The 4 F-words for a better work life balance

Have you ever thought why is it that no matter how hard you try, your tasks never come to an end?

Have you ever thought why is it that others seem to have a perfect work life balance but when it comes to your work life balance, it simply seems non-existent?

Have you ever thought of resigning from your current job in order to rejuvenate from the stressed out environment of your toxic work culture?

If your answer is yes to any of them or even it is a yes to some of them, there are high chances that you do not have a good work-life balance and you struggle a lot to establish what you set out for in the morning. Though a lot depends on the work culture of your organization, your designation and your nature of work, yet there are some things which can be controlled on a personal front to get the dream work-life balance you ever wished. I describe 4 ways in which you can achieve this, the 4 F-words for a better work-life balance because let’s get things straight, when we are stressed out the first word coming out of our mouths is the F-word that nobody wants to hear and you regret once you say it.

The F-word #1: Focus on your Strengths

Playing with your strengths is one of the key factors in striking a healthy work life balance. When you are bombarded with tons of work depending on the position you are in, getting things done which relate to your area of expertise leaves you with enough time to complete pending tasks within the allotted time frame. For example, if you are good at preparing reports for your manager, take those related jobs and leave the others such as following up with the client or completing a part of the development activity for your team members. On the other hand, when you try to achieve everything that your team does, you end up stressing yourself with the job at hand and enter into fatigue which negatively impacts your personal life.

The F-word #2: Flush out unnecessary activities

One of the silent killers of productivity at work is wasting your time doing unnecessary activities and thus end up working extra hours every day to complete the tasks at hand. For example, booking the tickets for your next holiday or going through E-commerce apps to figure out the right curtains for your home or choosing the best clothing for the marriage of your cousin scheduled next year or binge browsing random stuffs on the internet is a huge killer of time. These things can wait till the end of the day or till the weekend where you have the whole day to yourself. Figuring out all such activities and flushing them down from your schedule at work is the best way to remain productive, establish your incomplete tasks and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

The F- word #3: Fulfill your Financial Goals

Finance is the one of those aspects which cannot be ignored at any cost. However, it is also true that pestering on your personal finances greatly hinders the productivity at work and hence has to be avoided. It is also imperative to feel at ease when thinking about reaching your financial goals because that way you free your mind of unnecessary clutter of thoughts and focus on the job at hand. Set aside a dedicated time slot everyday where you review your financial statements and plan for your short term financial goals in alignment to the actual financial plans you planned on the first place. This way, you end up planning your day better and establish a healthy work-life balance.

The F- word #4: Familiarize yourself to the concept of Leaving Work at work

Taking the work from your desk to your home is one of the biggest sins one does when trying to leave work at a fixed time. This greatly impacts your personal work-life balance because of the fact that you remain occupied with unfinished business at work. This also sets the wrong expectation at your workplace and you end up working extra hours just to complete that one task at hand even after reaching home from a long day at office. Thus make a habit of leaving work related issues and settlement at your desk and make a point that once you are out of office, you no longer get back to business unless there is an emergency or something truly urgent comes up at work.

To conclude, in order to have a healthy work life balance you should Focus, Flush, Fulfill and Familiarize yourself to the context of work-life balance. Check out How To Create a Work-Life-Balance in 2020 – The Six Sigma Way for a more comprehensive understanding of the subject and if you wish to understand the jargon, “The Six Sigma Way” check out the courses Lean Six Sigma Black belt certification and Lean Six Sigma Green belt certification.