How to Balance Your Professional Life and Personal Life

Balancing professional life and personal life is something many people struggle with. Striving for success constantly and neglecting life away from work can hinder your relationships outside of work. And focusing too much on your personal life can slow your success in the workplace. Too much of either is bad—but finding balance with both will provide happiness in both aspects. I follow a simple process to maintain balance between the two.

1. Map Out Your Schedule For the Week

Take some time to map out your weekly schedule. Put in writing what days you work and what days you have to tend to obligations outside of work. If possible, give yourself a break with at least 2 days off from work. Making sure that your work hours don’t exceed that 40-hour benchmark will present a plethora of positives. Inc.com explains some of the negative effects of working longer than 40 hours in a week.

“Working more than 40 hours a week is associated with increased alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as unhealthy weight gain in men and depression in women.” - Tom Popomaronis of Inc.com

Keep this information in mind while making your schedule. Having a manageable work schedule will keep your mental and physical health in check along with giving your personal life the time it needs.

2. Adjust Your Schedule to Maximize Your Work and Home Life

It’s important to adjust your schedule to meet the expectations of your job and your family or friends. You would not want to create a work schedule that misses big meetings or that hinders your productivity. In the same sense, making a schedule that misses important life events, such as a loved one’s birthday party, would not be ideal either. 

Consult with those you would like to spend your off-days with and work to align your schedules. Lining up your schedule with those at home will give you the time you need to nurture your relationships. Maximizing your schedule to fit and exceed the expectations of work and home will make your task to succeed in both much easier.

3. Stick to Your Schedule

Stay disciplined and follow the schedule you created for the week. Breaking your set times is a slippery slope. It’s so easy to break your schedule, along with the balance between home and work. Doing it once will make you want to do it again, until you create the habit of constantly doing so.

Health Careers claims that 66% of Americans do not have a proper work-life balance. One of the more common negatives of overworking yourself is experiencing burnout. This was also found to be true with the majority of Americans, with 77% having experienced professional burnout at some point in their career and over half of that overwhelming percentage having experienced it multiple times. 

Overworking yourself and failing to follow your schedule may result in being unproductive at work while neglecting your home-life. This is why following your schedule is so vital. Your schedule is a promise you make to yourself, and constantly breaking it defeats the purpose of that promise. Unless your run into unforeseen circumstances, try to be as consistent with your schedule as possible. 

4. Success Can Result In Flexibility

Making an impact at home and at work can potentially result in flexibility for both. Being sure to make the most of the time you spend in either will most likely make those involved appreciate your time and devotion. In the professional setting, hard work and promotions can lead to more flexible options to work with.

As Arthur Zuvkerman from CompareCamp wrote, “55% of founders/C-level executives and 48% on VP level avail of the flexible work schedule,” suggesting that the higher you are on the totem pole of your employer, the more freedom to work when you choose you will be allowed.

Making an impact at home will result in higher flexibility as well. Always make plans whenever you are free with your loved ones. Spending time with friends and family will make them more understanding of the times you may need to put in some extra work. When unsatisfied with what your schedule looks like at first, put the work in at home and at your job to allow you the flexibility you want. 

Work-life balance is something that most people struggle with. But the key to achieving this does not lie in a 50/50 literal split between your time clocked in and your time at home. Keeping the balance lies in creating a realistic, weekly schedule and having the self-discipline to stick to that schedule. Doing this while making an impact in both areas of your life will eventually reward you with the flexibility that everyone wishes they could have. Stick to this process and you will be able to balance your professional life and personal life. Before you try to find your passion and purpose in life, you have to truly know yourself.