May 2022 | SRD Success

If you’re a bit of a workaholic it’s often difficult to determine how you should be spending your time in-between stints of office interactions. Even if you’re not used to working 24/7 like some professionals, you may find that maintaining a work-life balance while working from home is difficult, especially post-pandemic.

In the remote working industry, you can often feel as though you should be doing something productive after work, even when your day is technically finished. While there’s nothing wrong with relaxing when you need to, there are a handful of things you can do with your time after work if you want to make the most of it.

Here are some ideas.

Have Some You-Time

It’s tempting to rush into spending as much time as you can with your loved ones after you’re done with work. For some people, this will be the best way to use their time after work, but for others, it can lead to problems. After all, while we might hate the commute to work, the commute back home does give us time to decompress and process the day. Remote workers don’t have that commute which can lead to problems when maintaining a work-life balance is a priority.

Having ten minutes to yourself where you can wind down and think about what you’re going to do for the rest of the night can help. This is particularly important when working at home, so you don’t take the stress you have at work into the family dynamic. You can use your “you-time” however you like. For some people, the best option will be to listen to relaxing music. Others prefer things like exercising. Experiment to find what works for you.

Create a Plan

Ideally, you’ll be finishing your working day at a specific time – even when working from home. Working from home when you should be relaxing might feel productive, but most of the time it simply leads to increased stress and burnout.

About ten minutes before the end of each workday, sit down and get your desire to continue working out of your head by planning what you’re going to do tomorrow. Having a to-do list of everything you need to cover can reduce your anxiety, by letting you know you’ve assigned the right amount of time to every task.

Writing down your plan is also a great way to get any concerns out of your mind so you can move on to your personal life without feeling like you might have forgotten something. Maintaining a work-life balance means having a plan to keep your work life and your home life separate.

Know Your Priorities

No matter how much you love your job, a lot of your life will happen outside of working hours. This is the time when you’re going to be making memories and enjoying the good stuff in life – so use it wisely. If you want to utilize your time effectively, know your priorities.

It’s up to you to determine what matters most in your world. For some people, it will be spending time with the family and watching their children grow up. For others, the most important thing might be preserving friendships and other relationships.

After you’ve focused on building your relationships, consider what else is important to you – such as your physical health, hobbies, and activities you enjoy. Writing a list of all the things that really matter to you can make it easier to assign your time correctly.

Avoid Major Sources of Stress

While you might not be able to spend your life avoiding all forms of stress, you can at least reduce your risk of feeling overwhelmed by common causes of anxiety. For instance, many people find it difficult to watch the news – particularly during times of crisis, like the pandemic. If you’re already feeling stressed, it might be a good idea to skip the news one night and do something more relaxing.

The best thing you can do after work might not be consistent every day. Sometimes, you’ll find it’s helpful to follow a specific routine of checking out social media, responding to emails, or just relaxing with the family. Other days, you might want to focus more on something specific, like using a hobby to unwind after a particularly stressful workday.

When stress levels are already high in your life, avoid making them worse with things you know will cause anxiety.

Give Yourself a Break

Finally, don’t fall victim to the notion you need to plan every part of your life, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep. You don’t have to be doing something valuable 24/7 to make the most of your life. It’s up to you to decide how you want to use your time. If you’re happy, then you’re making the right choices, even if that means you’re just sitting on the couch for an afternoon.

Where do you want to be in five or ten years? What does your happiest life look like? As John C. Maxwell said, “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” With that being said, what habits can you implement into your life that will lead to the life of your dreams?

Studies have shown that creating routines that become habits is the best way to change your life. One of the best ways to develop new habits is bullet journaling, also known as habit tracking. A Bullet Journal is a simple way to measure if you did a habit each day or week. It gives you a way to visualize progress, feel motivated, and show up the next day.

Still on the fence about if you should start a Bullet Journaling? Here are 5 reasons why you should start.

Why you should start Bullet Journaling:

Daily reminder to take action. Studies have shown that people who keep track of their progress are more likely to succeed than those who do not. This includes people trying to quit smoking, lose weight, and lower blood pressure.
- Tracking your habits on a daily basis is a simple way to remind yourself of the action you need to take in order to reach your goals.
Motivation to continue. Seeing progress is the best motivation. With every small win, Bullet Journaling can create growing motivation to continue towards your goals.
Gratification for achieving your goals. Every time you mark a habit as complete, you get a sense of accomplishment! This feeling of accomplishment will give you more motivation to continue the next day.
Increased likelihood of reaching your goals. Breaking down your big goals into small habits that you track will help you feel more confident and in control. You’ll be more likely to reach your goals with a habit tracker holding you accountable every day.
See your progress. Months down the line, you can see how far you have come from where you started. Spend time once a month or every few months to look at previous months and appreciate how far you’ve come.

Tracking your habits and goals will have a compound effect on your happiness. Are you ready to start?

How to get started tracking your habits:

Write down your goals. To define what’s important to you, journal about the life you envision. What does your happiest life look like?
Create habits that will help you achieve the life you envision. What goals are most important to you? What habits can you develop that will help you achieve those goals?
Add those habits to a Bullet Journal. Next, add the habits you want to track to your Bullet Journal. You can add them as a bulleted list all on one page, or you can give each habit a section or page of its own so you can make notes about it right there.
Every time you complete a habit, mark your habit tracker. Try to make it a goal to record each measurement after you complete the habit. This will help you use your Bullet Journal regularly and celebrate each habit as you complete it! Marking your Bullet Journal can be as easy as crossing out or checking off the habit, or you can write in more detail about what you did and how you achieved it.

Tracking habits will help you feel in control of your life. As you look back on your weeks and months, you’ll see what you accomplished (and did not accomplish). It can help you see progress, and also where you can improve! As you track your habits, you might also notice different patterns. For example, maybe you notice that the days you exercise you feel like you have more energy.

Final Thoughts

Remember that developing a habit takes time! Don’t feel discouraged if you forget to do something one day. Instead, make a commitment to complete it the next day. Consider that forming a habit can take months and Bullet Journaling can help motivate you as you keep track of your daily progress. If you need help developing new habits or defeating negative ones, check out our course Brain Training for Success.

Maintaining a Work-Life Balance When Working Remotely