These small daily habits can help individuals to feel calmer and more conscious and satisfied with themselves in their daily lives. Studies performed in the past few years have concluded that having a routine that is balanced increases the individual’s mood as well as productivity and overall well-being.
In addition, having a balance between the individual and the workplace creates an opportunity for the individual to develop better interpersonal relationships, improved cognitive function, improved emotional regulation, and decreased stress levels. Studies continue to confirm that individuals who place a high level of importance on their personal life or time often demonstrate lower levels of stress and better physical health/health outcomes.
This article describes several daily work-life balance habits that can contribute to positive living for the individual. Each section will focus on specific actions that have been verified by research and can easily be integrated into an individual busy lifestyle over time, developing positive habits that support the long-term well-being of the individual.
Positive Living Through Established Boundaries Between Work and Life
By establishing clear boundaries between work and life, it is more easily accomplished many individuals are facing challenges in work and family lives associated with the increase in “work” hours because of emails and/or text messages received after traditional “business” hours. A well-established boundary will help to reduce the cognitive workload upon the individual and, therefore, provide a measure of protection for the individual and their overall mental and physical health.
Working with a Clear Work and Life Boundaries
One of the key reasons that establishing boundaries is vital to healthy work-life balance is that it will allow the brain to recover and rest after work hours. The World Health Organization and several other organizations have conducted studies demonstrating that extended work hours will increase stress levels and risk factors for health.
Sets specific start and end times for every day to achieve an emotional equilibrium.
You also have reduced pressure on yourself by clearly communicating when you’re available to your manager or clients.
Microsoft and other businesses suggest that employees set boundaries for their overall health.
Healthy Routine Supporting Work Life Balance
Make sure that you schedule exercise and family time.
These habits support stress management and prepare you mentally for healthy routine development, which naturally leads to improvements in your daily routine structure.
Understanding and Managing Stress
Understanding and Managing Stress will Have a Major Impact on An Individual’s Daily Life in Ordering and Incorporating Healthy Daily Lives Unmanageable Amounts of Stress Will Create Obstructions to The Ability of an Individual to Maintain Daily Focus and Produce Positive, Healthy, and Happy Lives.
In Order to Understand the Types of Stimuli That Cause and Produce Stress This Section Has Been Created in Response to the Need for Individuals to Become Aware of Their Individual Triggers for Stress.
Assessing the Causes of Stress at The Workplace
According to Data Provided By The World Health Organization, Poorly Managed Stress Will Produce Anxiety and/or Produce Substandard Productivity.
Individuals Will Rebuke Bad Stressors through Understanding Their Personal Triggers, Which Provide Individuals With Copious Opportunities to Improve Their Reactions to Stress.
Several Simple Techniques That Can Be Performed
Several Simple Techniques That Can Be Performed On a Daily Basis To Control and Cope With Daily Stress Are By Performing Breathing Techniques Via Mindfulness Of Breathing, Taking Short Breaks, and Engaging in Movement, You Can Quickly Decrease The Amount of Cortisol Hormone Produced By Your Body.
As an Example, Many Employees Use An Application to Guided Meditate To Help Stay Calm and Centered During Very Busy Work Days.
A Few Of These Small Actions Can Significantly Increase Seemingly Emotional Balance And Stability For Working Individuals.
Several Practical Examples of How to Control Stress Daily By Engaging In Breathing Exercises During 5-minute Intervals Between Projects When Experiencing Long Pauses While Engaging In Sitting By Writing and Documenting All Stressors For Temporary Relief/Breathe/Refocus from Stressing Out.
Integrating Stress Control Will Create Opportunities for Individuals to Grow both Personal and Professional Life Balance while Simultaneously Creating New Habits Which Will Provide Natural Protection To The Individuals’ Wellbeing (Both Emotional And Physical).
Individuals That Identify Their Wellbeing as A Daily Priority Will Reap The Rewards of Living A Positive Lifestyle, as Well As Possessing Increased Personal Productivity.
Wellness is a leading cause of success and satisfaction at work — studies show that people with an emphasis on wellness perform higher and have greater job satisfaction than those who do not.
How wellness and performance are connected
-
Drinking water regularly throughout your work day
-
Taking a movement break (i.e., walking, stretching) on at least the hour — every hour
Time Management Best Practices
When productivity increases, and an individual improves their overall well-being, this is achieved by reducing the amount of time spent in front of a screen throughout the day during both personal and work hours.
Digital devices create blurred lines between the digital world and human life, and create increased mental fatigue for employees who engage with these devices.
How Digital Overload Impacts Your Daily Well-Being
Excessive screen time has been shown to negatively impact the quality of your sleep and increase your stress level.
The World Health Organization‘s research regarding digital health and the mental strain created by the use of these devices is shared repeatedly across multiple channels.
Digital habits that support balance:
-
Turn off all notifications that are not necessary during times of focus.
-
Do not use any screens for at least one hour prior to bedtime.
-
Do not bring your mobile devices to your family’s meals and engage with them.
Digital Balance = Mental Clarity and the Foundation for Improved Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Physical Movement Practices That Encourage Positive Living
Positive Living is connected to individuals performing physical movement at various points of their day therefore, incorporating appropriate amounts of physical movement supports mental and physical health, while committing to doing this consistently can provide a sustainable change in the overall populations’ work-life balance and can improve the amount of energy people have at work.
