 Image credit: Nicollazzi Almost every working person feels like there are not enough hours in the day to get things done. From fitting in all of the hours in the day in the workplace to trying to fit all of the home responsibilities and social responsibilities around it, it’s stressful. You need a balance between your career and your home life, but that’s not always easy to do. It’s even worse when you’re working from home, because the lines between work and home life tend to blur. You can set boundaries with people but if you aren't sticking to those boundaries, your work/life balance is going to be torn apart.
Improving your work/life balance should be a priority for you. Whether you are taking short term defence contract jobs or you are working a permanent 9-5 job, you have to know you can unwind and that’ll be that at the end of the day. You have to think about what it will mean for you if you don't have a good balance. If you want to avoid stress, and you want to ensure that you are able to feel like you are putting as much effort into your home life as well as your working life, then balance is a must. Below, we’ve got some of the tips that you need to ensure that life is balanced out. 1. Ask for flexibility. If you are finding it tough to manage kids, doctor’s appointments, general life responsibilities around your job, speak to your boss about making it more flexible. Look at how you can have some time by asking for a hybrid working day, or cutting your hours to four days a week to give you some flexibility. Speak to your boss; if you’re doing a good job anyway, they may be happy to be flexible with it all. 2. Invest in the right technology. You can invest in the best technology in your job and help yourself to work harder and better. If you need extra support and you work for someone else, ask your boss to help you out here and upgrade the tech in the business. This can include software, not just hardware. 3. Make sure that you stick to the boundaries you set. Ah, the hardest part of maintaining that work and life balance: boundaries. If you have put boundaries in place for your work, then make sure that you stick to those ones. You cannot be on 24/7, because you will burn out and you will burn out quickly. You have to set your working hours properly, because once you do you’ll ensure that you have a better balance day to day. This is necessary for your comfort. There is nothing wrong with setting the right boundaries, but you have to stick to them. 4. Make sure that you don't live your job. Your life is about so much more than the place in which you work. If you have family or friends outside your work - and even if you just want to be alone - put that time in. understanding that you have commitments means making sure that you let your boss know that you are committed in certain ways. 5. Find jobs that allow it. If you want to make sure that you have a good balance between work and life, you need to find a job that accommodates that. You have to remember that if your employer is treating you like they don't care, they really don't care - no exceptions. Finding the right employer is important because if you know that you have one who cares about your balance and your mental health, you will stick with that employer. 6. Make sure that you communicate when you’re struggling. The last thing to remember is that you cannot expect to find that working balance if you don't communicate when you're struggling with it. If you don't tell your employer that you can't manage without more flexibility or balance, you cannot expect that they will give you what you need. You need to find a good balance between your career and your life. Without that balance you are going to struggle and you are going to feel taken for granted. If you don't ensure that you are speaking to someone about this, nothing will change and you will always be stuck. You have to use these tips to help you to get the balance you needed all along and you have to trust that you can find it!
