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6 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance

Sharing with you Deborah Jian Lee’s 6 tips for better work-life balance.

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1. Let go of perfectionism

The key to avoid burning out is to let go of perfectionism, says Puder-York. “As life gets more expanded it’s very hard, both neurologically and psychologically, to keep that habit of perfection going,” she says, adding that the healthier option is to strive not for perfection, but for excellence.

2. Unplug

From telecommuting to programs that make work easier, technology has helped our lives in many ways. But it has also created expectations of constant accessibility. The work day never seems to end. “There are times when you should just shut your phone off and enjoy the moment,” says Robert Brooks, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in Your Life. Brooks says that phone notifications interrupt your off time and inject an undercurrent of stress in your system. So don’t text at your kid’s soccer game and don’t send work emails while you’re hanging out with family, Brooks advises. Make quality time true quality time. By not reacting to the updates from work, you will developing a stronger habit of resilience. “Resilient people feel a greater sense of control over their lives,” says Brooks, while reactive people have less control and are more prone to stress.

3. Exercise and meditate

Even when we’re busy, we make time for the crucial things in life. We eat. We go to the bathroom. We sleep. And yet one of our most crucial needs – exercise – is often the first thing to go when our calendars fill up. Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body. It helps lift your mood and can even serve a one-two punch by also putting you in a meditative state, according to the Mayo Clinic.

4. Limit time-wasting activities and people

First, identify what’s most important in your life. This list will differ for everyone, so make sure it truly reflects your priorities, not someone else’s. Next, draw firm boundaries so you can devote quality time to these high-priority people and activities.

From there, it will be easier to determine what needs to be trimmed from the schedule. If email or internet surfing sends you into a time-wasting spiral, establish rules to keep you on task. That may mean turning off email notifications and replying in batches during limited times each day. If you’re mindlessly surfing Facebook or cat blogs when you should be getting work done, try using productivity software like Freedom, LeechBlock or RescueTime. And if you find your time being gobbled up by less constructive people, find ways to diplomatically limit these interactions. Cornered every morning by the office chatterbox? Politely excuse yourself. Drinks with the work gang the night before a busy, important day? Bow out and get a good night sleep. Focus on the people and activities that reward you the most.

5. Change the structure of your life

Sometimes we fall into a rut and assume our habits are set in stone. Take a birds-eye view of your life and ask yourself: What changes could make life easier?

6. Start small. Build from there.

We’ve all been there: crash diets that fizzle out, New Year’s resolutions we forget by February. It’s the same with work-life balance when we take on too much too quickly, says Brooks. Many of his workaholic clients commit to drastic changes: cutting their hours from 80 hours a week to 40, bumping up their daily run from zero miles a day to five miles a day. It’s a recipe for failure, says Brooks. When one client, who was always absent from his family dinners, vowed to begin attending the meals nightly, Brooks urged him to start smaller. So he began with one evening a week. Eventually, he worked his way up to two to three dinners per week.

“If you’re trying to change a certain script in your life, start small and experience some success. Build from there,” says Brooks.

source: “6 Tips for Better Work-Life Balance” by Deborah Jian Lee, www.forbes.com/sites/deborahlee/2014/10/20/6-tips-for-better-work-life-balance/amp/

thescatteredthoughts-blog1

First job: The birth of many firsts.

I can clearly remember everything about the first day of my job. I was so idealistic that time. I thought, I would be using computers, solve different office cases, get to dive in into the pile of work, basically, use my acquired skills from the four years I had spent in the university but, it was a big NO.

Everyday, I sat for hours on the side, while everyone was trying to figure out who I was and why I was there. I felt alienated. I felt alone. My bubble just burst into tiny little particles in the thin air, I knew it wasn’t what I thought it would be.

It took time for me to adjust on things. From getting to know everyone, trying to mingle with new faces and trying to figure out why it took time for the ‘real’ work to settle in.

Here are the few things and firsts I learned from it:

1) Don’t be a stranger. Try to mingle with new faces, try to small talk with people, that way, you will be able to figure their behavior and how they react on things.

2) Things take time. It took about a month for the work to come up to me, I was shredding papers and photocopying stuff for weeks. Honestly, I felt disappointed that time because I thought that it was just my worth at the office. But, I am telling you, it takes time for people to turn over the real deal for you.

3) Break first impressions. People will make you feel you are entirely an outsider, smile as often as you can. Everyone thought I was a snob just because I have a chronic bitch face, it was my task to prove them otherwise and so I gained my own circle of friends.

