We’re all trying to find more balance in our lives. Whether it’s juggling parenting responsibilities or dealing with a packed schedule, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. But if you are a working professional who is also trying to manage this balancing act, the stress and strain can seem even more intense. Burnout is a real possibility, but you don’t want to let things get that far. Instead, try these simple tricks for finding harmony between your work and personal life.
Don’t Waste Time Hating Your Current Job
Before you dive into any other trick for relieving stress in your career and easing tension at home, you should take a long hard look at your current job. Despising your job can do so much more than just make you miserable at work. All that stress, anxiety and hate can actually make you sick by having serious impacts on your physical and mental health, so if you feel sick at the thought of another work week, it may be time to look for something more fulfilling. Maybe instead of pushing papers, you would rather be helping other people. You could look into programs that will help you become a nurse, a counselor, or a speech pathologist. To make the transition even easier, online master’s programs allow speech pathologists to fulfill education requirements, which are fully accredited, according to their own schedule, meaning you can keep your current job while studying for the new one. If your current role is really stressing you out and you’re ready to leave it behind, you can also pick up side gigs to make ends meet until you graduate.
Love or Hate, Take Frequent Breaks From Work
If you hate your job, you should think about moving on from it, but even if you’re already doing what you love, you still need time away. Taking a vacation may seem like a career obstacle, but studies actually show the opposite. By taking time off, you are allowing your brain to reset and all of those negative effects of stress to melt away. Can’t schedule a vacation just yet? Then think about finding more time during your days to get outside. If you can squeeze a minimum of 20 minutes of quality outdoor time into your day, your feelings of stress can be drastically reduced. Try taking your lunch break out in a local park or having your morning cup of coffee in your garden. If you want a way to work some stress-relieving hobbies into your nature breaks, then consider getting into outdoor activities on weekends and vacations. You can try hiking, mountain biking or even surfing. If your surfing lessons turn into a bona fide passion, be sure to research quality surf boards to keep you safe and comfortable in the waves.
Make Home Your Zone to Recharge and Relax
Getting outside and getting a new job will bring those stress levels down and help prevent overwhelm, but feelings of burnout can sneak up on you pretty quickly, and you can start feeling exhausted, overly anxious and even physically sick before you know it. Another way you can keep your career from maxing you out is to make sure your home is a haven from stress. You may already know that decluttering and living minimalistically help lower stress levels, but using soft, pink lighting and fresh flowers can help induce maximum calm as well. Those relaxing touches should be set up all around your house, but try to focus the most attention on creating a cozy bedroom. Improving your sleep hygiene is one of the most basic self-care steps you can take to strengthen your health against work stress, so keep your bedroom dark at night, turn down the temperature before bed, and turn off your phone so you can get the proper rest you need to thrive at work and home.
Outsource Some of Your Tasks
Handing off some of your stressful tasks and responsibilities will not only decrease your work stress, but also free up more time to work more efficiently and to help balance your work-life time. See how USA Staffing Services can help with your Back Office Tasks like employer of record, payroll, invoicing and accounts receivable.
Having a successful career should be about more than bringing home a paycheck. The right career will give you a sense of personal satisfaction without giving you major burnout, so change your habits, change your home, or change your job to find the happiness you deserve.
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