No one is immune to the work/life balance problem, regardless of whether they have their ideal job or are toiling away in one they detest (but that pays the bills). It can be difficult to switch off when you really, truly enjoy your job, or when you have a toxic supervisor who constantly projects their negative energy onto you. It might be hustle culture, or it might just be that the WFH life and the good ol’ digital technology make it so simple to keep connected.
The problem is that burnout creeps up on us all, and if we don’t stay on top of safeguarding our downtime, we run the risk of sinking to our lowest point. According to research conducted by UNSW and the Black Dog Institute in Australia, a proper case of burnout can include sleep disturbance, withdrawal from friends and family, depression, and anxiety. It’s a severe matter.
So how can you restore some work-life balance when your life is in utter disarray? Here are some places to start.
1. Don’t act on your thoughts; instead, write them down.
When you realise something you need to do, like send that email you forgot to or schedule that appointment, it may truly wreck your work/life balance. The trouble is, even if these are quick and easy things you could accomplish from your phone, they mount up and force you to switch from your relaxed state to business mode.
Make a note of them on your phone or simply jot them down in an email to yourself rather than performing them right away. Email is an alternative for those who might forget to check their notes, but setting boundaries in either case is much better than carrying out the task after hours when it can definitely wait until morning.
2. Choose the amount of work you actually NEED
If you work shifts and depend on casual employment, it can be simple to volunteer for any or all shifts and end up working crazy hours out of concern that you’ll need the money.
Look, working in a casual capacity can be fraught with uncertainty, and you’re frequently forced to work as hard as you can all the time. But it’s worth trying to see if you can block out at least one full day where you switch off if you’ve never calculated how much money you need to pay your rent and other essentials.
Other choices for people who must put in long hours at work include trying to organise the shifts so you have a set evening or morning each week where you can unwind fully. In essence, information is power. If you set a budget and prioritise your tasks, you might be able to find some breathing room in your week, however tiny.
3. Establish Limits
Technically, establishing boundaries is the subject of everything above. But establishing limits within oneself is also a wise decision. When it comes to letting fear, worry, and the hustle culture govern our lives, we are frequently our own worst enemies. Oftentimes, this happens unknowingly.
So, take out your journal and list some of the potentially harmful things you do. Then, consider a personal boundary you may establish to stop or regulate that behaviour. For instance, if your profession requires you to be reachable at all times, resolve to only react to communications that are truly important and cannot wait until the next day, or choose a certain time when you will be completely off-duty and communicate that to people who get in touch with you.
