Happy Wellness Wednesday, Garden Fam 🌸
I hope you are doing WELL & having a fabulous week.
As I shared last week, April is Stress Awareness Month, so we are continuing our series this week focusing on Work-Life “Balance.” I put quotation marks around “balance,” because realistically speaking, it’s not necessarily about giving equal weight to both, but rather about healthily integrating your work into the lifestyle of abundance that God has called you to and that you desire to live. With that being said, we’re going to call it work-life flow from here on out, because that’s really what it should be, a flow...
Check out today's Podcast!
Then, see the additional tips and the transcript below for more details!
Wishing you a healthy & wholesome week!
Love you bunches 🍇
P.S. Go grab some new glasses from today’s sponsor here.
More Ways to Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Flow
Take time to optimize your calendar
If you need help with this, check out my Personal Assisting site and consider hiring me to do it with or for you.
Establish different calendars for home and work, and even for the various types of events that may fall under each.
This will allow you to see everything in one place and schedule accordingly (and also look back to track “where the time went”)
Establish a good sleep schedule
Check out this blog for more details on improving your sleep
Plan and shop for your meals each week
If you’re super busy, Instacart is a life and time saver!
Use my code for $10 off your first order — RHAVENH1FC
It’s a great way to capture things that come to mind that you are not yet ready to attack.
Because you can create multiple projects, it can also help you to see both personal and professional tasks in one place and plan accordingly
Block out time on your calendar for focused, undistracted work
Turn your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ during this time — the more you finish during your actual work day, the less you will feel the need to work past your set time to end the work day.
You will likely find that you get more done this way!
If you are in a management or supervisory role, be sure you are delegating where you should be and not taking on everything —
You have a team for a reason; “Teamwork makes the dream work!”
Podcast Transcript
First, I want to debunk the myth that our work is separate from our lives or that the two are at odds with each other. In times when this seems to be our reality, we must reconsider our mindset, our approach, our work, or some combination of the three. Even if what you are currently doing to financially support your life is not yet what you feel you were called to do, it is still important to see it as a piece of the overall pie of your life. This approach is already a wonderful step in the right direction towards minimizing stress, because it allows you to see yourself as one person who does many things instead of feeling like you need to split or duplicate yourself to do and be these things separately. See your life as one big picture that includes your work and your life, and not as “work life” vs. “life life,” lol.
Next thing to note is that your work does not define you. It is pretty customary when you meet people for them to ask your name and then almost immediately follow up with, “what do you do?” This alone sets the stage for us to be defined by or find identity in the work we do. Even if what you do actually is a large part of who you are because you run a business or operate in a role you feel you were created to do, it is still a part of the overall pie of your life. Resist the temptation to define yourself by the work you do, even when others try to. This will help to prevent stress in the times when work or business is not going as well, because you will be able to see it as something in the business not working, and not as you being a failure. It will also prevent some of the stress that may arise in the event that God asks you to pivot, as He often does. When your work does not define you, you are able to see it as an assignment or purpose to be fulfilled, and can healthily remove yourself when the time comes. That’s not to say that there may not be grief involved, but it won’t cause a whole identity crisis.
That brings us to one of the key ways you can have a healthier approach to work and life: set boundaries for working and create time for rest, having fun, refueling, etc. This can be challenging when we grow attached to the work we do, especially when we are readily able to see the positive impact that our work has on others, on systems, on industries, etc. However, in order to minimize stress and build a healthy work-life flow, we must know when to turn down, turn off, and turn away from work. There will ALWAYS be something that needs to be done… literally always! Especially if you are an educator or entrepreneur—I’m sure there are many other roles that can be listed here, but those are two that I know personally. As such, we can’t let what needs to be done tell us when we will eat, take a break, check out for the day, or take a vacation. There may be a bit of preparation required to step away, but set boundaries for your work and honor them. For some, this may look like setting time boundaries—”I will start working at this time and stop working at that time”. For others, this may be setting a number of tasks they will [realistically] complete in the day and committing to stepping away when those are complete. For everyone, this should include setting aside time for vacations and staycations throughout. Don’t be the PTO hours champion! There’s no reward in that! lol. These options will require some observation and adjustments in the beginning to see what actually works, but once you’ve found it, stick to it and honor it until another major shift is needed.
