(NC) In this connected world, it’s all too easy to let work obligations cut into your personal time. While greater flexibility is crucial for many, it’s important not to let the idea of ‘working from anywhere’ lead to ‘always on the clock’. If you’re looking to bring more balance back into your life, start with these five tips.
Track your time. The first step to reclaiming balance is to find out where the imbalance lies. Put some effort into tracking your time for a week or two and see where and how it is being used. Many companies have online time-tracking tools that you can trial for free. Do some research to find the one that works best for you. Take this information and see if you can lessen distractions throughout the workday so that it doesn’t start crossing-over into your evenings or weekends.
Set boundaries. Prioritize your schedule and communicate your availability with colleagues and clients. Being clear on your work hours and response times will help reduce the need to check on work after hours or on your time off. If there is a need to check in after-hours, set a specific hour to do so and time limit for your responses.
Schedule breaks. Add breaks to your daily calendar so that not only is your time blocked off, but you’ll also get reminders that a break is needed. Whether it’s a 15-minute stand up and stretch or an hour-long lunch with a walk and some fresh air, taking time away from your desk will increase your overall productivity, help with creativity and reduce levels of stress.
Automate tasks. With today’s technology, automating tasks is a safe and reliable time-saver. For those that run their own business, cloud-based accounting software, such as FreshBooks, can save you time by automating processes to create invoices, track expenses and calculate taxes, leaving more time to focus on the rest of the business.
Set priorities. Plan your day the night before and prioritize your tasks by their importance and urgency (high, medium and low) along with how much effort will be involved to complete them. Once the priorities are set, block out time on your calendar for the high and medium ones and the lower priorities can be worked on in between.
Find time-tracking tools and learn more about how cloud-based accounting can help your work-life balance at freshbooks.com.
