Burning out sucks. No one likes to work, work, work with no reprieve. As the famous line says, ‘all work in no play makes _____ a dull _____’. At the same time, it’s not the responsibility of our employer to give us a life outside of work, either. We need to do that for ourselves. Don’t feel like you have the time? Too tired? This article is for you! Today, we’re discussing how to have a life outside of work, along with 10 tips you can start using right away!
A Few Work-Life Balance Statistics
We long for having a life outside of work for good reason – it’s essential to a living a healthy, balanced life!
Here are a few statistics to think about, courtesy of CNBC:
- 23% of employees feel burnt out at work frequently.
- 67% of employees feel burnt out at times, including frequently.
- Job burnout is linked to heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, high cholesterol and more.
- The major causes of workplace burnout include unfair treatment, unrealistic deadlines, too heavy of a workload, lack of managerial support and responding to emails after hours.
While you may be feeling bogged down by work, you can be rest assured that you’re not alone!
How To Have A Life Outside Of Work: Our 10 Tips
Now let’s get into how we can actually manage to have a life outside of work. Here are our 10 tips:
- Get To Work Early & Leave On Time
- Have Your Own Routine
- Make Plans In Advance
- A Little Bit Of Time Goes A Long Way
- Take Breaks At Work (Within Reason)
- Carve Out “Me” Time Each Day
- No Working After A Set Time Each Evening
- Shorten The Commute
- Get Out Of The House
- Maintain Healthy Diet & Exercise For Energy
Continue reading for some detail on each of these tips.
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1. Get To Work Early & Leave On Time
The easiest way to have a life outside of work is to have time outside of work. How do you get more time outside of work? Get there early!
Imagine having one hour of little to no interruption. Time to just get work done in peace. That hour can be found first thing in the morning.
Since you’re coming in early, you should be getting more work done and finishing it a bit earlier, too. Here’s the key to the whole technique – you must leave exactly on time.
You’ll beat the traffic and have real time to yourself after work. If you’re extra efficient, you can leave a little earlier also.
You were legitimately at work an hour early. No one can or should tell you that you need to work late, too. If that’s the case, it may be time for a new job.
2. Have Your Own Routine
Are you annoyed by the expression “whatever works best for you”? If so, we’ll unfortunately be using it now.
We all have a unique set of priorities, interests and habits in our daily life. To get more time back, it makes sense to streamline all of the things we need or want to do, in order to maximize them.
The way to do this is to have a routine.
Figure out your preference for when you get chores done, what you do on a regular basis, when to exercise, socialize, pursue your hobbies, etc. This can even include things like showering, sleeping, eating and other basics.
Once you’ve figured out exactly how you like to do things, you’ll be able to prioritize them. It’s truly a work-life balance that we all seek. It’s best to figure out that balance for ourselves.
3. Make Plans In Advance
It may be difficult to scrap together mid-week plans at the last minute, but what about scheduling them in advance?
As long as you give people a week or so notice, you won’t have much trouble making plans. Once you’ve made them, all you have to do is go.
You’ll also make sure you get everything done on time, because you’ll have somewhere to be after work. Even on weekends, you won’t need to think of plans when Friday rolls around.
4. A Little Bit Goes A Long Way
What does “having a life” outside of work mean? To me, it means time to do whatever you want to do. In these times, we rest, enjoy and gain our energy back.
It doesn’t mean we need to socialize for three hours every day after work, either. Even having a get-together once per week will be enough to look forward to.
5. Take Breaks At Work (Within Reason)
Taking frequent breaks at work typically boosts productivity, as counter-productive as that seems.
People work best when they know it’s for a short burst; when they have something to look forward to in the near future.
One thing I like to do is to take five minutes for myself on the hour, every hour I’m at work. This is time you can catch up on social media, browse the internet, get water or a snack, etc. Taking breaks this way is also easy to keep track of – just take a break when the minute-hand strikes :00.
6. Carve Out ‘Me’ Time Each Day
As we discussed in item no. 4, we don’t need to spend every second outside of work ‘having a life’. Even a small window of ‘me’ time each day is enough to keep us from going crazy at work.
No matter how busy you are, it’s important to carve out this time. Personally, I like to have at least one hour of personal time each day – absolutely no work allowed. If you can spare more time on some days, that’s great.
7. Set Your Own Work ‘Curfew’
In modern times, it’s not uncommon to receive work-related emails well into the night. Per the statistics we discussed above, a major contributor to workplace burnout is after-hours emailing. It’s important to remember that it takes two to tango.
We have a choice as to whether we respond to emails after hours. Unless it’s extremely urgent, all workers should have the choice to call it a day after a certain point, mobile email not withstanding.
Set your own ‘work curfew’ and stick to it – absolutely no work talk, thoughts or emails after a set time each day.
8. Shorten The Commute
The average American has a commute of roughly 27 minutes each way to/from work (courtesy of Washington Post). That’s nearly one hour per day, across the board.
What about the outliers commuting into major cities? Some of them commute for two-three hours a day, if not more! This includes drivers and those who use mass transit alike.
Imagine if you cut a three hour round-trip commute down to the National average of 54 minutes round trip. That’s two hours and six minutes you’d get back PER DAY.
This equates to over 10 hours per week, or 500 hours per year, that you effectively get back. That’s a lot of time to have a life outside of work!
If you enjoy your job but have no life, it may honestly be worth your effort to move closer.
9. Get Out Of The House
Many of us wish for a life outside of work, but few of us actively try to do something about it.
If your routine consists of commuting home, eating, showering and crashing on the couch, it’s easy to feel like you have ‘no life’. Not criticizing at all, this is a fairly normal experience.
What if you made yourself leave the house for one hour after work? You can do anything – go to the gym, go to meet-ups, exercise outdoors, go wherever you feel like. Just getting out of the house can be refreshing when your daily life becomes a grind.
10. Maintain Healthy Diet & Exercise For Energy
Do you feel like you have no energy after work? It could be due to your job’s demands, but it also could be linked to lifestyle habits.
Sugar, fats and caffeine all make us crash, whereas healthy, balanced food groups give us clean energy all day long. The same goes for staying properly hydrated.
As far as exercise is concerned, even a few minutes of vigorous activity releases feel-good endorphins, and exercise can boost serotonin levels, too.
How To Have A Life Outside Of Work: In Summary
While having a super-busy work schedule can feel like all hope is lost, don’t fret. Not only do the majority of workers feel this way at some point, but there are many easy, simple things you can do about it. Try just one of these tips for a week and see if you feel better. I hope this article has been helpful, thanks for reading!
