Entry #4. The Importance of a Work-Life Balance

    

    As everyone grows up, getting distracted and focusing solely on work is easy. Your work life seems to follow you home, and that's when you start mixing your personal life with your work life, which wouldn't be recommended since it can interfere with your relationships, stress levels, mental health, physical health, & productivity. That's why creating a work-life balance with a healthy equilibrium between your job and personal life is crucial.

    When people stop viewing work as a chore, they work harder and make fewer mistakes. Companies would much rather focus on creating a work-life balance among their employees than hire a new employee to replace an employee lacking motivation or speed, most likely due to how they go about their life inside and outside of work. By focusing on splitting work and your personal life equally, you reduce the risk of developing chronic health conditions. When you balance your life correctly, it gives you time to take some time for yourself and participate in self-care, exercise regularly, and keep a nutritious diet. The reality of constantly overworking can lead to burnout. Sure, you may be getting important work done, but in the long run, it will lead to high stress levels. The reality is that you can get the same amount of work done and hold that healthy work-life balance as when overworking yourself. The key is to portion your work throughout your day. In my case, it is easier to take a couple hours out of each day to complete my assignments rather than using multiple days back to back to only focus on my personal life and doing the same with school. I can't just focus on homework for various days back to back; that is how I get burned out. When people focus most of their time on work, they forget the effort needed in relationships. You must make time for your family and friends to maintain those strong relationships. When splitting your time between work and life, you can dedicate quality time to those who matter to you. It's essential to make deep connections with others and maintain communication.

    If you personally have trouble maintaining a healthy work-life balance, I would recommend seeking websites and books to help you with that. There have been many statistics that state it is essential to keep a work-life balance to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When you start to adopt this mentality, you will then find yourself being happier and healthier.