Isn’t it great to have a job to support yourself and your family, financially? A somewhat assurance to a secure future! Everything’s great until you realize that this is not what it really takes to have a better life. If you’re pushing yourself to work hard and non-stop, that’s gonna bounce back to you with a good salary, good work experience and a great record from your employers. But are you really satisfied as to how it will all turn out? My point is, is your life balanced? A balance of work and personal life?

Economically speaking, prices are getting higher rapidly every now and then, rent and mortgages are also crazy high especially if you are living in or near a city. This became one of the many reasons why employees choose their work life over their personal life - to provide the basic needs that are somehow inaccessible to commoners now as the years go by. So how can one really balance these two? Having to work a stable job while also having a quality time for your own personal life, will reduce your stress and lessen your burnout moments. Motivation is the result of a peaceful mind, the effect of having a time and pondering the times that you spend with yourself. By this, you can have a more productive work life without any regrets at the end of the day!

Balancing work and personal life can be a little tricky. You think that you are doing everything right and that you’re the one in control - we can be wrong sometimes. This could be very confusing advice, but we need to learn to think for ourselves first. It doesn’t mean we’ll neglect our job, that we will not prioritize it anymore. It’s natural for the majority of us to take action for what we think are in need of money, we tend to forget our peace of mind. 

Here’s some of the ways that, personally, gives me peace of mind every now and then after or in between my work shifts:

Quality weekend off  - if you’re a full time employee working 9-5 from Monday to Friday, then you sure have a weekend off! Take this opportunity to work on yourself. Spend this 2-day off with your family or friends! Take off that project and client out of your head for at least a short period of time.

Coffee breaks - why is it in this list? Some of us take this break for granted. Sure it is just a 15min break and doesn’t actually feel like a break. But try to sip that coffee or tea while thinking or talking with your colleague about your favorite movie or series, book or artist. It is proven that we can increase our dopamine by talking about something we love and adore.

Music - what about a little groove and bop? Don’t be the stiff person who doesn’t know how to loosen it up! But how can this affect both your work and personal life? Music has the capabilities to calm our nerves and soothe the flow in our minds, which greatly helps and reflects on how we work. Also, music can be very personal for some of us. When you listen to your favorite songs, it’ll connect you to your personal life - to yourself.

Take a vacation! - if the company you are working for doesn’t allow you to take a vacation, then maybe you are in the wrong company. And to be honest, what company doesn’t offer a vacation leave for their employees? I wonder. Take a vacation! Go and celebrate life in a secluded town, beach or go hiking and set a camp on a peaceful mountain summit - there’s too many to mention. What’s important is to make sure you make the most out of it! Connect with nature, with the ocean and with yourself. Take this as a personal agenda. 

Connect and reconnect - we probably have these times where we forget we have friends to lean on to. We stress ourselves so much that we are running out of time to even have a little chit chat with our friends. We think that it’s just a waste of time and immature to vent it all out since most of us are adults. But really, it is one of the best ways to let it all out; the stress at work and the pressure. Connecting with peers can be very soothing and an effective way to distract yourself.

Have a go with it! We can work as hard as we want, but the satisfaction of having control over your personal life is the real success. Everything starts within you, how you work and the results of your work depends on how you also treat yourself. Learn how to balance these two because a little too much of the other one can get you twisted. Share with us how you balance yours!