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 Image credit: Start Up Stock Photos from Pixabay When looking for ways to be more productive, light might not be your first thought. You might think about keeping a tidy desk or turning off social media. But those two examples are about breaking habits—light is about changing your brain scientifically. All living beings need light. Famously, plants need light to grow. Think of yourself like a houseplant—if you put a houseplant in a dark corner, it’s going to struggle to carry out its job (i.e., growing new leaves). However, if you move it to a sunny spot on the windowsill, it will perform its job better than ever. You are just the same. If you are in a dingy, dark corner of an office, you won’t carry your job out right either. But with the right kind of lighting, you will find you are more productive than ever. But what kind of light is perfect for productivity? And how can you use it to your advantage? Bright Light Bright light is great for productivity because it wakes you up. The scientific journal Sleep published a study that found workers who were exposed to well-lit areas in the daytime were less likely to feel sleepy in the daytime. A different study found that workers exposed to dim light felt their moods were at their lowest. So, if your productivity suffers because you get tired when working, try out some bright lights to keep you awake. With that feeling of fresh brightness, you should find your focus returns, and you can be more productive. Changing out a bulb at your home office should be no problem, but if you hope to relight an entire office, you might want to call a local electrician. Natural Light Natural light is another type of light that can boost productivity. Similar to bright light, natural light keeps you more alert during the day. Because of this, you tend to sleep better at night and come back to work the next day refreshed. Natural light has a few benefits over bright light too. Having natural light is proven to benefit your mental health. Several mental health issues are linked to disruptions in your circadian rhythm. Problems like depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder are all related to not getting enough natural light. Although bright light might keep you awake, you might find your productivity decreases due to poor mental health if you aren’t getting enough natural light.  Image credit: Joshua Woroniecki from Pexels Coloured lighting
Did you know that certain colours can affect your productivity? Well, they can. Cool tones like blues and greens can improve focus and efficiency, while warm tones like red and orange inspire passion. If you want to feel more energetic and refreshed, yellow lighting is perfect. Installing some LED colour-changing light strips around your work area can help you get into the right mindset for the project you are working on. Once you’re in the right headspace, your productivity should significantly improve. Plus, when Christmas comes around, you’ll already be set up with flashing lights!  Image credit: Gundula Vogel on Pixabay We all have to live in this world that runs on money and, for as long as that is true, that means that we do need to take our money management seriously. However, there are a lot of people to whom any potential financial issues, even small ones, can become a heavy weight that can drag them down, paralyse them, and prevent them from chasing what they want, whether it’s to invest in a business, buy assets, or otherwise. If your financial anxiety is dragging you down, it’s time to think about why that is and see what you can do to let that weight go. Get to know where you’re really at If you feel like you’re constantly on the back foot when it comes to your finances, it can help to gain a little perspective. Indeed, you might be right that, for instance, you owe more than you own. But you won’t know and thus you won’t be able to accurately implement any solutions until you get an actual idea of the situation. Put a list of all of your assets together, all accounts owed to you, and any debt you owe. Subtract the debt from the assets and money owed to you in order to get your net worth at the current time. Make some plans for the future Anxiety is mostly a sense of fearing the worst possible outcome when it comes to the future. These outcomes in your head are rarely based on real logic but more a kind of fear. However, that doesn’t mean that common sense solutions can’t help you dispel them. If you’re worried about being destitute in the far future, then make it a priority to put together some retirement savings as soon as you can. Put together annual savings goals after figuring out how much you need to put aside each year for a healthy retirement, and stick to those financial goals as well as you can. Don’t forget to budget By far one of the most useful pieces of financial advice that anyone can ever offer you, and one that can transform how you look at your money situation, is to put together a budget. A budget effectively looks at how much money you have to spend in any given period of time and helps you find out where you should be spending it. For instance, the 50/30/20 budget involves putting aside 50% of your money ahead of time to pay for the essentials, such as your home, groceries, bills, and so on. 30% of that is for discretionary purchases, such as new clothes, nights out, entertainment and so on, and 20% is for financial planning, such as saving towards emergency funds or investing. You don’t have to follow that specific example, but having a set plan for where your money is going and then ensuring your money does just that can offer a sense of security. Searching for those discounts and savings is a great way many people can help their budget spending. Couponing websites can help customers find coupons for retailers such as Kohls and many others. Websites that offer home improvement coupons (see this website as one example) help you to make big savings on your next purchase!  