There are also other ways you can build boundaries into the way you work to create your ideal flow. If you are an entrepreneur or have the freedom at your job, you can plan to do certain tasks on certain days. You can also set boundaries for when and how long you want to make or take calls in a day, or even set specific days of the week for you to make or take calls. This will not only help to balance your actual work, giving you time to actively work outside of calls, but it can also help in aligning your life. If you work from home (or even if you don’t) you can let your household know when you may need a bit more privacy and quiet time for calls, and when you may need to socially recharge a bit more afterwards. Resist the urge to make yourself available for a call at any time at the drop of a dime. Most roles do not require it, no matter how much of an “emergency” others may feel their concerns are. You can also set norms for whether you are available in the moment, or whether you prefer advance notice for calls. [Now, don’t go getting in trouble on my account if your job is a bit more strict, but there are usually ways to gently set boundaries, norms, and expectations in advance without ruffling feathers.]
Btw, if your job requires you to be super social, some built in quiet time each day is almost a must. Really, all of us could benefit from quiet time each day, because we are often pouring out whether it be socially, mentally, emotionally, or even spiritually. Build in some quiet time to recharge. Quiet time can look different for each person, but it should be a time when you don’t have to talk and can also be a time when you give your brain a break from heavy thinking. [Not recommending emptying your mind through meditation, but rather relaxing and giving your brain a break from strategizing and contemplating the intricacies of life].
There are SOOO many more tips I could share about working towards a better work-life flow, but the last one I will go into detail about here is to establish a firm morning routine! My morning routine is my baby and I don’t leave home or start work without it! Consider how you want to wake yourself up in the morning and prepare for your day. Do you need water, coffee, tea, or a smoothie? Are we working out? How will you spend time with God in the morning? Is it prayer, reading the Word, or maybe a combination? How will you command your day? Scriptural affirmations, a daily prayer or decree, checking out a devotional or sermon? What hygienic practices are important to/for you? Do you like to eat breakfast? If so, do you want to grab and go or actually make time for a traditional sitdown breakfast? Simply put, how will you fuel your spirit, mind, and body when you wake up, and how will you then prepare for your day? Write out the things you would ideally like to do in the morning and begin implementing them one or two at a time, giving yourself at least a week or two before adding something else. It may require some tweaking and rearranging over time and as your needs change, but consider what you need before you can show up as your best self and then commit to doing that, even on the days when you are not working.
For me, my morning routine is more of a checklist than a rigid routine. There are certain things I do in a specific order like spending time with God first thing and brushing my teeth when I first use the restroom, but the rest is flexible as far as timing based on what I have going on that day. So don’t feel obligated to perform like a robot once you’ve established your routine. And, once you’ve mastered your morning routine, I encourage you to consider what you want your evening wind down routine to look like. I’m still working on this one, but I definitely like to wash my face, pray, and play a game or two on my phone before bed. Consider what you need and establish your own evening routine using the process from creating your morning routine.
Having a healthy work-life flow can really help to maximize joy and fulfillment, and minimize stress and its effects on our minds and bodies. Work is a part of our lives, but it doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be our whole lives. Begin to view it as a piece of your life’s pie and approach it as such. Remember that your work does not define you, though it may be a part of you. Set boundaries for your workday and how you will approach your work, and make time for rest and vacation. Built in quiet time each day is a must! Work on your morning and evening routines and watch how different your days will begin to feel and flow! I will leave a few more ideas in today’s blog for how you can level up your work-life flow. Send me a message or let me know in the blog comments: what do YOU implement that helps you maintain a healthy work-life flow?
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