I still have so many key points to share. This is a continuing post, watch out for more!

jacdaliwan-blog

Motivation through satisfaction

Nowadays, study shows that millennials are indeed job hoppers which made employee retention a nightmare for employers in the recent years.

It’s true that they tend to flip jobs from time to time when there’s a better opportunity, but is it really their fault? What if it’s the other way around? What if it’s actually the employers who is at fault here that they failed to create motivation through employee satisfaction?

Whether a millennial or not, when the employee is not anymore satisfied in his/her workplace, it increases the percentage of leaving the job. And sadly, there are still employers who really don’t know this.

Here are the four (4)E’s to think about to motivate your employees and eventually have their satisfaction:

1. ENGAGE. Employees tend to be motivated when they feel they’re part of the organization. Let them feel they belong to the group. Engage them in a meaningful relationship. It will be best if you could do a one-on-one to discuss milestones and updates in your lives, it doesn’t need to be about work at all times, but doing so increases camaraderie.

The most and crucial part of this is that the employer should act as a leader and as a companion to its subordinates and lead them by example. The problem with most of the organization is that some managers have poor interpersonal skills. Remember that no one wants a boss who doesn’t know how to treat his subordinates well.

Beware of this kind of managers in your organization as they’re cancerous. Always remember: “employees leave because of their managers and not because of the company.”

2. ESTABLISH. Employees tend to be demotivated when they do jobs repeatedly for a long time. Employees, especially those who are aggressive in their workplace are always looking for career advancement and growth. Establish them by implementing job rotation. It is very effective to keep their minds working. Rotating them from one task to another is hard at first but when you were able to establish it, it would be beneficial on both sides.

Switching tasks from time to time may build and increase employee satisfaction since you are also helping them to be ready whenever there’s a chance or opportunity for promotion.

Remember that switching tasks from time to time may also cause headache when not carefully planned, establish a fixed rotation schedule as your guidance (eg. every two or three years).

3. EQUIP. Unlock the full potential of your employees. Every employee who are engaged in their jobs and careers want to know more about their company and the industry they are in. If an employer wants to harness the full value of their employees and build loyalty and eventually increase retention, they should be investing in training their employees.

Training will help increase motivation for employees as you are equipping them for better opportunities with adept understanding on the industry they are in. Satisfaction comes next as you are filling the room for their improvement and unlocking career development

4. EMPOWER. Demonstrate your trust to your employees, communicate with a clear vision and show that you appreciate their efforts. This is very crucial in empowering your employees as they will feel that you are giving importance to them. A simple tap in the back or a simple “great job!” may give a difference to the workplace.

Let us admit that anyone wants recognition. The very best thing that the employer could do to uplift their spirits is to recognize them even on small things or efforts. This will result eventually to an increase in your employees’ productivity as they wanted to do more, then comes their satisfaction.

Take a note of this 4 E’s and apply it on the workplace. You’ll definitely be surprised of the outcomes. But take note that this does not guarantee 100% satisfaction as there are other factors that needs to be considered.

jacab2016

Achievement and Enjoyment: The Work-Life Balance

Work-Life Balance: a thing many professionals aim but most of them - including myself - struggle to achieve.

A job you love. The personal growth you need.

Despite the continued growth of technology and the worldwide search for it, sometimes it’s hard to tell where workday ends and personal life begins.

Work-life balance does not mean an equal balance. It’s not like we’re making timetable and schedule equal number of hours for our work, family, friends and other personal activities.

The best work-life balance will be different from other people and other time. The best work-life balance will be different from each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.

However, at the bottom of an effective work-life balance are two key points that are connected to us: Achievement and Enjoyment.

Achievement and Enjoyment answers the question, “Why do we want a better income… a new house… a weekend getaway… to do good at work… and to go to work at all?

Most of us already have an idea on the meaning of achievement so let’s explore the meaning of enjoyment.

Having a life outside our work is so important. It makes us happy.

Caring about the things other than our job doesn’t mean we don’t like what we do and we’re not committed to it. It simply means how we value our time and energy, that we understand how important that the 8 - 5 of our day is not our entire life. Doing something outside the office makes you more interesting.

Now ask yourself, when was the last time you achieve and enjoy something at work…with your family and friends… for yourself?

Life will give us the balance we desire when we are achieving and enjoying every single day… in all the important areas of our lives.

So, let’s achieve and enjoy… every day, in every way.

mark-renton

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