This post is about work life balance.
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Work life balance? How?! As a perfectionist, work life harmony feels out of reach, yet you aspire to achieve it more than most. You work hard at everything you do and feel an innate desire to be flawless at work and in life. You go above and beyond and won’t settle for failure. Your to-do list only grows, and you take on other people’s burdens with a smile. You avoid asking for help and often procrastinate on tasks because you don’t have the time or energy to give 110%. Creating a work life balance seems impossible for a high-achieving perfectionist with high standards. But you're not alone in this struggle. This guide provides practical and effective work life balance guidelines explicitly designed for the perfectionist in you!
“The key to successful work life balance is to not be afraid to fail at it. You will drop the ball on something; the trick is knowing which balls are made of rubber and which are made of glass.” – Nora Roberts
GUIDE TO WORK LIFE BALANCE
Prioritize with Intent
The truth is, we can't do it all. Perfectionists may strive to juggle everything and even succeed for a while, but the result is often burnout. Understanding priorities and their place in the hierarchy is crucial. While some may find it easy to prioritize, perfectionists believe that all tasks are equally important, demanding their best performance, and are added to their ever-expanding to-do list. Perfectionists need to recognize their limits and understand that removing low-priority tasks from their plate is a significant step towards achieving work life balance.
There are two effective methods to tackle prioritization. One is the Pareto Method, also known as the 80/20 Rule. This method aids in identifying priorities by acknowledging that 80% of your output stems from 20% of your input. It suggests that you should concentrate your time and energy on tasks that yield the most output for the least input. The Pareto Method is particularly beneficial when you need to choose between attending a networking business meeting or completing a project, for example. However, personal and family matters are more complex. For these cases, a more subjective approach is to list your obligations and commitments and assign a self-perceived value to each. In simpler terms, which responsibilities contribute the most and the least to your overall happiness? Each approach handles prioritization very differently but effectively helps you prioritize to create work life harmony.
Lean On Your Support System
Leaning on others for support is essential to managing all our responsibilities, priorities, and unexpected life occurrences. No matter how effective you are at prioritizing, there will be times when you need the help or the support of a friend, partner, parent, or colleague to manage everything. Unfortunately, perfectionists find it especially hard to ask for help, as they feel that asking for assistance is somehow a failure. This is certainly not the case, and trying to manage it all is unfair to yourself and those who care and want to support you. It benefits everyone when you utilize your support network, as it helps you manage your responsibilities more effectively and results in a better balanced life. As a perfectionist with such high expectations, it’s even more important to reach out to your support system, ask for help, and be comfortable delegating responsibilities!
Maximize Your Time
As a perfectionist, you want to manage your time effectively, still achieve high standards, and have a work life balance. While some may call that a tall order, you can do more using some common time management strategies in less time. One strategy is preserving energy by focusing on one task at a time and remembering to take breaks. This allows your energy reserve to be used and restored more effectively. Even when up against a deadline, taking 5-minute breaks can help you return to your task with far better concentration, reduced stress, and restored motivation. Further, the Pomodoro Technique suggests a 5-minute break every 25 minutes of work. After four Pomodoro’s (or four 25-minute working sessions), take a longer 15-minute break. As you complete each time block of work, give yourself time to disconnect and recharge, and tasks will begin to feel more manageable. This will result in a motivation boost, more output in less time, and help you achieve work life balance.
(RELATED POST: 7 Practical Time Management Strategies that You Need in Your Life)
Time Block Everything
Setting deadlines and time-blocking is challenging as a perfectionist, as the work or task never seems good enough or complete. A good strategy for perfectionists who struggle with deadlines and completing projects is to time-block everything, including housework, errands, tasks, and even meetings. For most tasks, set aside a reasonable block of time, and when the period is complete, move on! Even if the task is imperfect or incomplete, moving on to the next is essential. If you need to spend more time on a task, then schedule another block of time, but limit this, especially for insignificant or low-priority tasks. By setting time blocks for each task, you will stay focused, be less distracted, and be more productive. As a perfectionist looking to create a work life balance, this is a win-win!
