Striking the right balance between work and life is the difference between having relaxed shoulders and peace of mind and a full-on existential crisis. It’s dangerously easy to fall into a routine that ends up tipping the scales in an unfavorable, very stressed out kind of way. You might be adamant about getting that promotion, or terrified that the company’s going to lay off employees amidst the madness of Coronavirus, so you’ve thrown yourself headlong into an overwhelming storm of endless days at the work computer. But you can still cultivate the success that you’re in search of while striking the perfect work/life balance. Don’t let COVID-19 impede your path toward ultimate success with a calm mind. Let’s take a look at some helpful tips for accomplishing your goals, whilst keeping hold of your sanity. After all, we can all benefit from getting as many tips as we can, to ward off those existential crises.
Map out your “me time.”
Before every working week starts, it’s essential to map out your personal time. That’s the time reserved for you, and only you. We can all forget how important it is to have even those brief moments of solitude when you can unwind, and process the day’s events. After you map out your “me time,” hold yourself accountable and stick to it. It’s going to benefit your mental health is a great way!
Set your work hours, and stick to them.
The Coronavirus has made it uniquely difficult to lay down the firm and necessary boundaries between your workday and your personal life. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that all of us had our commutes discontinued, and our new “offices” are now no further away than the distance from the bedroom to the kitchen. With that being said, it is absolutely imperative to call the end of your workday, with a hard stop. Otherwise, the line between work and personal time becomes terribly blurred, and you’ll only feel more mentally exhausted as the workweek wears on.
Make exercise an essential activity.
Whether it’s rocking an at-home workout with one of the many helpful health apps available at your disposal, or getting outside (with a mask on) to pound the pavement and rack up those steps, exercise is fundamental when it comes to maintaining you are well being. We’re all currently cooped up like never before, and it’s dangerously easy to fall into a routine, whereby you become so accustomed to sitting at your desk all day, that you end up never leaving it until far too late into the night. Exercise will help to break up your day and get the blood pumping, and the resulting endorphin rush will keep the good vibes alive.
Prioritize time for your finances.
It’s important for all of us to dedicate the necessary time to make sure that our finances are in check, otherwise, we might end up working every day of our lives. Within this, you can also use up that time to have some fun with expanding your investment portfolio. What better way to get ahead with the money you’ve accumulated through that work grind than to put it into some worthwhile investments. It can get very fun after a while too!
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Step outside.
Amidst all of this work in our respective quarantine caves, many of us have gradually forgotten the crucial importance of taking actual lunch breaks. No, that doesn’t mean a lunch break where you sit at your computer, we’re talking about the scenario where you grab that mask, step outside, and get some sweet fresh air. This can work wonders for some mental revitalization as well. You’ll get back and hit the ground running, able to smoothly check off the rest of the day’s boxes of obligations.
Experiment with meditation.
Meditation is generating more and more buzz for being an invaluable tool when it comes to optimizing your brain and strengthening your ability to focus. There’s literally no downside to meditation. The first time you meditate it might feel uncomfortable, silly even, as you sit with eyes closed, trying to be aware of each breath, and not cave in to any distraction. If you commit to the practice though, the rewards you end up reaping can be life-changing. Your facial expression throughout the day will be far more relaxed, your posture will improve due to enhanced mindfulness, and you don’t even have to meditate for a long time to experience these benefits. A meditation session can be as short as five minutes. That’s all you need to put your mind in a better position to deal with the rest of the day’s events and be able to have better control over where you direct your attention. A cluttered mind can have a very hard time maintaining its attention.
Update that professional photo.
You should make sure that your LinkedIn photo is as fresh and clean as can be. This might require you to take another crack at your professional photograph for work, and try out one of the many fun male poses. It’s remarkable how far a well-executed photo on the resume/LinkedIn profile can take you, as you continue onwards in your professional life. It’s basically a surefire way to make a good impression on employers that are checking out your LinkedIn profile. You’ve just got to find your good pose! Seriously, have some fun with the process. Make a photoshoot out of the whole thing. You might even come out of it looking like a male model with your own signature male model pose.
Seek out some non-education related hobbies.
There’s no doubt that you’re putting that brain to work. So, it’s important that you give it the downtime that it needs, by diversifying your activities in your personal life. Some of these hobbies might end up being things like rock climbing, kayaking, running, bird watching, collecting rocks, etc. Honestly, the wilder the hobby, the better it is.
Meet your clients halfway.
This is another effective strategy for ensuring that you don’t end up sitting at your desk all day. Seize the opportunities to meet co-workers and clients outside of your quarantine cave for lunches, coffees, etc. This is an effective way to offset any of the loneliness that COVID-19 might be causing you in your life. Of course, take the necessary precautions to ensure that you and anyone you meet are not vulnerable to the beast that is the Coronavirus. Wear those masks, and clean those hands often!
Make sure to use your vacation days.
The last thing that any hardworking employee wants to do is work their butt off at a job that provides them a comfortable amount of vacation days, only to never end up using them when it’s all said and done. Those vacation days are there for a reason. They can completely change the game when it comes to providing you the necessary downtime, to hit the mental reset button, and stop working so hard for a while.
The meaning of life very well might be intertwined with striking the balance between your work and personal pursuits, and that balance is everything. When you spread yourself too thin in the working world, you end up losing that vital energy that you need to engage with the other beautiful moments of your life, that exist outside the office.
Everyone’s got to start somewhere with finding their balance and cultivating success though. Maybe your starting point will be having fun with getting some new portrait photos taken for work, where you get really silly with finding your natural pose. Or, maybe you’ll fire up your first yield street account, take a seat at the investors’ table, and find out what type of investment is going to take your hard-earned dough to go the furthest. Overall, the good news is that you have so many amazing opportunities to ensure that you maintain your work/personal life balance, and steer clear of existential crisis that land along the way.