February is finally upon us, and you’re bound to start hearing from all your colleagues about how fast January just went, and that the year is “already flying by” Despite it still being the exact same amount of physical time as January 2014.
That’s the reality of full time work, you’re almost always busy, constantly stressed and trying to manage that around an avid social life. It is pretty easy to let a lot of that build up, and eventually burn yourself into the ground. Burnout is actually pretty underrated and a lot of the time I find that people are so neck deep in commitments that they don’t even realise they’re burning out – it’s just become their normal life; and that isn’t healthy for anyone.
So as we get our teeth stuck into 2015, I’ve got six tips that will (hopefully) keep you on top at work, with your mates, at home and socially – all the while ensuring that you don’t lose control.
1. Communicate with your peers
It’s pretty likely that on an average day you’ll see your work colleagues more than your family and friends, so appreciate that. Realise they all have the same stress and life out of work – they will understand. So whether its issues at work, stuff happening outside of the office, whatever, communicate with them and learn from them – as they will from you.
2. Invest in a passion project
Get involved with something you love or have a strong interest in. Sometimes we get so caught up with our commitments at work that we get home and those precious hours of time are used stressing even more about the next day at work. Not cool. Find out where your passions lie – sport, fashion, technology etc and build a passion project solo or with some mates. It could be an app, website, product, service – just make it yours so you can invest in it and forget about work when you need to.
3. Be creative with gym and exercise
With more commitment comes less time, and often your health and fitness cops it. So be smart with how you train and exercise. A lot of the girls in our office get their workout on during lunch breaks, some of the boys do regular kickabouts at a local field and a lot hit the gym around their work commitments. Try and organise it with a couple of friends too so you have motivation to go, and so you’ll cop it from them when you pull out last minute. Your body will thank you.
4. Learn to say no
Probably one of the harder things to do, but it’s important to have the discipline to say no in some situations. Whether that concerns managing unrealistic workloads in the office, going out for lunch one too many times a week, or taking on too many social roles (as fun as they may be!) Understand what your limit is and don’t budge, keep saying yes and your stress levels will explode.
5. Still aim to travel
Work to live. Live to travel. Travel to learn. While work and time off may dictate how and when you travel, it shouldn’t let you stop. Be open, be courageous, and be bold – because sometimes you just have to pull the figurative trigger. Nothing worse than having no amazing travel stories when you’re at the pub after work.
6. You can switch jobs pretty easily, unlike friends and family
This one is pretty simple. Jobs will come and go, that’s life. But your close friends and family are numbered so don’t take them for granted. Although staying back in the office consecutive nights in the office may keep you in the good books of your boss, they may tear apart the relationships around you.
Overall, work life balance is something we all crave but it’s often something that is hard to find. So with these six tips and I’m sure a couple of your own, hopefully 2015 will be the year where you smash it at work and still have fun outside the office.
Gordon D’Mello
Business Executive – Digit PBM
oOh! Media