family, and your own personal interests.
Here are the many reasons you should have a healthy work/life balance:
It Helps to Reduce Stress
With a healthy work/life balance, you can reduce stress in both your professional and personal life. When you don’t bring your personal problems into work, and you leave your work problems in the office, you are able to focus on each area of your life much more effectively.
Stress often gets worse when you feel like everything is piling up and you can’t really put your focus on any one thing. It’s overwhelming and very quickly leads to burnout. By having a better work/life balance, your stress is reduced, and so are many of your problems.
Keep in mind that stress can lead to a whole host of other problems like inflammation in your body, diabetes, depression, heart disease and other ailments.
You Can Improve Productivity
You will notice that when you work on your time management and balance your energy more effectively, you also begin to increase your productivity.
In the beginning, especially, it can feel that by spending more time and attention on your personal life, your work will suffer, but the opposite is true.
You are more relaxed, less stressed, and have a better handle on what your schedule is. When this happens, you know that when it’s time to work, you work, and you can focus on it without the personal distractions. The same goes for those things you like to do in your personal life; you can enjoy your hobbies, or just hang out, or do other mindless activities if you like, watch TV, or (dare I say it) Netflix and Chill without having to worry about your work.
You Have Healthier Relationships
In your personal life, your relationships with friends and family members also greatly improve with a good work/life balance. You are able to spend more quality time with them, plus with more self-care, you begin to feel more confident and that can also improve relationships you have with other people.
If your personal or professional relationships have been struggling recently, it’s a pretty good indication that you need to work on how you spend your time. Make it a priority that you improve your work/life balance, and you will be amazed by the positive impact it has on your friendships and relationships.
It Makes it Easier to Set Healthy Boundaries
Having a good work/life balance doesn’t come without setting boundaries. If you are someone who has already struggled with this, then improving your work/life balance will become a blessing, because you have no choice but to also improve your boundaries.
Setting boundaries does not come naturally to everyone. You might be someone who has a hard time saying no or who gets caught up in your daily responsibilities, that you don’t allow yourself time for anything fun and enjoyable. You need healthy boundaries with people in every area of your life, including your own bad habits.
You Can Be Successful Without the Sacrifices
It can often feel like when you desire success in your life, other things have to fall behind. But when you are able to find a healthy balance in your life, you can still find success without sacrificing your personal life or your own sanity.
It should not feel like you have to choose one over the other. Everyone can have a balanced, healthy, happy life if you know how to manage your time wisely and know what your priorities are. If you feel that to be successful you have to sacrifice your personal and home life, then you aren’t doing it right. Start asking yourself the hard questions and find a way to do both.
Publisher of Great Living Today, your one-stop source for greater living featuring tips, techniques, and programs in the areas of health & wellness, wealth, time management, business, love, relationships, and happiness. Marty is a life, business, and wellness coach helping his clients to live their best lives.