In todays day and age, many people take pride in how hard they work. However, one of the disadvantages of setting goals as a hard worker is that it can lead to an unbalanced work life. For some, having a balanced life is easy, but for other people, shutting their work mind off is a project within itself
To help address this issue for the people who have this problem, we reached out to Alexis Haselberger, a time management and productivity coach. She gave us some tips on how to set goals for work-life balance. In this article, we will share the valuable insights and strategies she provided to help you achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Prioritizing Personal Goals for Greater Satisfaction
The first thing we learned from Alexis is that , “When it comes to personal goals, you want to focus on just a couple of things at a time.”
Being ambitious is a good trait to have! However one of the many challenges of setting goals is that individuals often face the challenge of wanting to accomplish a multitude of goals simultaneously. When we do this, learning an efficient process for each goal we set is very hard, leading to frustration and a lack of progress. People who do this often burn out and may quit doing everything altogether.
The Reading Analogy
Alexis shared an analogy to help us better understand this concept: If you attempt to read five books simultaneously, reading five pages of each per day, it would take you months to achieve them all. Not only that, but remembering the messages of each book simultaneously is very hard. On the other hand, if you focus on reading one book and read 25 pages per day, you could finish it in a week or 2.
The same principle applies to setting goals. If we only focus on a couple goals at once, it enables you to work on them effectively and efficiently, leading to greater satisfaction.
Once you get the few goals you set down pat and have established efficient processes, it is then time to add new goals that you might like to achieve.
It’s a common thing to see people boast about having multiple income streams online, but the truth is most of them started with one or two income streams before they added more.
Setting Boundaries to Maintain Work-Life Balance
Alexis advised that a crucial step in achieving work-life balance is to establish boundaries between your professional and personal lives. She emphasizes, “One place to start in terms of goals for work/life balance is with setting boundaries around your work, since work often bleeds into life.” In the following section, we’ll explore strategies to help you set and maintain these boundaries.
Defining ideal work hours
The most important thing in regards to setting boundaries for maintaining a work life balance is defining your ideal work hours. If you’re self employed, you want to consider what you need to get done on a weekly basis and then break it up into a reasonable daily schedule.
If you work a 9-5, your day is probably already predetermined. However, even if you have a set work schedule, it’s important to establish boundaries when it comes to your evenings and weekends.
Utilizing technology to enforce boundaries
Tools like Notion can make it easier for you to keep your work and personal lives separate. Notion is a great tool because it allows you to create workspaces for each area of focus in your life.
Blocking off time in your calendar
If you don’t want to go to crazy and learn new apps, every single phone has a built in calendar app which allows you to block off times in order to stay focused and true to yourself when it comes to setting boundaries.
Auto declining meetings outside work hours
If you work a 9-5, it’s important to remember that those hours are for work. You can set your calendar to auto decline meetings outside of these hours so that you don’t have to worry about getting dragged into extra meetings after hours or on weekends.
Using status/away messages in communication tools
The iPhone allows us to set times where we silence our notifications. In the morning, if you have a routine like going to the gym, set your notifications to silent until you’re done with your workout.
Adding work hours information in email signatures
Lastly, you may want to add work hour information into your email signatures. This way people you correspond with on a regular basis could have and idea for when you typically work and when you’re not available.
Re-engaging with Hobbies and Activities Outside Work
According to Alexis, re-engaging your passion for hobbies and activities beyond the workplace is important for achieving work-life balance. She advised that, “If you want to re-engage with a hobby or activity, create a forcing function to make it easier to make it happen.” You could create a forcing function by doing the following:
Signing up for classes with specific start times
Let’s say you like Jiu Jitsu, signing up for classes will force you to be involved. If you have class at 5:30 every day, it forces you to get away from work and into the gym at that time. You have to pay for classes too, and you don’t want to waste your money by not going.
Find An Accountability Buddy
Finding someone who also likes the hobby and doing it with them is another good way to stay engaged. This will keep you motivated. I have an accountability buddy when it comes to running. Every single Thursday I get out and run a 5k, and my buddy is always there to motivate me.
For more insights on how to set personal goals, check this out!
Focusing on Lead Indicators vs. Lag Indicators
Last but not least, Alexis suggests, “In general, think about goals in terms of lead indicators vs. lag indicators. Instead of shooting for a certain outcome in a certain time (lag indicators), istart with actions you can control (lead indicators).”
Lead indicators are inputs that you can control and influence. For example, if you’re running a blog (my favorite example since it’s what I do), writing 500 words per day is a good lead indicator.
A lag indicator, on the other hand, are goals based on results. So instead of setting the goal of 500 per day. You set a goal of earning $20 per day on your blog. This could put you in a bad situation because you may get discouraged if you don’t see results fast enough.
Benefits of Focusing On Lead Indicators When It Comes To Work Life Balance
- Easier To Set Boundaries: When you concentrate on lag indicators, there’s a higher likelihood of becoming fixated on achieving specific targets, which can lead to overworking. However, by setting lead indicators, you can establish boundaries for your work more effectively, reducing the chances of burnout.
- You Will Be Able to Adapt: If you set a lead indicator, let’s use that 500 words per day example again. If it gets too much, you could always change it up and lower it if it’s too much.
Conclusion
Thanks to valuable insights from productivity coach Alexis Haselberger, we now have a great understanding of how to better achieve work life balance. By implementing the simple strategies mentioned, you’ll be able to create better boundaries between work and life, resulting in a more productive and enjoyable lifestyle.
Do you have any tips when it comes to work life balance? If so, leave them in comments!
