*Disclaimer: Today’s post was inspired by a post you can find on Life TBD entitled The Life of a Workaholic : 5 Ways to Disconnect From Work. Please check out her post after you read mine, I think it is essential to say that this is an amazing blog.
We live in a society that tends to glorify workaholics and their lifestyle, but contrary to popular belief, being a workaholic is far from being glamorous. It sucks happiness & balance away from you and you never can seem to feel proud or accomplished, even though you are doing your absolute best. Usually, you are not “only” a workaholic but also a perfectionist, which sucks even more. There is content all over the internet about how you can become “more productive” but only little content that teaches you how to destress & stop working. I want to provide you with that (too rare) relaxing content, so here we go!
Calendar blocking
You will also find this idea in the post I just referred to but I just could not not repeat it: it is essential. Calendar blocking can be really overwhelming for disorganized people but it is also really beneficial to most workaholics as we are naturally organized. Thus, calendar blocking does not stress us but rather forces us to take time off.
Basically, calendar blocking consists in dedicating a specific time in the day (for instance, from 1p.m to 6 p.m) to a specific task. After that time, you need to stop, not matter if you are finished with that task or not. You may find it stressful but believe me, if you know that you only have X hours to work on a project, you will have finished what you had planned and beyond by the time you need to stop. Calendar blocking allows you to be more productive with your time but to know exactly when to stop, & to relax as well. “Me-time” is blocked as well and written in your calendar: no more excuses not to take “me-time”, there is a dedicated time for it, now.
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Allow yourself to binge work, but only once a week
This tip may seem counterintuitive to a lot of you but as workaholics, we are always caught up in work, aren’t we? I truly believe that we can change our behavior with time and effort, but in “time and effort”, there is “time”. Allowing yourself a day to binge work is a way, even though it sounds rather counterintuitive, to be kind to yourself and to allow yourself to bend. You won’t be able to find perfect balance between work and life overnight, but you can take your time in finding what works. Having this “lifeline”, this day when you can do whatever you want, makes taking self-care moments less stressful during the week.
Have a passion & stick to it
When I write “stick to it”, I do not mean that you should keep doing something you are not passionate about anymore. What I mean is that when you found your passion, you should put as much effort into it than you would put into work. How? Let’s say that you have a BJJ class on Thursday night, then go to the class every Thursday. I do not care if you are done with work or not, just go and be as consistent with your passion as you are with your work.
Create a Cosy routine to disconnect from work
Disconnecting from work can be beyond hard, and it is even truer when you work from home. Thus, having a tiny little routine, even if that routine takes only 15 minutes, can help creating that line between “work time” and “leisure time”. When you come back from work, maybe light a candle and spend 15 minutes reading a book. You can also choose to spend these 15 minutes (or more!) doing anything else, but something that will relax you. By sticking to this routine, you will tell your brain that it is time to slow down and disconnecting will feel easier.
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Ask a friend or your partner to just stop you
If you are reading this & have read the four first points without closing the tab, chances are that you know that you are a workaholic, & chances are that you are looking for the best way to find balance. Thus, do not feel bad to ask for help. I am not talking about professional help here, even though it can help, I am talking about your friends. If you have a partner or roommates, it s even better as these persons are always around you when you are home, but even a friend can send you a text message to tell you “Dear, it is time to slow down”. That may seem really weird but sometimes, we do not disconnect from work because we simply forget to disconnect. It can be very helpful to have someone you love remind you that now is the right time to let go.
I really hope these tips helped you see that balance is achievable, even for people like us. I can’t tell you that I am 100% perfect at it, I do not want you to believe that I am anywhere close to perfection (nobody is, which is great), but I can assure you that I am getting better and better. Balance is all a matter of effort and consistency. The rest will come smoothly & naturally into your life.
I wish you the best of all days,
The English-speaking Frenchie 