When I initially began working, my professional life took most of my attention. I would plan my tasks for the day, religiously work on completing them, and handle the finance and other work-duties. In between the hustle, I found myself in retrospection about the time I spend for my personal life. Am I spending too much time at the office? Am I paying attention to my personal life? Then, I realised that coming to work every day is a part of my personal life. No matter what the reason, it is still a personal choice that I continue to come to work every day. By doing so, I learnt the skill of balancing my personal and professional life. 

Today’s workforce could have decided to never work, or choose a remote work job - but the fact that hard-working workforce comes to work at an office is a testimonial to the fact that they strive to have the best of both worlds.

It is often considered that personal and professional life is difficult to manage. I would not entirely agree to it. My life is filled with people who inspire me, and with whom I share a mutually healthy relationship. They make my work-life balance better. However, I find several people who struggle to maintain a work-life balance, while trying to fit the constant office work into their bags. But there’s a way you can manage both!

Whether you are a new entrepreneur, freelancer or an MNC employee, here are 7 habits that help you better your personal and professional life.

Turn off notification

I can’t deny that everyone is almost hooked to their mobile phones. And being smart phones, they have social media platforms and even apps that alert you to stay hydrated, this makes people tend to spend a lot of time on their phones. A simple step like 'turning off notifications' would help you stay less distracted while you focus on tasks.

Stick to the schedule

The concept of 'to-do' lists, isn't just for college students, it's for those who want to stay organized. Make sure you assign specific tasks with timelines to ensure things get done easily. Scheduling your tasks will help you focus on things to pay attention to immediately and highlight the big tasks that matter.

Match the schedule of colleagues

Once you are done drafting your own schedule, it is necessary to be accommodative of the timelines of your colleagues as well. In order to avoid confusion or conflicts in the future, it is important to check the schedules of those you work with. This way you will get the most out of time.

Value your health

The first step is to listen to your body. Is it telling you to take rest? Is it telling you that you are not exercising enough? The key to good work-life balance is to value health and listen to it so that you can give complete concentration at work.

Don't just track time

Want to balance work and office? Then I would recommend you to stop tracking the number of hours you spend at the office and at home. Choose quality over quantity. By doing you so you will stop focusing on the numbers. Focus on the big picture: such as completing the task, spending relaxed time at work.  By creating the right balance, you would be able to balance your energy, as well as your time.

Break away from the struggle

If you are stuck at a task, then it is time to move from ‘I am an expert person' to ‘I am an expert who needs help. Seek help from your boss or your teammate, and aim to finish the task. If you are leading a team, work at identifying solutions from a grass root level. Do not let yourself stick to one task for too long. Allow your team to come up with ideas. This will help you channelize your energy well, and keep your schedule intact.

Make ‘me’ time a regular

Work and personal duties do take priority in your life; however, it is also important to make time for yourself outside of this. Include some tasks in your daily schedule, which give you simple pleasures. This can be as little as dedicating thirty minutes to 1 hour in a day. You can either invest in gym time or go spiritual – your end result will help benefit your overall well-being.  It will do wonders for your well-being, your relationships and your career will benefit too. 

If you ever look for great results without prioritizing and working towards it, remember this saying by poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who once said 'You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.' So do not hesitate to realign your goals through better work-life balance. 

Is there a particular method you incorporate in your daily schedule? I would like to hear from you too!