How To Achieve Work-Life Balance in a Busy Corporate World

In today’s recession, it may seem that work always has to take priority. A job is something to be prized and to be held onto at all costs. The corporate world can start to swallow up your family life and this can lead to problems with your wellness and well-being.

 

Fortunately, work-life balance is something that can be achieved. The first step to achieving this balance is to stop trying to achieve it. Stop trying to be the best in the corporate environment and the best family man or woman you can be. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to enable you to do it all. Balance is far too big an aim to be achievable. If you put yourself in the position of aiming for this balance, you will simply feel stressed, and that stress will then lead to guilt. This negative cycle has all kinds of difficult physical and emotional side effects.

 

Instead, start to switch off the cycle of guilt. Accept that you can never do everything, and focus instead on doing the best that you can do with the time that is available to you. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you also need to schedule in downtime for the sake of your own mental health. Schedule family time the way you would schedule any meeting or business commitment and then make sure you stick to it. By blocking out this time in your calendar, you are more likely to find time to spend with your family – a decision you will not regret.

 

If you need more time to do things in your life, then cut back on the things that are mere time-wasters and don’t add any value to your life, for example things like internet surfing, television watching, and playing video games. These things are all too easy to get sucked into, and they waste valuable time. A good tip is to put stickers on items such as the TV and computer that say, ‘What matters most in my life?’ – this will give you a good reminder about what to prioritise.

Categories: Balance, corporate world, Family, Home, life, life balance, schedule, time, work, work life

How to Up Your Career While Maintaining a Work-Life Balance

At any point in your career, finding a work-life balance is difficult, but when you’re trying to get ahead? Impossible! You have to work harder and stay later if you want to get noticed, right? But then how does corporate wellness fit in? Here’s how to maintain some semblance of a personal life and sense of well-being while still furthering your career.

 

Firstly, make sure you know your company. Some jobs just aren’t created with a work-life balance in mind, while others may have more appeal in this area. Before you accept the position, look into the company’s policies on working from home, taking time off, and flexi-time. This shouldn’t form the be-all and end-all on your decision – there are, after all, many factors to consider – but if you think you may, at some point, need to spend more time at home with family, it’s good to know that you have that option.

 

If you want to get the most out of your work and personal life, than communication across the board is key. Doing your job – and doing it well – is the most important aspect in your chances of promotion. Sure, working more hours won’t hurt your chances, but if you’re productive and a consistent performer, it’s likely that a little communication between you and your boss will be all you need to ensure the schedule changes you want. Moreover, you need to keep your family in the loop about your schedule, as well as the plans and after-school activities of others at home. That way, you can work together to keep the family in order when you’re at the office, and your partner and your children will better understand, and deal with, why you’re not around as often as you’d like.

 

Finally, if your supervisor gives you the go-ahead to modify your schedule, think about the most ideal situation that can accommodate your work and home needs. This may involve going in early, but making it home in time for dinner. Or you may choose to work from home for part of the week, or a combination of the two. Why not leave the office at 4 P.M. instead of 5.30, but then catch up after the kids have gone to bed by responding to emails, etc.?

Categories: career progression, Communication, Home, life, life balance, Personal Life, policies, schedule, time, work, work life, Work-Life Balance

How to Up Your Career While Maintaining a Work-Life Balance

At any point in your career, finding a work-life balance is difficult, but when you’re trying to get ahead? Impossible! You have to work harder and stay later if you want to get noticed, right? But then how does corporate wellness fit in? Here’s how to maintain some semblance of a personal life and sense of well-being while still furthering your career.

 

Firstly, make sure you know your company. Some jobs just aren’t created with a work-life balance in mind, while others may have more appeal in this area. Before you accept the position, look into the company’s policies on working from home, taking time off, and flexi-time. This shouldn’t form the be-all and end-all on your decision – there are, after all, many factors to consider – but if you think you may, at some point, need to spend more time at home with family, it’s good to know that you have that option.

 

If you want to get the most out of your work and personal life, than communication across the board is key. Doing your job – and doing it well – is the most important aspect in your chances of promotion. Sure, working more hours won’t hurt your chances, but if you’re productive and a consistent performer, it’s likely that a little communication between you and your boss will be all you need to ensure the schedule changes you want. Moreover, you need to keep your family in the loop about your schedule, as well as the plans and after-school activities of others at home. That way, you can work together to keep the family in order when you’re at the office, and your partner and your children will better understand, and deal with, why you’re not around as often as you’d like.

 

Finally, if your supervisor gives you the go-ahead to modify your schedule, think about the most ideal situation that can accommodate your work and home needs. This may involve going in early, but making it home in time for dinner. Or you may choose to work from home for part of the week, or a combination of the two. Why not leave the office at 4 P.M. instead of 5.30, but then catch up after the kids have gone to bed by responding to emails, etc.?

Categories: career progression, Communication, Home, life, life balance, Personal Life, policies, schedule, time, work, work life, Work-Life Balance

How to Fit Weight Loss into Your Busy Daily Schedule

These days, we’re just too busy for wellness or weight loss. You could be working a 40-hour week, looking after your family, taking an evening class, making time for friends and having a modicum of “me-time” all in an average week – when do you have time to go to the gym or cook up an über-healthy meal? Luckily for you, we’ve rounded up the best tips for taking care of your wellbeing, and your waistline, when time is of the essence.

1. Incorporate workouts into your daily schedule: Tina Haupert, author of Carrots ‘N’ Cake: Healthy Living One Carrot and Cupcake at a Time, notes, ‘When I worked in an office, I used daily planner that kept me organised with all aspects of my life—from projects and school deadlines to grocery lists and social events. I wrote down everything, including my workouts. On Sunday afternoons I’d spend some time scheduling my workouts for the week, just like I would with other obligations.’ You can also schedule fitness classes like you would unmissable appointments. Seeing it all written down in front of you helps you to get your head around the fact that you can physically fit workouts into your life.

