During the first years when you started your career or profession, you made it clear to yourself that you’re going to make a boundary between your personal life and your work. Sometimes, that’s how your bosses would always remind you to leave your personal problems in your house and keep your focus on your job. But what happens when along the way, your work is starting to sneak itself way into your personal life?
Working for long hours can cause stress, and everyone knows what too much stress can do to your mental health. You become irritable, you easily get anxious, and you start feeling an emotional imbalance towards your family and yourself. Over time, not only will it affect your health, but it’ll also affect your productivity at the job itself.
Since your mental health is exhausted, so is your physical health. You may experience fatigue, lack of sleep which can affect your energy at work, or little to no time for your social life. Fortunately, there are some ways that you can do to balance your mental health’s welfare while juggling a busy career. Read on below for some tips to help get your work-life balance back on track.
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Love Your Job
It’s best to commit to a job that you love. Confining yourself for extended shifts and long working hours in a job that you don’t genuinely love will get the best of you. You’re not going to be happy, and you’ll still be unhappy even if you try doing some relaxation practices to alleviate your mind from the work stress. It’s not the work task that’s deteriorating your mental health; it’s the job itself.
If you know that you’re waking up for a job you don’t want to do, get out of it before it completely ruins your mental health. Look for a job where you know you’ll love to spend your extended hours. For instance, if you love to work as a nurse, then be a nurse. You don’t have to love every inch of your job, but it needs to be motivating enough for you. That way, you’ll get out of bed every morning, feeling optimistic wearing your best women’s scrub tops, and become the best nurse you want to be.
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Create A To-do List
To avoid your workload to get the most out of you, create a to-do list and jot down all the tasks, reminders, or meetings you’re scheduled to do for that day. Make sure to include a specific time frame that’ll serve as your guide, and these will also remind you if you’re already overcommitting to a particular task.
For instance, nurses are more prone to working on extended shifts, especially when they’re busy with patients. Before you start your shift, take out your to-do list and be realistic with your tasks for that day. Avoid jotting down tasks that you know will be too much for you. In cases where your list isn’t possible to be done for the day, cancel some points which you think are unnecessary and reschedule it for tomorrow. Remember, prioritize yourself and your mental health.
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Pause and Relax
Suppose you’re in the middle of completing your to-do list for that day. Suddenly, you feel overwhelmed due to the deadline’s pressures, or perhaps there’s a customer in front of you who is complaining about the service. Sometimes, when situations arise, you could get drowned and eventually burn yourself out. When you feel overwhelmed, you’ll find it hard to think clearly for a solution or formulate new ideas, making it harder for you to complete your tasks.
The best way to handle this is by taking a short bathroom break, pause, and pull yourself back together. You can do this by using deep breathing exercises to calm yourself, lower your pressure, reduce the overwhelming stress, and reduce your heart rate. Don’t forget to stay hydrated to neutralize your blood pressure and mind. If you get a lunch break, utilize the time to relax and get off your working table for a while. Recollect yourself before you get back on the race.
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Communicate
Another way to help your mental health from the stress of your busy career is through communication. Suppressing all of your worries, anxiety, and stress in your head will only make matters worse. You’ll suddenly become irritable, impatient, and you’ll mostly take out your frustration on your family or in the strangers you meet everywhere.
Instead of keeping it all to yourself, communicate and be open to your co-workers who may probably be feeling the same thing. People find comfort when they can share their stress and emotions with people who’ve also gone through the same thing. If not your co-workers, you can also open up to your family. Their comfort and assurance will help ease your mental stress and get through your job positively for the next day.
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Look After Your Physical Needs
Despite being busy with your careers, don’t take your physical health for granted. After all, you wouldn’t be able to pursue your job if it wasn’t for your physical and mental health. Before you start your day at work, set aside a few minutes in the early morning for some self-care and me time. You can do yoga or meditation, have a brief walk around the park, or do workout exercises for a few minutes. Even a few minutes of me-time in the morning can make a vast difference in your mental health and attitude towards your work.
Besides the morning routine, it’s also best to start a nighttime routine before going to sleep. Utilize a few minutes of your time to take a hot shower, read a book, meditate, or drink your favorite herbal tea before you go to bed. Avoid checking your work emails when you’re in your bedroom. If you have a busy schedule tomorrow, you can note them in your journal before you enter your bedroom. Then, finally, get the best sleep to prefer your body for the next busy day ahead.
Key Takeaways
It may seem impossible to get your work-life balance back, but by incorporating these tips into your daily routine, you’ll slowly catch up with your mental health’s needs and get back in shape. After all, the best way to perform best in your career is to be a healthier and happier version of yourself.
When you’re healthy, and mentally well, you can easily tackle whatever tasks your job would throw at you. Your mind will be able to formulate thoughts and ideas quickly. Most importantly, your emotional state will be balanced as you’ll now have time to spend with your family and loved ones.
