It’s common that people tie themselves to their careers. Although our careers are a huge part of our lives, constructing your identity around it can lead to a lack of fulfillment and happiness. A simple solution to this? Work-life balance.
It’s important that we allow ourselves to have a healthy balance between our work and personal life. Here are a few ways to separate yourself from your work identity and lead a healthy life:
1. Free your time
To free up time at work, assign responsibilities, and occupy that time with other activities. By increasing your reliance on your teammates or requesting assistance, you give up some control over how the job is to be carried out, which in itself trains you to have healthy communication and acceptance.
2. Start slowly
Start out slowly and try out a few of the hobbies you’ve been eyeing for your new pastimes outside of work. The aim is to start researching new things you might want to integrate into your life and your identity; you don’t have to commit for the long run. Start walking to work or go to the gym during breaks every once or twice a week. Smaller changes are easier to maintain over time and can start a positive cycle of commitment and improvement.
3. Reconnect with your network
Reactivate your social networks. Reach out to your friends and family – not only will you have a good time, you also have the chance to establish your support network. Relationships can be strengthened just with a quick catch-up via phone, text or video call. Having just three to five close friends is associated with the highest levels of life satisfaction, according to a recent study on adult friendships.
4. Reassess your priorities
Identify and reevaluate your beliefs and values. What matters most to you? Consider your personal priorities and let them direct you towards what’s next. Start reflecting on your desired path in areas of your life such as relationships, career, community, and then ranking them in order of importance. As you consider what is most essential to you, you can create a running list on your phone to help you jumpstart.
5. Look beyond your role
Redefine your relationship to your profession. Find out how the skills and talents you have can be applied in a variety of circumstances, rather than just your employer or title. For instance, many psychotherapists who become dissatisfied with working with clients discover that their talents in human resources management or guidance counselling are transferable.
Taking the necessary measures to prioritize your mental health is crucial to leading a balanced life, aside from better quality of work. Here in IQI, we value a healthy work-life balance, and take pride in having a team who works hard and plays hard.
Work hard, play hard – that’s our motto. If you value work-life balance as much as we do, we have a spot for you! Drop your details below to join our expanding team!