Simple Tips to Achieve a Work-Life Balance

by Sarah Donnelly, Holistic Life and Wellness Coach

One of the main goals I hear in coaching is the desire to achieve a work-life balance. A lot of the time people have already realised that there’s something out of sync, and they know that they want to change something. It’s difficult when you’re in the middle of a situation sometimes to achieve full clarity around what to do and coaching can be exceptionally helpful for this. My approach to life coaching is a holistic one so no two people will have the same coaching plan to achieve a work-life balance as it is a very specific and personal to everyone.

Still, here are some simple tips that anyone can use to work towards achieving the right work-life balance for you.

1. Distinguish the main causes of the problem
Firstly, to overcome a problem we must distinguish what the problem is. Are there particular areas of your work life that are causing you more stress than others? What are you spending your time on? What do you need to be spending more time on? Look at all the areas in your life and distinguish where you are using your time. Be really honest with yourself.

2. Planning
One of the major issues that people appear to face, is the overwhelming feeling that they might not get something done. Planning is an exceptionally helpful approach to this. Writing down what you want to achieve in a day, week, month or even a year, can give you clarity around what you need to do. Break things down. Take things one at a time. When we focus on one thing at a time it takes away that overwhelming feeling of having so many things to do. Achieving a work-life balance can be as simple as writing down all your priorities and distinguishing which ones are more important. What tools can you put in place to ensure that you are getting the most out of your time in work and that you’re not bringing your work home with you?

3. Support System
Everyone in life needs support at one time or another. There are always people there that can help you out: friends, family members, or colleagues. Find someone you trust, who will support you, and who can help you in achieving your goals. What supports can you connect to, or what people do you have that could help you? These are a hugely important part for a lot of people when they are trying to achieve a goal.

4. Be realistic
Sometimes in life, we must dedicate more time to an area of our lives than we would like to. Unfortunately, this comes with a lot of jobs. However, it’s important to remember not to be over-consumed by deadlines. While you may need to dedicate a bit more time in one area, it shouldn’t be all the time. Being realistic around when and where you spend your time is very important

5. Prioritise
When you don’t have a work-life balance it seems like life is all work and no play. And that’s no good. It’s important to remember that you need to make time for your social life and hobbies. Prioritise time for your family and friends and the other things that are important to you. For some people this could be spending time with their family, their partners, their friends and others it could be reading a book or going to the gym. Whatever it may be for you, write down all the things that you want to do. If there are five things, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the most important) number the one which is the most important thing. Now look at this list again and ask yourself which area is gaining the most of your time and is that the area that you want to give that time to.

Regaining balance in our lives takes time and effort but it is very achievable. Balance comes from practice and you’re the only person that can achieve this balance.

About the author
Sarah works as a Holistic Life and Wellness Coach and Mindfulness Therapist both online and in Kildare. She is a co-founder of the wellness blog Mandala.ie and writes in the areas of life-coaching, well-ness, well-being, mindfulness and positive psychology. She is passionate about coaching, well-being and living a balanced, happy and positive life.

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