You all have to choose between getting your Kebele ID renewed and somehow making it to work on time and leave early enough to get to night school- even more things to do if you’re a parent. You need to fit all of these within an 8:30-5:30 work schedule. Even in a country like Ethiopia where social norms are supportive and tend to share the burden, it can still be overwhelming. To help you breathe a little, here are a few tips on how to manage your work-life balance.

• Prioritize Everything

This starts by simply jotting down what matters to you most and aligning that with your key roles and responsibilities at work. After jotting down what you want to achieve within the week (or day), stick to it. This means being firm, but also understanding life is a bit unpredictable. The point of this is, make your list with the things you can control in mind but being considerate of the possibility of things you can not control such as traffic, unforeseen assignments and tasks as well as other life’s curve balls.

• Know your peaks and lows

Creating a work-life balance heavily depends on your emotional peaks and lows of the work day. Are you a morning person? Or are you more active once you’ve had that essential 10:00 am coffee break? Figure that out and once you have done that, program your workday accordingly. Focus on completing difficult tasks when you are at your best.

• Pace yourself

Productivity goes hand in hand with focused attention and patience. Get in tune with your pace and avoid doing everything all at once. Multi-tasking is great, but should be done wisely. Otherwise, it can negatively affect your work-life balance. Recognize that there are times when you need to slow down and other times you need to step it up.

• Playbour!

Playbour is just play and labour put together. Make your work as fun as possible. Take your job seriously, but don’t let this fact impede you from enjoying it! Realize that it is okay to be silly sometimes and that does not deter in any way your professional wits. Get to know your coworkers and leverage that camaraderie to make your work place enjoyable!

• Have you considered work-life integration?

Maybe drawing a line between work and life isn’t the best way to work. For instance, do you need to get to the Kebele at 8:30 in the morning? Then do so, but also compensate by staying in a little late or answering a few emails in the after-hours. This tip works best when you’re being completely up-front with your supervisor. Because they are not immune to life’s unpredictability and nuisance, they will understand and appreciate your honesty.

Because the labor market is becoming increasingly competitive in Ethiopia, work is held in high regard; but it isn’t and shouldn’t be the only thing that matters. Learning to balance and integrate work with life can help you focus on what’s important.

What are some of the ways you balance work with life? Let us know your tips for achieving a successful work/life balance on our Facebook page or down below in the comments!

Source: Ethiojobs