Balancing Work & Home Life

As businesses have opened around the country, some employees want and will continue to work from home. If that’s within the business’s ability, super! But if you’re an employee working from home, you might be struggling with balancing work and home demands. It’s easy to fall into the too much work trap, or the opposite. Home demands may be interfering with your ability to get work done.

Back in the pre-pandemic days, going to work, then rushing home to cook, clean, and help the kids with homework had many of us feeling drained. Being at home for an extended period of time during the pandemic allowed many of us to find balance between family demands and the boss’s. Now, after my own experience balancing work and home life, here are a few ideas to help.

Rise and shine. Try waking up several hours before starting work. A few more added minutes to your morning can help with tasks around the house – defrosting something for dinner or starting the dishwasher. The small things we do on a daily basis add up. By waking up a little earlier you eliminate frantically preparing yourself and/or your kids, not eating breakfast or forgetting tasks that can accumulate by the end of the day and week.

Food to go. Keep nuts and health bars handy. This helps when you’ve got to get the kids or yourself to a soccer game or doctor’s appointment and your schedule doesn’t allow time to fix lunch or dinner. I do this and it’s been a real lifesaver! 

Go-to place. Near the door, find an area for items that you need on a daily basis: keys, purse, school backpacks or letters to be mailed. Also, keep a petty cash jar handy for all household members to use for parking, lunches or that all important tip for the delivery person.

Go-to person. Find a trusted friend that you can vent your frustrations to. And equally important, allow them to vent to you. Share your feelings to ease your pain. Put a time limit on the pity party, though, then do something fun together.

Routine. You’ve heard it before. Repetition strengthens and confirms. Develop routines in your life so that on the days you don’t have the mojo, you can put yourself on autopilot. Knowing you can fall back on built-in routines will get you through the day.

Say no. Quit doing things out of guilt or a false sense of obligation – both in your  personal and  professional life. You will make more room for the activities that are meaningful to you and bring you joy.

Leave work at work. With the technology to connect to anyone at any time virtually anywhere, there’s no real boundary between work and home – unless you create it. Make a conscious decision to separate work time from personal time. When you’re with your family, turn off your cell phone. When it’s time to take a vacation, take that time off. You need that time to recharge for when you’re back to work. 

Leave home at the door. Assuming you’ve got someplace other than the kitchen table to work! If you do, close the door to your workspace and hang a sign that says “Unless the house or you are on fire, do not disturb.” And then concentrate on work while you’re there. Remember those boundaries.

You’re worthy of balance. Eat healthy foods and include physical activity as a part of your life. Better yet, discover activities you can do with a partner or friend – such as hiking, yoga or taking cooking classes (my favorite). Schedule these things regularly – even during your “work” day. Taking a 15-minute break to walk around your neighborhood can actually make you more productive.

Laugh. Look on the bright side and have a sense of humor. Remember that great viral video of the two kids interrupting the man’s work meeting and he just kept talking? Stuff happens, so laughing can help ease difficult situations.

So if you’re someone continuing to work from home, try these strategies to bring balance to your life. Just sayin’.

Published: New Mexico Apartment News Magazine – September/October issue 2021