7 tips to improve work-life balance

Achieving work-life balance is one of the biggest challenges faced nowadays, especially now that more people started to work from home and the borders between work and personal life blend together. I still believe that achieving this balance is possible, being professionally successful and gratifying while still having the time to enjoy life and decompress.

7 tips to balance work-life:

1. Weekly planning - This will make your life way easier, plan for the week ahead but not only for your work but also plan for your personal life, family time, free time, hobbies, house chores, and so on. Remember to keep it real and don't overload yourself, the idea is to find balance, not to burden yourself by trying to eat more than you can chew. When it comes to planning, prioritizing is essential, analyze your to-do list and identify what's the priority for each part of your life, for each day of the week.
2. Disconnect after work - This is a personal boundary that will do wonders for your well-being in the long run. Whether you work from home or in a workplace, once you stop working you should really cease thinking about it, disconnect and enjoy the rest of your day, truly and fully! Otherwise, you will not be in the present moment and will not be working either, so it's a waste of precious energy. However, if you have some deadline or work urgency, do what you have to do, otherwise, it's going to be hard to disconnect and relax.
3. Be wise about the use of technologies - Yep! Life without technology wouldn't be the same but make the best of it. Receiving constant notifications will only increase stress and make the mind scattered and this blocks us from being productive or enjoying our free time. While working, turn off all non-essential notifications and check your email at a designated time, this will avoid checking the email every 5 minutes. Try this on your personal time as well, if you are going to meditate, do yoga or a hobby, turn off your notifications and if you feel comfortable set your phone to aeroplane mode.
4. Ask to get it - That's right if you need help just ask it! This goes both for work and personal life. Sometimes we are stubborn and don't ask for help because we want to do it all or even think that we will do best, but guess what? If you don't have the time or feel drained you won't probably do a great job. If you are resistant to getting aid, start with small things that you perceive as not so important and ask someone you trust. 
5. Rest and nurture your health - Schedule some time to rest on a daily basis. You should start by honouring your sleep time which is the most significant resting time that we have or should have, but don't stop here, during the day it's important to have free time to rest, do hobbies, meditation, or even nothing! And don't forget to nurture your body with good healthy food and exercise, another tip, start paying attention to your habits.
6. Keep time for hobbies - Hobbies are a wonderful thing, they allow us to concentrate on the present moment, have a great time, decompress and keep us motivated and energized! With the daily responsibilities, we tend to drop our hobbies but do yourself a favour and don't give up, this is a special activity. If you have, wear or place a Citrine crystal nearby, the stone carries the power of the sun ensuring that it is warming, energizing, and highly creative, thus an amazing crystal to have while doing your favourite hobby. 
7. Designate a special time for family and friends - And committed to it! Spending time with loved ones it's an amazing mood booster and will help you keep your relationships strong. It's proven that having healthy relationships can improve health and even longevity, plus you get to have some joyful moments.

Hopefully, these tips will help you find a well deserved work-life balance. And remember, small changes can take you a long way!