How to recalibrate your work-life balance

Long hours. Intense stress. High expectations. When it comes to working in high-powered roles, our society often focuses on a certain stereotype of incredibly productive leaders. Their routines and daily habits are often celebrated in the press. We don’t have to search for long before we read about constant trade-offs: living on little sleep, emailing before sunrise or foregoing family time in favour of business. If we look a little closer to home, we’ll see the lines start to blur: think remote working, lockdowns and homeschooling.

Here at Dweet, we believe in the power of building a career you love. It’s not just about choosing to work on projects that inspire and enthuse you. It’s also about keeping your eye on the long-term view and considering your personal life goals too. Ultimately, the two are closely intertwined.

Now that we’re one year into the pandemic, it’s time to reset our work-life balance for the better. We’ve rounded up 4 ways to do just that.

Redefine success.

At work, we’re used to defining what successful outcomes should look like. But how often do we stop to determine what our “work-life wins” are? Perhaps it means no longer working on weekends. Maybe it’s about having more emotional energy and less stress at work and at home. Your definition will undoubtedly evolve over time, the important thing is to keep circling back to why you’re making those choices everyday. When you focus on those personal goals for your future, you’re more likely to feel satisfied at home and work.

Empower others.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount on your to-do list, it’s likely draining your energy and productivity at work. The key to overcoming this is to engage other people along the way. Are there any tasks or processes that you could feasibly outsource or delegate to a team member? Perhaps you could empower others to make some of the decisions that are currently on your plate? Or maybe you could benefit from mentorship or coaching to help you tackle a particular project? The more we communicate, worth with and learn from others, the lighter our load will feel.

Set boundaries and stick to them.

When the lines between work and life become too blurred, our stress levels increase. That’s why it’s so important to be clear about where the boundaries need to lie – both for yourself and your team. If you’re sending emails late into the evening, schedule them to arrive the next morning. Try not to schedule meetings after 6pm. Or even consider muting your notifications over the weekend. These simple habits can give your mind some breathing space from work, promoting healthy expectations for your team too.

Accept that you’ll have to make compromises.

We all know that life isn’t perfect. Despite all your best intentions, things will happen that shift your balance. Perhaps it’s pulling out all the stops to meet an important deadline given at short notice. Or maybe you’ve taken on new roles and responsibilities in your personal life that make you reassess your working patterns for a period of time. When you accept that it’s part of the journey, you’ll avoid fatigue and frustration creeping in. Here are 4 ways you can reframe those compromises to make things easier on yourself.