Tips to balance your work and social lives

Balancing your professional and social lives can be difficult. However, it’s important for your health and wellbeing. A well-balanced lifestyle helps minimize stress, can improve your energy levels and even strengthen your relationships.

Here are three helpful tips for balancing your work and social lives.

Set priorities

Identify your top priorities in both your professional and personal life. Determine what truly matters to you and allocate your time and energy accordingly to ensure you can dedicate enough time to the most important things. Be intentional about how you spend your time, ensuring you give attention to what's most important to you.

Create a schedule

Creating a schedule can help you identify what needs to be done and what you would like to do. Think back on the previous few weeks. What worked? What didn’t? Knowing your schedule allows you to easily see when your work-life balance is off, and put actions into place to correct it. A schedule also allows you to quickly see when you might have free time and when you don’t, allowing you to make new commitments when appropriate and say no when necessary.

Don’t be afraid to say no

One strategy for reducing your stress is to learn how to say no.

To say no effectively while preserving your relationships, try following these suggestions. Be direct and polite. People appreciate timely responses and letting the person know that you are saying no to the request, and not rejecting them as a person is also important. You can consider giving a brief explanation as to why you are saying no, and possibly offer an alternative.