Hello dear reader,
It has been a while, but here I am again. The past few weeks have been turbulent and in my previous blog about making a plan for my workload, I promised to tell you how this plan is working for me. Here it is!
What is going well?
Every workday I start my day with making a to-do list, to get a good overview of things I have to do and what I can postpone or even cancel. It causes less stress at work and the urgency of my tasks are more clear.
At the same time, there is one thing that has given me an enormous amount of rest. I started walking to work more often instead of going by bike. Sometimes I walk with my boyfriend, which gives us quality time to talk to each other. Sometimes I take a meditative walk and I reflect on the day. After a working day, a walk makes my head much emptier than a hectic bike ride.
In the past month I have succeeded to work out twice a week. Sometimes even three times a week! This makes me feel better and better.
Finally, I have planned plenty of fun trips to look forward to. I still have a wellness voucher lying around, I am going to my family next weekend and I have booked a sun holiday in January.
… and what does not go so well?
It is still difficult for me not to be constantly busy with work in my spare time. I often check my mail, receive calls in my “private time” and often do a work related task on my days off. In my work pressure plan I had stated that I would block days as completely “work-free”. In practice, this is quite difficult. My boyfriend works in the same place as I and many of my colleagues are also close friends, which means I often talk about work in my spare time.
This makes it difficult sometimes to find my peace and not let my work completely dominate my private life. I notice that things that I normally enjoy (social activities, extensive cooking in the evenings or even writing this blog) can cause me stress. These things, which I usually enjoy, start to feel like a “must”.
And now?
While writing this blog I ask myself how I can succeed in making my work less dominant in my life. I think it comes down to being less hard on myself.
Not in the mood for a birthday party? It is fine, I can cancel if I am not feeling so well. Or drop by for an hour and crawl into bed early. Don’t feel like cooking? Occasionally, I can also just order some comfort food or spend quality time with my boyfriend or friends by spontaneously going out to eat.
And writing this blog? I learned that I should never force myself to write, but only write if I have inspiration. In the meantime, I have learned that the editors of NiceDay always respond incredibly understanding, even if I am unable to deliver a blog on time. In the end, this blog is about my mental well-being and I need to be able to write this well. By not making “fun things” an obligation, they also remain fun without having to add more “tasks” in addition to my work!
The balance between work and private life remains a personal search for me that will take some time. When I look at my work pressure plan, I have succeeded in many of my personal points. I want to continue step by step. In this way I keep getting better at maintaining my boundaries and my free time. Of course I would love to share my steps here!
Love,
Mara
Do you have any tips to keep the balance between work and private life? Let me know in the comments below. I like to read your tips 🙂
