The Importance of Work Life Balance

We have all heard of work-life balance and most people say they strive for it, but it can be hard to obtain. Many people experience a lot of pressure from work and from themselves to keep working and being productive, but rarely do we have a force creating the same urgency for self care. In fact it tends to be the opposite, we become so focused on feeling productive that we feel bad if we take time for ourselves. While it feels like putting work and productivity as number one should help us grow, it usually wears us down, burns us out, and stops our progress. This is why it is important for us to put just as much priority on spending time on ourselves because we can’t stay productive if we’re not well taken care of.

Too Much Work Slows Us Down

Usually when we push ourselves the reason is because we want to get more work done, not just work harder. But it has been shown time and time again that if all we do is push ourselves then we wear down and get less done in the same amount of time. Our quality of work also goes down. To make matters worse, we notice that our productivity and efficiency has gone down so we put even more pressure on ourselves to work even harder, which just ends up with us feeling more exhausted and guilty for not being able to “push through it.”

The Benefits of Balance

If we want to be as productive as possible, balance is the key. It does help to have goals and expectations of ourselves, but if we don’t have any benefit to it we will slow down eventually. Balance adds benefit to our work. Instead of working harder and doing more because, “I should”, it starts to become working hard and doing more because, “I will get more time with my kids.” Or “I will be able to go on that nice vacation.” Or “I will be able to take time away from work without thinking about it.” Whatever your goal might be, it gives us motivation and something to work toward, which in turn makes the work less exhausting and more efficient.

Taking Breaks Gives us the Energy We Need to Keep Going

It’s easy to fall into the trap that “If I work more I will do more.” Unfortunately this saying doesn’t apply when we have too much on our plates and start to burn out. The truth becomes, “The harder I push the worse I feel.” In order to prevent this loss of productivity, find boundaries for yourself and try not to work outside of them. Include in these boundaries things you can do to take a break and recharge. If you have difficulty with this you can see our previous article How to Take a (Real) Mental Break.

If you find you are having difficulty applying these ideas to yourself and taking time for yourself, that’s okay. Many people are in the same situation as you and it is normal to have a hard time figuring out how to find balance in your life. If you would like additional guidance you can schedule an appointment with a mental health professional in Utah at burnoutpreventiontherapy.com today.