How to Balance Work and Pleasure

Life in the 21st century is geared towards work. You're encouraged to reach further and do more. Ironically, when you spend most of your time on work, you throw your life off-balance and end up being less productive than you could otherwise be. Follow these steps to bring pleasure and play back into your life without sacrificing your professional goals.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Organize your life. A daily planner can help you balance your life. Let it guide you through your day. Make a place for writing down professional and personal goals to keep you focused.
2. Make the effort to plan each day's activities with both work and play time. Prioritize what you need to do but make sure to balance business and pleasure. Write things like "Take Andy to the park" and "Read novel" in your organizer to make sure they get done.
3. Be critical of your job. Explore other work options if it takes up more than 40 hours a week or you're burned out when you get home. Reduce your work hours if you can afford it. Eliminate long-term or large loan payments so you can reduce your work hours.
4. Learn to say "no" to family, friends and co-workers more often. Tell anyone asking for favors that you need to look at your schedule and will get back to them. Be honest about whether you want to do what they ask of you.
5. Use the expertise of others to bring balance into your life. Outsource administrative tasks if you own your own business. Pay your teenage niece to baby-sit your kids so you can take a yoga class. Hire a tax preparer to handle your tax headaches.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't get obsessed by your personal organizer. It's there to remind you of what you want to get done, not overwhelm you.
• Don't give an explanation for refusing a request for a favor. You don't have to apologize for bringing balance into your life.

Who Can Help:

• Earn an Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's Degree from the University of Phoenix
• University of Phoenix, degree Programs to Fit Your Life.