2. Exercise in the morning: If you leave exercise until the evening, something will inevitably get in the way. Whether it’s a late meeting, happy hour or event with friends, the best of intentions will go awry if something more urgent or appealing is on the table. This is why Haupert started exercising in the morning. ‘Working out first thing in the morning guaranteed that I fit it in before my day got carried away and excuses popped up,’ she says. ‘Even though I’m naturally a morning person, becoming a morning exerciser was no easy task! The first few mornings were really hard, but the more I forced myself to do it, the easier it was and eventually it became a regular part of my routine.’

3. Track your calories: According to Haupert, ‘In the past, I half-heartedly kept a paper-and-pen food journal, but it was time-consuming and inconvenient to calculate all of those calories, so hundreds of them often went unaccounted for each day.’ However, turning to a free online weight-loss journal that tracks calories, exercise, goals, and progress made food journaling a lot quicker and simpler for Haupert, and it can for you too! Filling out serving estimates online shows you just how much you underestimate portion sizes. Haupert adds, ‘I began using measuring cups at home to learn how to identify a healthy serving.’

4. Plan a packed lunch: Planning your lunch ahead of time helps you to stick with healthy options instead of falling prey to the temptation of the pizza place next door to your office. Haupert explains, ‘Every Sunday I sat down and planned a week’s worth of quick, travel-friendly lunches. Brown-bagging what I ate during the day meant I had more control over how many calories I consumed…Plus, once I bought the food and had it readily available in my kitchen, I had no excuse for not packing a nutritious lunch.’

5. Keep healthy breakfast foods at the office: Skipping breakfast is detrimental to weight loss, so if you’re too busy to wait around for porridge, do what Haupert did and keep non-perishable, healthy breakfast options in your work desk. ‘Many mornings, I’d bring a piece of fresh fruit from home (often a banana) and used hot water to make instant oatmeal,’ she recalls. ‘I kept various ingredients to mix in like dried fruit, sunflower seeds, nuts, and a jar of peanut butter in my desk, so I never had to think twice about planning my breakfast.’

Categories: breakfast, daily schedule, haupert, Healthy, healthy breakfast, Morning, schedule, time, weight, Weight Loss

Could Childcare Influence a Happy Work Environment?

The Southern Orange County Paediatric Associates company was named one of the top places to work for the fourth year running, ranking second in the small businesses category. SOCPA also received a special award for their Work/Life flexibility. It seems that their healthcare could be setting this company apart from others in the area, with SOCPA offering 11 paediatricians and 4 nurse practitioners who offer healthcare to infants, children and adolescents in the area since 1977. Their mission is to offer quality healthcare to patients in Southern Orange County, so that they can build a strong community. The organisation also offers sick and well appointments, alongside a programme for weight management, ADHD and asthma, among others.

 

SOCPA has developed a number of great benefits over the years since being founded – it was the first to utilise an office-based consultant and paediatric nurse practitioner, as well as being innovative in offering a female nurse paediatrician. Employees have stated that what they value is the teamwork aspect of the company and their flexibility – they can see that the company cares about their employees, which makes them feel valued and appreciated. Another element of the company which is novel but effective is the opportunity for employees to bring their children in to work with them – it shows that management are willing to accommodate those who have different schedules. The company is a testament to the idea that if you give to the staff, they will return with a strong work ethic and the flexibility you’ve shown them.

 

With this in mind, it seems that the way to build a happy workplace is to not only help out your staff when they need it, but to also appreciate them and value the fact that they have personal lives outside of the office. When employees feel trusted to work around their home life without it compromising their job, they’re more willing to give that little bit extra in return. The nature of SOCPA has earned them the title of one of the best places to work in the area – and it seems to be largely based on their attitude towards their staff.

Categories: childcare, schedule, workplace

How to Make Your Lifestyle a Little Bit Happier

We may be living longer these days, but our quality of life, especially with regard to mental health, is hardly something you’d really want to prolong. We lead busy lives, packed with stress, take limited spans of vacation time, and we don’t spend enough time focusing energy on improving the quality of our lives. So what can you do to give your emotional wellbeing a much-needed kick up the backside?

Firstly, put down the tablet, step away from the sofa, and go outside. Why do you stick yourself in front of a screen all evening, be it a lap top, tablet or the TV, when you’ve done that all day at work? Grab some low-tech time and go for a walk in a park or a public green space. If you really want to improve your emotional wellness, take a friend with you. According to a recent study in The British Medical Journal, people over 75 who have a moderately active social network could expect to add 5.4 years to their life.

If it’s hard to muster up the motivation to change things up, book that time in. You often think about things you’d like to do, but actually getting around to doing them is a different story. Schedule in activities that make you happy, as this will make you more likely to do them. Get out your diary right now and book it in: Me time, 2-3 pm, crossword puzzles, walk around the block. Taking time out for you is just as important as going to the dentist or having dinner with friends, so why shouldn’t it go in the diary?

Finally, focusing on making the most of the present moment can help you to maintain a more positive attitude. As George Bernard Shaw wrote in his play Misalliance, ‘The secret of being miserable is to have leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not. The cure for it is occupation, because occupation means pre-occupation; and the pre-occupied person is neither happy nor unhappy, but simply alive and active. That is why it is necessary to happiness that one should be tired.’

How to Make Your Lifestyle a Little Bit Happier

Categories: occupation, Outdoors, schedule