Hey guys, some of you may have a 9-5 job and have a good amount of alone time. But what if you’re one of those that work from morning till night, those that sacrifice aspects of your life and are quite literally married to your job. How do you regain your life back? Here are some tips that may help you with that!
Don’t Be Such A Perfectionist
In our society, we have a lot of perfectionists due to our childhood and parents demand for us to overachieve.
We always used to go tuition, stay after school, study, study and study. It carries on into adult life.
But the thing is, in childhood it is simpler, as we grow up, life becomes more complicated.
As you slowly progress in life, your work and family grows, thus your responsibilities do so as well. When that happens, perfectionism becomes too difficult to handle, and if that habit is left unchecked, it can be negative to your own growth!
According to some studies, the key to avoiding burning out in life is to let go of perfectionism, and accept that nothing is perfect and there is always minor mistakes, which is okay. A healthier option is not to strive for perfection but for excellence.
Unplug
Technology has made our lives much easier, from communicating to working. But it has also created expectations of constant accessibility. So, it feels like work days never seem to end.
Eg, even when you’re on leave or after working hours, it feels like colleagues and people from work would still sometimes “kacau” you.
This can sometimes be unhealthy as it interrupts your personal life, like spending time with friends and family, having alone time etc, you don’t want to neglect these aspects of life for work.
Therefore, sometimes there are times when you should just shut off your phone and enjoy the moment.
When you have quality time, make sure it really is quality time with no interruptions.
Furthermore, by not reacting to the updates from work, you will develop a stronger habit of resilience!
The more resilience a human has, the more they have a greater sense of control over their lives, and overall less stress!
Exercise and Meditate
Even when we are very busy, we still make time for the important things in life. Eating, going to the bathroom, sleeping. Yet for some reason, one of our most important needs, to exercise, is often the first thing we cancel out when we are busy.
As stated in previous articles, exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body. It helps lift your mood and can even put you in the “zone” when you’re working!
Experts recommend dedicating a bit of your time each week for self care, such as exercise or meditation.
If you really don’t have the time, start small with deep breathing exercise during your commute, or a quick 5 minute meditation session in the morning and at night.
These exercises require minimum effort but offer maximum benefits, your body, your mind and your soul will thank you for it!
Don’t Waste Time On Useless Activities and People
First, identify what are the most important things in your life. This is different for everyone, so make sure it really reflects your priorities and not someone else’s.
From there, it will be easier to determine what needs to be cut out from the schedule. Eg, if using the internet too much sends wastes a lot of your time, establish some rules to keep yourself on schedule and on task.
This could mean browsing Facebook and Twitter less, or browsing it only during specific times of the day.
How about people? Talking too much nonsense with someone specific too much? Politely excuse yourself. Drinking with your friends the night before a busy and important day? Tell them you have to go early.
Focus on the people and activities that reward you the most!
It may seem kind of selfish, but it is not. You must always look out for yourself first, and this is contributing to your growth instead of harming it!
When you work on yourself to become a better person, you also become better in the other areas of life, such as being a friend, a spouse, a parent or a worker!
Change The Structure of Your Life
Sometimes we fall into a cycle and think that our habits are set in stone. But instead, look at it from a 3rd person perspective and ask yourself : What can you change to make your life easier?
Instead of being in a habit and trying to do so many things at once, focus on activities you specialize in and value the most.
Delegate or outsource everything else, for example, you work day until night, come back you have to clean your house. Why not get a maid to come twice a week to give your house a full clean? You are helping 2 people that way. You are helping yourself by reducing your stress and workload, and you are helping the maid by giving her a job!
Bottom line is, finding out what you can do to let go in ways that benefit other people by giving them opportunities to grow!
Start Small, Build Up
Ever tried a diet and was super gung ho about it, then 2 weeks later you stop and never do it again?
What about your new year’s resolution where you said you wanted to go to the gym everyday then dropped it by February?
It is actually the same with work-life balance when we take on too much too quickly.
If we try to make too much of a drastic change we will just fizzle out and go back to old habits, so instead of making major changes, try to make small ones every week and stick to it. This way it would be more of a permanent change!
I hope these tips will help you find that balance in your personal and work life, and keep your mental and physical health in great shape! Take control of your life, and enjoy it. You only get to live it once!