Image credit: Chris Pastrick on Pixabay Start building from scratch again You might be feeling a little low because a recent cost, such as a car repair, home repair, or major bill has knocked your finances for six. Your savings might have had to have been recently emptied, setting you back more than a few steps in your future plans. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s all pointless. There’s a good chance your situation would have been worse had you not had those savings to rely on. It’s time to pick yourself back up again after life knocks you down and get started with your savings once more. So long as you are a step in the right direction next week compared to where you are now, you are doing your financial health a world of good. Don’t get paralysed by debt A lot of us owe some sort of debt or have done in the past. When your debt is at its highest point, then it can feel almost pointless to think about what life would be like without it. However, the only bad decision to make when facing more debt than you can currently pay is to ignore it. You could get in touch with your creditors to talk about repayment plans and let them know about your situation. You can also look to other solutions, like debt consolidation that can make it easier to pay off the sum of what you know. However, the longer you wait, the more your debt will build. Take the time to research your options, but don’t put off the situation. Put some protections in place In future, you want to prevent yourself for having to raid your savings or to fall in debt. There’s no way to prepare for absolutely everything the future might through your way, but investing in a few protections can do you a world of good. Informally, having an emergency savings fund could help, but in a more formal sense, you should take a look at what kind of insurance you might need to protect your current lifestyle and assets.  Image credit: Jan VaĊĦek on Pixabay Address your habits
Do you have some bad financial habits that either fuel or are caused by your financial anxiety? If so, they can keep you from building the financial protections that can serve as a long-term cure. There are a host of habits that can be destructive to your sense of money security. Overspending is an obvious one, but cost-tracking apps can help you identify cases of overspending so that you’re less likely to do it again. Excessive frugality and hoarding can be just as financially unhealthy since they often involve sitting on money that could do more good if you’re saving it for a specific goal or using it to pay for some manner of security. Take a close look at your financial habits are and learn which ones you should curb. Being conscious of your finances is all well and good, but if it’s getting to the point that it’s stopping you from taking action, it’s time to rethink your money situation. Hopefully, the tips above help with that.  Image credit: Jonathan Petersson on Pexels Life will always find a way to knock you down at various times, but it’s how you respond to these things that matter the most. You need to always be willing to get back up again, no matter how many times you get knocked down or what life throws your way. We’re not saying that it’s going to be easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you may need to do when life has knocked you down, so keep reading if you want to find out more. Sort Out Insurance The first thing that we’re going to look at is getting insurance. Now, you may need home insurance, car insurance, contents insurance and a number of other policies. The best thing that you can do is look around online until you find a company who can offer you the insurance cover you need at a price you can afford. Now, keep in mind that if you are a higher risk, the premium is going to cost you a lot more than it normally would, and you need to be prepared for this. It’s for this reason that you might need to think about only getting the insurance that you 100% need right now. For example, if you need car insurance but you are struggling to get cover, you might want to consider one sure insurance or another company like this. Health insurance right now has probably never been more in demand. In America for example, Medicare is a federal insurance program designed to help people over 65, younger people with disabilities, and even those living with some life-changing conditions. You can learn more about medicare assistance provisions and policies by reaching out to an insurance expert in your local area. Enrolling for health insurance of any kind can be an overwhelming process, but an insurance expert can talk you through the entire process in detail.  Image credit: Pixabay on Pexels Another thing that you may need to do is save some money. It’s often the case that life comes along when you least expect it and then takes everything that you’ve got. All your savings have to go on something, and you’re back to square one. It’s super disheartening when this happens, we know, but we’ve all been there, and if you haven’t, you probably will get there at some point. The only thing that you can do is pick yourself back up and start building up your savings once again. Make sure that you’re employing all of those money-saving tips and tricks you’ve got, and live within your means rather than wracking up a debt.
Find A New Job Or, it might be the case that you have recently lost your job. This is never a pleasant experience for anyone, but there’s nothing that you can do about it now. The only thing that’s left is to move on and find something else. It’s not always easy, and it might be the case that you have to take something temporary while you look for something permanent, but you’ve got to be willing to do this. Employers are more likely to hire you if they see that you are hard-working, and if you’re working a job you don’t particularly like to ensure that you’ve got a means of income, this is going to speak volumes to your potential employer. |
Author - Chris
Author, Editor, Creator of Learn Develop Live Archives
March 2023
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