How to Achieve Work/Life Balance for NYC Professionals
The concept of work/life balance can seem like a pipedream, especially if you are a busy professional in NYC.You are constantly on the go, from the moment you wake up to when you finally get to bed—which, is probably the following morning. Yet, no matter how many hours you put it, there’s always something that falls through the cracks.Maybe it’s forgetting to get your dry cleaning or you prepped for an important meeting, only to have it canceled last minute.Although work/life balance sounds like a great concept, is it really feasible to achieve this type of balance?Perhaps. However, it does take some careful reflection on your part and a willingness to prioritize.
Consider Your True Priorities
First, take a long, hard look and reflect on what your real priorities are in life. For example:
Doing well in your career
Playing an active role in the lives of your children
Learning, growing, and improving yourself
Being a supportive and caring life partner
You might have other priorities, of course. But for many, these often top the list. You don’t have to rank them. Instead, they can all be considered equal priorities.Also, consider what else takes up a lot of your attention and energy. Do they support your priorities? If not, what can you do to minimize those things?
Take Control of Your Email
One thing that really interferes with work/life balance is your work email. You check your email constantly. In the morning you are already on your phone scrolling through messages. On the train, you check for any updates. In a meeting, you sneak a peek to see if you got a response for that important message. You even check email when you are on vacation!Enough.Sure, it makes sense that you need to be available via email for clients. Yet, you can set boundaries for yourself to manage how much time you are on email, such as:
Checking work email within typical business hours (when possible)
During the day, challenge yourself not to look at email during lunch
Try your best to limit email communication when on vacation
A helpful way to get control over a habit is to make a substation. For instance, when you have the urge to check your email on your phone during the commute, switch over to reading a book or listening to music.
Schedule Your Free Time
Perhaps you feel like your schedule rules your life. That’s understandable when your day is stuffed with meetings and appointments from dusk to dawn. However, in the end, you are in control of your schedule.Look back on your calendar for the last few months. Were there meetings that absolutely required your presence? Could you have called in or used a video conference call service?There must be a way to squeeze some personal time in your daily calendar. A popular strategy is to wake up earlier in the morning. Give yourself an hour to work out, read, or reflect before you get started with your day.
Make Time for Lunch
Speaking of scheduling, make time for lunch. Why lunch? You’ve probably always heard about having dinnertime together with the family. That’s definitely important. For yourself, though, it can help to have some personal time during the midday.Now, this doesn’t mean holing up in your office eating a sandwich by your desk. That’s not exactly a refreshing lunch. Instead, schedule 30 minutes to have lunch outside your office.On a nice day, that could be in the park next to your building. Also, why not eat with someone else and not talk about work? Finding work/life balance does mean knowing how to prioritize. It is also about finding those little “hacks” that allow you to reclaim your life. If you are still having trouble, please reach out to me for help. Together, through career counseling, we can find ways to help you live the life you want.