Shut Down Procrastination
Do you procrastinate on projects because you can’t find the energy to give your all? This is called perfectionist-based procrastination, which is quite common. This procrastination type makes it difficult for perfectionists to achieve work life balance. Shut down perfectionist-based procrastination by challenging all-or-nothing thinking. Instead of desiring perfection in every task, ask yourself if less effort can achieve a similar result. If the answer is yes, then recognize that striving for perfection is a hindrance. Instead, focus on completing the task in a manner appropriate to its hierarchy on your list of priorities. For example, instead of procrastinating on that load of laundry because it takes too much time to fold and put away in the appropriate drawers, commit to only spending half the time instead. Yes, the laundry is not folded as it has been in the past, and perhaps it's not even in the drawers, but it's off the floor, and everything is now easier to find. With this mindset, you have not only shut down any procrastination but completed the task in less time and now have more to spend on valuable tasks and responsibilities.
(RELATED POST: 15 Tips to Overcome Procrastination and Reach Your Goals)
Reframe Your Mindset
One of the more complex ways to achieve work life balance is by reframing your mindset. Perfection in everything is unmanageable and can negatively impact your health and happiness. Perfectionists need to reframe their mindset and have reasonable expectations. Remember, perfection is not another item on your to-do list. Spending time on self-reflection can help you identify when you need to reframe your mindset. Practicing self-reflection daily is a beautiful way to constantly evaluate your thought processes and allow yourself to pivot as you work toward your goals. A recommended way to self-reflect is through a daily guided journal. The Five Minute Journal will enable you to self-reflect and engage in gratitude in as little as 5 minutes daily. This journal is life-changing for busy perfectionists looking to reframe their mindset and achieve work-life balance.
(RELATED POST: How to Create a Mind Set for Success in 9 Steps)
Stop The Comparisons
It's a common human tendency to compare ourselves to others, especially in this age of social media. However, it's crucial to remind ourselves that the lives we perceive others to have may not reflect reality, and making comparisons can be detrimental. Instead of fixating on comparisons, focusing on pursuing our unique aspirations and objectives is more beneficial. This approach enables us to achieve more and fosters a positive mindset, allowing us to appreciate our accomplishments while creating a sense of contentment and work life balance.
(RELATED POST: Empower Yourself: How to Build Confidence and Self Esteem)
Brush Off Mistakes
Even the most meticulously crafted plans can go awry. This is a universal experience, even among those who strive for perfection. Learning to shrug off mistakes and glean valuable lessons from them is essential. Direct your attention towards your accomplishments and the milestones you have reached. Although this may not be a simple task, it is imperative for individuals striving for excellence. Focusing on the positive aspects and releasing the grip of past errors will facilitate learning and personal growth, foster confidence and self-worth, and provide the impetus to attain a harmonious balance between work and life.
Celebrate Accomplishments
As perfectionists, we often find ourselves focused on the next challenge without taking the time to acknowledge and celebrate our accomplishments. It's essential to recognize that rewarding ourselves is crucial to staying motivated and maintaining a healthy work life balance. We can cultivate a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction by reflecting on our achievements and treating ourselves after a job well done. Balancing our hard work with meaningful rewards is essential for our well-being and is crucial in sustaining our motivation and driving our overall success.
Treat Yourself with Kindness
It's important to show kindness and patience towards yourself, particularly if you tend to be a perfectionist. Recognize that altering habits that have been ingrained over a lifetime takes time. Instead of making drastic changes all at once, it's beneficial to focus on gradually guiding yourself toward achieving a healthy work life balance. By putting in consistent effort and maintaining persistence, it's entirely possible to establish and sustain a work life harmony.
Many strive to achieve work life balance, especially perfectionists. These work life balance tips are focused on perfectionists who expect high levels of effort in everything they do. By using these tips, perfectionists can break free of their tendencies and finally achieve the most significant accomplishment: work life balance.
MINDSET | ACTION:
First, choose one task from your to-do list and schedule time to complete it. Allocate half of the regular time you spend on this task. For instance, if you usually spend 30 minutes on emails, schedule 15 minutes instead. Second, identify a task that can be delegated and ask a friend or colleague for help. Third, identify a task that can be postponed to another day or eliminated. Last, celebrate! You've completed three tasks from your to-do list in much less time. How will you spend the extra time in your day?
This post was about work life balance.
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