How to Keep Your Personal and Professional Life Separate

Introduction

Your employer is offering a laptop when you sign on? Uber!

Then. The late night emails come in, and you are EXPECTED to respond. Woah.

In today’s interconnected and digital world, it is increasingly difficult to keep your work life and personal life separate. When your work life spills over into your personal life, it can be hard to relax and enjoy yourself.

Can you EVER separate Work and Life? Let’s see…

Boundaries: Bound-to-arise

One of the best ways to keep your professional and personal life separate is to define your boundaries. What are the things that you are and are not willing to do in either realm?

For example, you may not want to talk about work at home, or discuss personal issues at work. You may also want to keep your work hours separate from your personal hours. By setting these boundaries, you are protecting yourself from emotional and mental burnout.

Set this up early, so you have a clear reason to reject tasks that thread the line. The more you let that happen, the more blurry the line gets…

Separate Your Communication Channels

It's important to communicate. To the right people, at the right time. When you're at work, focus on work. When you're at home, focus on your family and friends.

This means that you should avoid talking about work with your friends and family, and you should also avoid checking work emails or answering work calls when you're not at work. It's also a good idea to have different passwords for your professional and personal online accounts.

By keeping communication channels separate, you'll be able to stay focused on the task at hand and avoid any potential distractions.

You Matter

It's important to set some time aside each day to focus on yourself. Whether you use that time to relax, work on a passion project, or just hang out with friends, it's crucial to your sanity and work-life balance.

If you don't make time for yourself, you'll quickly find yourself feeling burnt out and overwhelmed. And that's definitely not good for your productivity or stress levels. So, try to schedule some "you" time into each day, and stick to it!

Don't Bring Your Work Home With You

One of the best ways to maintain a healthy work-life balance is to keep your work life separate from your personal life. This means not bringing your work home with you, and not talking about work when you're not at work. It can be tough to stay focused on your personal life when all you can think about is that big project you have due tomorrow, but it's important to make the effort.

If you're struggling to keep your work and personal lives separate, try creating boundaries. For example, designate specific times of the day for work-related tasks, and stick to them. And when you're not working, make sure to completely detach yourself from work. Turn off your computer, put away your phone, and relax!

Keep a Positive Attitude

You're going to have a much easier time keeping your work and personal life separate if you maintain a positive attitude. When you're stressed out or feeling overwhelmed, it's easy to fall into the trap of taking your frustrations out on your loved ones. Avoid this by making a conscious effort to stay positive and upbeat, even when things are tough at work.

In addition, try to schedule in time for you and your loved ones. This can be anything from simply spending time together chatting over coffee, to going for a walk or playing games. Making time for yourselves will help you to relax and recharge, so you can continue to give your best at work.

Seek Help When Needed

It can be difficult to keep your work and personal life separate, especially when they start to overlap. But it's important to try to maintain a healthy work life balance if you want to be productive and happy. Here are a few tips for how to do that:

First, make sure you have a dedicated work space where you can focus on your tasks without any distractions. Close your email and turn off your phone so you can't be interrupted.

Second, try to set specific boundaries for when you're working and when you're not. Make sure your friends and family know that you're not available after 8pm, for example, or that you're not going to answer work emails on the weekends.

Lastly, don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. If balancing work and life starts to feel too overwhelming, talk to your supervisor or a friend about how you can get back on track.

Last Wurds

Today’s digital work may tempt you to mix stuff up. If you prioritise on keeping work as work, and life as life, you could find the journey a lot more enjoyable.

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