In today’s fast-paced world, the struggle to balance work and home life is a challenge many of us face. One policy at my company that I initially resisted but eventually embraced wholeheartedly was the decision to adhere strictly to a defined work schedule: Monday through Friday, from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. At first, I was skeptical, believing that the nature of our work could not be confined to…
Can't switch off from work? Always checking emails at home? Work intrudes into your dream?
I'm trying to get a better work-life balance, too. I've tailored a system to suit my needs, I call it the "3 R's":
Rhythm
Regions
Reward
It's early days, but so far, my personal 3 R's system seems to be working.
Rhythm
Remove distractions, work more efficiently so you have more time to enjoy a life.
Turn off notifications: Outlook, Teams and other work apps' alerts can be distracting. Turn off notifications and message counters on your phone and desktop so you can focus. Checking emails after hours is my biggest source of stress.
Check emails twice a day: once in the morning and once mid afternoon - schedule it into your calendar as recurring events. This will allow you to focus on getting work done and attend to email responses. I set aside 30m for each session.
Set expectations: of colleagues that you're only doing emails twice a day, so they can call if it's urgent.
Regions
Keep work and personal lives in separate compartments.
Stick to your work (and personal) hours: unless pre-arranged, I will only respond to work requests between 8am and 6pm, weekdays. Other times are mine. I'm keeping to these hours as much as possible to establish clear boundaries.
Set up a work area when working from home: I'm lucky to have a dedicated room as my home office. When the work day is over, I literally leave work by closing the door. When working from home, I change out of the PJs to signal that I'm 'going' to work.
Reminders of home while at work: we hotdesk, an environment that is generic. I put a picture of Walter on the desk to remind me that I work to live. It's also good for your employer, a Harvard Business Review research found that workers were less likely to engage in unethical behaviour when their workspace included photos of their loved ones.
Inspiring regions: find other interests that you'd love to do if you had more 'me' time. Mine is tennis... if only I had more time.
Reward
Review and celebrate the wins.
Review progress: I'll review the process next month to see what's working well and change what's not.
Have more fun: being more productive, setting clear boundaries have allowed me to play more tennis. I'm healthier, happier and think with greater clarity.
Less stress: I've always been good at stress management. My 3 R's have been helpful to keep it that way. I use my smart watch to measure stress levels after dinner each night. I've been consistently in the average resting range.
What works for you?
Would any of the above tips work for you?
What systems do you use to balance work and life?
Share your thoughts in the comments. I'd love to read them.
Read more
Checking emails twice a day (thanks Tim Ferriss) and other email hacks.
Resarch shows benefits of turning off phone notifications.
Why it’s important to keep home and work life separate.
Research shows benefits of displaying photos of loved ones at work.
W E E K E N D that was. #calaguas 🌴🌿 #weekend #lifeoutsidework Preset owned by @chryzleenpineda 🧡 #huaweip20 #lightroom #beautifulnature #philippines (at Calaguas Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqYn0UxHNzu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nj6u0o7ymkl6
