What do you do if maintaining work-life balance becomes difficult in a competitive job market?

Identify areas where work is spilling over. Is it after-hours emails, a heavy workload, or unclear expectations? Knowing your priorities in your personal life helps you make adjustments. Is it family time, hobbies, or simply unplugging? Have an open conversation about your workload and your desire for better balance. Explore options like flexible scheduling, adjusted deadlines, or delegation. Time management skills can be a game-changer. Prioritize tasks, set boundaries, and utilize tools to streamline your workflow. Many companies offer work-life balance programs like on-site childcare, wellness programs, or paid time off. Take advantage of what's available. Balance won't always be perfect, but focus on progress over perfection.

Work life balance is sometimes taken seriously by most of us. It all starts with us which we know about our work. know about our partner family and self. So you should very well prioritize the work , schedule deliverables etc. On the other side we should plan our balanced schedule on health ,fitness the family member your spouse or parents and children also plays a vital role. you have to plan a trip or spending a great time with your loved ones also makes a huge difference.

When I was so busy I was neglecting my self-care time, I took shorter breaks and scheduled meeting during walks and even a local parks to enjoy the sun and outdoors. I also made a list of non-negotiables that were breaks and fun like, reading a funny book just after dinner for 20 minutes or watching highlights of my favorite teams on TV even if I couldn't spare the time to watch the entire game or match. When you are tired and overworked your production decreases so no excuses to miss your energizing times. Just make them scheduled and shorter.

Work-life balance is not easy to achieve, given that most of us work full-time, take care of a family, and try to have time for relaxation. If the workload is such that what you are responsible and accountable for is not possible to achieve within a reasonable timeframe, a conversation with your boss is the best answer. Be well prepared in advance with evidence of the reasons the workload is too high and try to negotiate a more realistic workload. It may be that due to a restructuring and its inevitable redundancies, the workload has increased due to additional work that was previously done by a colleague; if so, I strongly suggest the conversation needs to be had with your boss and you may be able to get support from HR.

When I coach leaders, I suggest the 6 priorities rule. Determine, before leaving work, the 6 most important things that you commit to doing before ending your day the next day. All too often leaders have no plan starting their day, other than a never ending to-do list that never gets completed. This makes certain you stay on task and always leave with a feeling of completing your goals.

The famous @Brene' Brown says 'clear is kind' and that applies to boundaries. She defines them as what's OK and not ok. For example, it's OK for me to work late on occasion when an emergency arises. What I can't make happen is working 12+ hour days every day. When you set this limit AND don't speak (justify, explain why, etc.), it's clear what you need. And if that's not ok with your employer, they're sending you a clear message - the next choice is up to you (ideally, if you have the choice).

I agree that setting boundaries with colleagues and superiors is important. I would also add that setting boundaries with yourself is important. Time block to set boundaries for yourself to get projects done!

This discussion hits home for me. The delineation between work and personal life is crucial, yet often overlooked. The idea of setting specific 'off the clock' hours and strictly adhering to them is a powerful strategy to prevent work from spilling over into our personal lives. Turning off notifications and dedicating a specific workspace are practical steps towards this. Thanks for sparking this important conversation. It's a timely reminder for all of us in this digital age.

Clearly define your work hours and stick to them as much as possible. Avoid checking work emails or taking calls during your personal time.

I've had clients that want to WFH 1-2 days/week, some that want coaching reimbursed by their company, another wanted more vacation pay, less flexibility. Most things are up for negotiation once you've developed some trust with leadership. Make THAT your goal so you can get the flexibility you need. We're always selling!

Self care is a decision. In making sound decisions whether economic or non-economic I move within the framework of marginal analysis. This compels me to look at the benefits and the costs of the decision. A decision towards self care allows you to see the benefits and the cost. And if we see that the benefits outweigh the cost a decision for self-care will be a sound decision. With a sound decision in hand this decision will drive the process for its fulfillment because the cost of not moving towards self-care could potentially incapacitate you to the degree where you are not able to perform in the long run effectively physically or emotionally. To navigate work life balance keep a high ratio in self-care.

I believe that setting time aside for recreation and breaks is essential. A short break and change of environment can be energising - and helps to relieve stress. It's a mistake to think that focusing, relentlessly, on work makes good use of time. I find that taking breaks leads to greater productivity - and the time taken out is paid back in terms of my ability to apply myself more efficiently to my work. A change of scenery seems to help creativity - which I believe is an important part of any work situation.

While self care might be a day at the spa, more often it's a little thing you do daily. It might be a daily walk, healthy eating habits, drinking enough water, sitting still without your phone for 10 minutes, not answering work emails after 5p, etc. These are the microhabitats that enable you to say YES to the things you need most.

It's so valuable to reach out to others to help your own productivity. In freelance work especially it's easy to become focused on tasks and goals - and to find yourself at a 'dead end' - with apparently no solution to a problem. Speaking to others - whatever their field of work - can give you a new angle on matters - a different point of view. I sometimes find that taking time out to talk to others - just to express my thoughts - helps to provide clarity on an issue. It frees up time in the end - and leads to greater efficiency.

As a business owner, developing a team that supports one another is essential. Allowing those around you to vent, ask for help, ask for time or even ask to step back is important for a team to feel heard and embraced. Fostering a supportive, communicative and collaborative team not only enables others to step up when needed, but it allows for others to voice when they feel help is needed or for another teammate to assist with overflow. It is also very important to have a CRM that allows your team to collaborate and hand off tasks with notes or populated files so that a handoff is as seamless as possible. Without this, the mental load can create a more taxing issue.

In addition to reassessing your job, workload, and education/skills it's also important to reassess our self-care and de-stressing techniques. Take time to evaluate and reassess the things that truly bring you joy, the things that help you maintain a healthier balance, and the things that are a 100% necessity in your life. We can all better manage the demands of a competitive market when we know what we need as individuals on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis for our own wellness.

The question is not "if" it will become an issue or not. It is a given that the day and age we live in, it WILL be difficult to maintain work-life balance. If I had to pick one piece of advice to combat this it would be remove the necessity for a high income bracket. I have learned through countless mistakes in my career that our money, career, and status will not come with us where we are all heading. The biggest regret most people have when in their final days of life is where and how they prioritized the sliver of time they had here. Make your health and family your #1. The best way to do this is to live far below your means so that you are not in a position where you are up against a wall needing to sprint through the rat race.