Balancing Work and Life

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 Recognize that Work is What You Do, Not Who You Are

We live in a society that places a high premium on a strong work ethic. For many, work is a significant and healthy source of a feeling of accomplishment and purpose. Unfortunately, too many persons struggle with striking a healthy balance between work and a personal life.  This results in stress and burnout,  that research shows has negative impact on our health, our happiness and our relationships, including those with our children. Therefore, it is important to recognize when work is consuming us; to understand the reasons we may work excessively; and to engage in behaviors that enable us to achieve a healthy work-life balance.

You may be a "workaholic" with difficulty achieving healthy work - life balance if you:

  • Define your personal identity and sense of self-worth by your work
  • Have difficulty making time for healthy self-care, such as
    • Exercising
    • Eating in a nutritious manner
  • Frequently feel fatigued with low energy
  • Often display irritable mood and short temper
  • Experience frequent signs of physical tension and stress, such as
    • Headaches
    • Gastro-intestinal problems
    • Muscular soreness and tension
  • Have limited social interactions and experience strained relationships, due to limited time
  • Engage in unhealthy behaviors to reduce stress, such as excessive alcohol use

Here are ways to create healthy work-life balance:

  • Create a boundary between work and your personal life by:
    • Learning to say "no" to excessive requests that spill over into your personal life
    • Limiting work activities to work hours 
    • Leaving work at a reasonable hour
    • Turning off electronic work related devices when not at work
  • Utilize healthy time management to 
    • Prioritize the important activities
    • Plan leisure time and rest
  • Be purposeful about having down time
  • Take time out for healthy self-care, such as exercise and eating nutritiously
  • Take time to do fun, relaxing and enjoyable activities (hobbies, vacations, etc.)
  • Negotiate and utilize flexible options within your work (compressed schedule, comp time,   tele-working, etc.)





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