As you probably already know, work-life balance is super important. 

For those of us who work from home, we are at an even greater risk of having a poor work-life balance. 

Spending all day at your desk does not seem like it’s ‘work’ if you totally love what you are doing, or even just thoroughly enjoy being in your space. 

I am sure we are all ‘guilty’ of eating at our laptop every now and then… Personally, watching tutorials or masterclasses during my ‘lunch break’ makes me feel like a total badass. 

Nevertheless, where do we draw the line as to where work stops each day, and our lives outside of work commence? 

BTW, if you are reading this thinking, “But, my work is my life. It is my purpose.” 

That is SO awesome, and I am so happy you feel that you have found your true calling, but… We all need a break some time, our brains need their downtime to rest and recuperate, and your body needs attention, too. 

Oh, and your friends, family, and fur-babies, they would probably love some quality time with you as well! 

 Often when we find ourselves building and running our businesses from home, the lines between our work and home life get a little blurry. And, what initially starts as a dream, can quickly degrade into a nightmare-fuel, if we don’t set the necessary boundaries for ourselves.

 

 We are here to support you through this, babe. 

 

Each member of the Rebel Office team is living their dream work-lives, from the comfort of our own homes, hotels, and cafes as are the majority of our boss-sisters that are part of our community. 

 

 So, let’s get down to business. 

 

 Today, I’ll be giving you five different suggestions to help you not only balance and enjoy your life more, but totally avoid burnout. You might already be doing some of these things, and if you are, I want you to know that I am so proud of you! 

 If you aren’t doing any of these things just yet, that is okay. You are welcome to pick and try the ones that call to you, and if they don’t feel right, don’t force it, there are always other methods to try.

 I hope that one or some of these will help to gain and maintain a healthy, comfortable work-life balance while working from home.

 

What is a work-life balance? Work-life balance is defined as:

The lack of opposition between work and other life roles. It is the state of equilibrium in which demands of personal life, professional life, and family life are equal. Work-life balance consists of but is not limited to, flexible work arrangements that allow employees to carry out other life programs and practices. – Wikipedia

 

1 – Start A Little Earlier

 One of the most common excuses for the human population is that “I don’t have enough time.” Or the complaint, “I wish there were more hours in a day.”

I totally feel that… But, what if you woke up a little earlier than usual on your workdays?

Getting up even just an hour earlier than usual gives you a chance to do something you normally ‘wouldn’t have time’ too; like, meditate, eat breakfast, exercise, or organize your day. 

 Imagine how good it would feel to have one hour to do something you’d really like to get done before you sit down to tackle your emails, tasks, clients, and so forth.

 

2 – Stick To Some Sorta Schedule

Firstly, to help you with sticking to your daily routine, I highly advise that you identify and eliminate or reduce as many unnecessary distractions as possible.

 

The biggest excuse for entrepreneurs to not feel organized is that they don’t have enough time to do it. Take one day – one day – to sort your sh*t out. Delete files you don’t need on your desktop. Recycle papers you don’t need and have just been making your space look like a mess. – Sarah Williams, Founder of Rebel Office

 

Planning your business, study, and family duties ahead of time can help take away a tonne of stress, simply just by providing peace of mind of what is next.

 For some people, planning their week out on a Sunday can be super helpful. Sarah has written about her experience with doing this; her article inspired me to start doing the same, and I haven’t turned back since. 

 

 

3 – Don’t Forget to Adventure… Outside of the Web

 When you work from home, it can be so tempting not to leave the house for days at a time, unless it’s for something urgent… I am literally the queen of doing this these days. I’ve created my dream home office and living space, and I absolutely love it here… But, out there is also pretty freakin’ amazing. 

 I recommend planning an outing at least once a week so that you can get away from work and your responsibilities at home for a few hours. 

 The outing doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, though. It could be something as simple as having a little picnic with your hubby at the nearby park. Or if the weather isn’t so lovely, maybe catching a movie at the cinema. Maybe even just going and treating yourself to a sushi-train date for one would be nice. The choice is all yours, boo. 

 

4 – Define A Difference Between Work Time And Personal Time

 One of the major causes of work-life imbalance is a lack of productivity during designated working hours… Which often leads to us feeling a yucky combination of guilt and imposter syndrome.

 One of the best remedies for curing this issue is to improve your time management skills, and successfully get yourself working at the right times. And by the right times, I mean the times that feel right for you.

 To improve your time management, I suggest taking notes on how you naturally spend your time while also taking practical and modest steps to improve your habits, bit by bit.

  

5 – Be Realistic About Your Goals

 Setting goals can give you a clear target to reach for, one that you want to reach for. I love setting goals and working towards them, don’t you? 

 I highly recommend using the SMART goal-setting method if you aren’t already. 

S – Specific, M – Measurable, A – Achievable, R – Relevant, T – Time-Bound 

 By following the SMART method, you take away any second-guessing you have over whether or not the goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-conscious. 

I can’t wait to hear about your methods to balancing your work around your life at home.

Do you feel like you need to work on your work-life balance?

My work-life balance is definitely something I will be working on continuously, and even more than usual in the coming weeks, as I’m just about to move homes again.