Physical Movement Reduces Stress and Increases Mood Elevating Neurotransmitters.
Sample Movement Habits to Create
-
Walking on the phone during conference calls.
-
Stretching every hour throughout your work day.
Positive Living Through Sleep Habits
Your balance between work and life will improve with sleep.
Your sleep is a priority in your life than an afterthought.
Positive living through your sleep habits.
The combination of these habits will create strong sleep routines, which in turn will help develop positive living and develop a mindset toward an individual’s life.
Mindful Thought Habits Supporting Positive Living
Daily Mindful Habits
In general, strong social relationships have been shown to be associated with less stress and greater mental health.
How to Maintain Balance on a Social Level
Most wellness programs also encourage people to implement daily self- care routines that are quite simple.
Self-Care habits we can implement each day include:
-
Take a break from all electronic devices for a few minutes each day
Purpose-driven habits create greater meaning in positive living
Purpose-driven habits create greater meaning in positive living as a result of the consistency of daily activities with an individual’s values and purposes in life.
Small Daily Intentions for Living with Purpose
Many wellness coaches and organizational leaders encourage people to establish small, daily intentions that help guide their focus and their decisions throughout their days.
Reflecting on your personal values before making any commitments to anything will also help prevent stress overload.
Many leaders and wellness coaches believe that stressing over your commitments will lead to stress over your life.
The habits that lead to creating your purpose every day:
-
Saying “no” to everything that does not align with your values
-
Taking the time each week to reflect on what brought you satisfaction
Purpose-based assessments provide greater emotional understanding and ultimately improve one’s quality of life (financially) with improved long-term choices.
Financial Balance Habits for Well-Being
Financial stress and strain create anxiety and instability.
Seven Simple Financial Balance Habits
When managing your finances, financial experts will suggest being clear on your goals or objectives instead of achieving “perfection.”
Seven simple financial balance habits that can be established:
-
A monthly budget review
-
Create an emergency fund
-
Do not allow financial concerns to drive you to burnout
In the long run, the establishment of financial balance habits will reduce the likelihood of stress, which leads to healthier lifestyle decisions.
Personal Development Habits That Promote Work Life Balance
Citations to Support Your Process
-
Start Small and Manageable – Start with just tiny incremental steps toward adopting healthy living
-
Track Progress and Be Flexible – Tracking progress toward healthy living takes the pressure off of developing these healthy habits while allowing for flexibility if the individual has difficulty staying on track during the busy time of year.
-
Flexibility During Committed Time Periods – During busy times of the year, individuals must be able to adapt and have flexibility as they may not have enough time to devote to maintaining a healthy lifestyle at that point in their lives.
-
Long Term Development of Healthy Living Habits Creates a More Robust Well Being – As the individual continues to develop their healthy living habits over time, he/she will naturally develop the ability to maintain this right balance with his/her work life as they go through various changes in their lives.
How Adapting Work Life Balance Healthy Living Habits Change with Life Transition(s)
Positive living requires the ability to adapt to new healthy living habits as an individual transitions through his/her life stages.
In developing healthy living habits the individual will need to consider how their work-life balance changes over time as they move through various points in their career and family.
Identifying What Needs to Change
As an individual experiences major life events such as a career transition or significant family change(s), it is important for him/her to realize that the change in their routine caused by this life event(s) is just one way that his/her routine may have changed.
According to experts at the World Economic Forum, “The ability to adapt to life’s changes has a significant positive impact on an individual’s ability to achieve long-term mental well-being,” so being adaptable is important for the achievement of a long-term mental well-being.
Adjusting Routines While Maintaining Your Work-Life Balance
It is important for an individual to check and review his/her current priorities on a regular basis in order to realign his/her health habits with the current needs of the individual.
The best way to keep a certain structure but develop the flexibility needed to maintain that structure would be to make small adjustments every few months.
Adaptive Healthy Living Habits
The following are examples of adaptive healthy living habits that are necessary for the continued support of positive living throughout an individual’s entire career (and continuing to maintain that positive lifestyle throughout an individual’s career and family):
-
An individual should simplify his/her healthy living routine(s) when responsibilities increase as a way of not only continuing to maintain a healthy living routine, but also providing more opportunity to be flexible with his/her healthy living routine.
Adapting Work-Life Balance Habits Will Support Positive Living
Developing flexible and adaptable habits that fit into one’s work-life balance provides an individual with both the ability to continue to positively live their life as well as the opportunity to maintain their health over the long-term.
Positive living develops from the intent behind the habits an individual has built (that take into account both personal needs and obligations of the professional).
Throughout this work, work-life balance has been a way of creating a practical platform upon which positive living is built on as compared to being a “nice” option.
Building small, consistent habits over time
Building small, consistent habits over time has continually been found to create the greatest results.
By effectively managing boundaries/Authority, Time Management and Caring for oneself will allow individuals to gain insight into their work-life balance, and create a daily routine that minimizes stress and enhances their effectiveness.
Healthy boundaries will allow individuals to have the ability to balance both their personal and work lives, create effective time management practices, be resilient to daily life pressures and make healthier choices within their communities.
