Work Life Balance: Do You Have It?

Work life imbalance is one of the chief issues of the urban population. Because of poor work life balance people contract stress related illnesses that includes hypertension, heart diseases etc. Although this problem is underestimated, it surely creeps into your lifestyle, and before you know it creates stress and unrest in your life.

People with work life imbalance show these symptoms:

- Restlessness
- Mood swings
- Lack of composure at work; sudden outbursts; sarcasm at peers and colleagues
- Lack of excitement at achievements
- Lack of enthusiasm at work
- Inability to motivate oneself to come to work everyday
- Fickle-mindedness. Tendency to get scorned at the slightest opportunity.
- Constantly being enquired by fellow-workers about ones well-being.
- Body aches. Headache.

A person with at least four of the above symptoms is said to be suffering from work life imbalance. If the symptoms are more then the stage is said to be critical.

So how to achieve work life balance?
Although there are no novel methods that have attained credibility, the oft-repeated ways are a sure-shot solution to achieve work life balance.

Eat well / sleep well
Work sometimes invades into time that should be kept sacrosanct for essential things. The essential activities that the human body needs are food and sleep. Overworking results in acquisition of bad food habits, like eating junk food at the desk, over-drinking caffeine etc. Work related pressures also lead to the dependency on nicotine for easing stress. Make sure that you get at least eight hours sleep everyday. Maintain a balanced diet. Go for a lunch or dinner on the last working day of the week.

Here are some other quick points you should ask yourself:

- Analyze your life’s purpose. Do you want to become a successful professional or a successful well-rounded person?
- Do you have a timetable to manage your time and the tenacity to stick to it?
- Do you feel home at office or office at home?
- Do you want to establish an identity that is not heavily dependent on your profession?
- What are the activities that make you happy the most?
- Are you in the right job?

If you have jotted down the answers to the above questions, then you have something in hand to think about. Often asking questions and answering them gives a fresh perspective, and lays the path for an effective work life balance solution.