Habits of People Who’ve Achieved Work-Life Balance
1. They set boundaries.
In the words of Hillary Clinton: “Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.” Your career is merely part of your life, a part that at times may try to take over. Solid boundaries help keep it in check.
2. They set limits.
People with strong-work life balance understand their work will multiply as much as they let it. They establish rules and limits to cap the potentially neverending flow of work. Different structures work for different people with different priorities and include metrics such as hours, days, assignments, or even dollars earned.
3. They treat family dinner as a sacred ritual.
Even the busiest leaders can make time for non-work priorities with consistency and unwavering commitment.
4. They know how much they actually work.
They don’t use how they feel as a gauge for whether they’re working too much. They use project management or time-tracking software to get the actual numbers.
5. They block off time for prioritization and reflection.
They take a step back and check-in on their time expenditures, evaluating habits and changing what doesn’t work.
6. They let things go.
They make decisions on time expenditure that align with the credo beloved by KonMari enthusiasts: “Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.”
7. They enlist help in sticking to their work-life balance goals.
One person told Buzzfeed she lets her loved ones use a “safe word” when she’s being sucked into a workaholic vortex.