The term “work-life balance” gets thrown around a lot these days. Fourteen percent of all workers who left their job in the past year did so because there wasn’t a good work-life balance, according to Jobvite’s 2017 Job Seeker Nation Study. But what exactly is it? A 50-50 split between office and personal life? Flexible hours and remote work options? Or maybe unlimited vacation?
You say “those can’t possibly be real,” as you clock in 10 hours (or more) in the office just to stay afloat. But there is a better way! It’s totally possible to be a standout worker without clocking in overtime every night. Here’s how to do it.
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Eliminate Distractions
Being in the office and being available in the office are two entirely different things. You’re losing valuable work time when constantly chatting in the kitchen, browsing Instagram or texting friends. And that means you’ll need to spend more time in the office or be forced to finish your work later at home.
To stay on the road to productivity, you’ve got to avoid those alluring detours that can break your focus. Everyone is different, so you’ll want to personalize your strategy, but here are some universal distractions that can be easily minimized:
— Close your laptop during meetings. You’ll be more focused on the conversation at hand, and your co-workers will appreciate that they aren’t battling Slack for your attention.
— Stow away your phone. Silence your device and block out specific times for yourself to respond to messages (such as lunch).
— Get rid of unnecessary tabs. Pinterest inspirations for winter fashion can wait until later.
— Find alternative quiet spaces. If you get antsy sitting at your desk all day, periodically relocate to other locations in the office to renew your focus.
If you want to truly cut down on your time in the office — without hurting the quality of your work — it will require more dedication and engagement while you’re there. By being proactive about distractions, you can help set yourself up for success.
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Plan Out Your Day the Night Before
One trait that most productivity masters share is good time management. You can get one step ahead of impending work craziness by taking a few minutes each evening to carve out your schedule for the next day.
Transform your calendar into your own personal assistant by outlining dedicated time for each of the activities that require your attention. Even 30 minutes to work on a long-term project can help maximize your time and save you a long, stress-filled night down the road. Just don’t forget to set a reminder for lunch, too!
Unforeseen challenges are bound to wreak havoc on your schedule every now and then, but by planning ahead you can remind yourself when and where to focus your energy throughout the day.
Know When to Say ‘No’
Willingness to take on additional responsibilities or lend assistance are certainly positive attributes in the workplace. It’s even better if you can anticipate those needs without being asked. But become too willing to say yes and you risk biting off more than you can chew.
The quality of your work may suffer — or worse, you’ll miss an important deadline. Those are certainly not positive situations, and your manager may focus on those missteps versus all the additional responsibilities you took on.
It’s important to know your limits and be upfront with your team. Explain that you’d love to help, but some of your previously assigned responsibilities need to come first. They will appreciate the honesty more than some hastily thrown together presentation slides.
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Find a Job That You Love
This isn’t always an option, and sometimes you take a job that you’re less than enthusiastic about to set yourself up for success later. But when you truly love the company’s mission, the people on your team or the work you’re doing, it becomes so much easier to stay on task and be productive.
When growing your career, think about previous experiences and activities that bring you excitement, and focus on expanding the skills needed to show that you’re great at them. Even if your current position isn’t everything you want it to be, there could be room to tweak it more to your liking by indicating how the results might benefit the company. Just remember to continue delivering quality work on all the tasks assigned to you.
If you want to grow your career, you won’t always be able to only clock in eight hours a day. You need to work harder than your peers, and that means putting in more energy, dedication and occasionally, time. But if you have a game plan to maximize that time you spend in the office, those days of working overtime will become few and far between.
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4 Ways to Crush Your Job and Still Have a Personal Life originally appeared on usnews.com
