Finding a balance between personal and professional life can seem like a constant struggle, especially for those who work with membership associations, where finding free time can be even more of a stretch. Trying to find a happy medium between your responsibilities requires constant effort, and may frequently feel like an ongoing battle, but it is necessary for your overall well-being and career success.
With your feet up in the sunshine, Father’s Day is an excellent time to reflect on your current situation and assess whether you need to adapt your lifestyle to keep your best interests at heart. Balance looks different for everybody, so be patient with yourself and prepare to make adjustments in your day-to-day life.
Prioritisation
Balancing your family life and career comes down to understanding your priorities and what truly matters to you. Identifying your core values and goals for both family life and career development will form an idea of how you should spend your time and energy. Despite being very different on a surface level, work and family life are closely connected and are almost guaranteed to impact each other if left unmanaged.
Time Management
Time management is a skill natural to some, but others may find difficulty in keeping to a schedule. Making use of calendars and to-do lists will help you to organise and optimise your time, ultimately keeping your life more balanced and allowing for more down time. Setting realistic boundaries and expectations will help to make your home life easier, while simultaneously allocating more time to focus on your career.
Communication and Support
Maintaining open and honest communication with both your family and your workplace is paramount. You should feel comfortable discussing your responsibilities and commitments, along with any challenges you are facing with your family and your employer.
Airing any current issues should be greeted with empathy from both parties, creating a relationship built on understanding. This ensures that everybody close in your life is aware of your responsibilities, making it easier for them to consider your need for a work-life balance.
Personal Well-being
Sustaining your own personal well-being is a fundamental aspect to preserving healthy relationships both in and outside of work. Establishing clear boundaries in both your work and personal life helps to prevent burnout and sets aside time to spend with your family.
Set Realistic Goals
Although it may seem difficult to do at first, you should plan specific and measurable goals for both your career and family, whether this be a promotion, holiday, or just to spend more time at home. Be honest about your expectations and limitations – once you have set goals, they can be broken down into manageable steps which can be tackled one at a time.
Let us know in the comments if you have any tips on how to separate your personal and professional life. Do you think this is easier to do in an in-office environment, or is working from home more beneficial?