Work Hard, Play Hard

What do we mean by a work hard and play hard? This is a common phrase used to remind us of work/life balance. We talked about this in one of our recent podcasts (episode 20), but I like to write about it as well, to include some extra tidbits. Like we said in the podcast, work/life balance is not a 50/50 time split. It is however you see fit and whatever is comfortable for your life.

The most important thing to me for work/life balance is creating a schedule for work and home life. Shaun and I have synced google calendars, so we can see what each other have planned and either plan it at the same time or similar times. Also, this helps us plan out what we want to do with each other in our free time. With Shaun’s businesses, he has quite a few meetings throughout the week and some of them have to be in the late afternoons. Usually, I will plan to run some errands if I need or I will just go home and hang out with Mimi.

Most of the time, Shaun and I avoid doing much business work in the afternoons, so then we can hang out with Mimi as much as possible. Everyday, we try to make sure that she is a happy pup. We will take her out on walks, or play with her in the yard. We know our time with her is limited, so we want to make sure she is happy as much as possible.

Also, schedule out your work days so you can be more effective. For a week, write down everything you do in a day, down to the minute. Evaluate it at the end of each day, and most people will see wasted time that they have in their schedules. So make a schedule and stick to it. Block out time for emails, and plan on doing it only twice a day. Checking emails multiple times and day and responding to them throughout the day, is part of some people’s wasted time, but if you do it in two blocks, it goes much faster. Obviously, some jobs are time sensitive, so figure out how you can be more efficient at that.

Make exercise a priority. Put it into your schedule to work out at least 4 day a week. Having a healthy body means having a healthy mind as well. Exercise can help you reduce stress that is in your life, which has a negative impact on your mental health. Having better mental health, can help you be more effective at work. It is one big cycle of being healthy.

Don’t forget to take time for yourself. You can use exercise as time for yourself, or spend an hour doing something you love doing. That is the best part of scheduling out your time. You can schedule in the things you love doing, and this ensures that you do them! If you love hiking, take your family and go for a hike. If you love woodworking, take an hour or two to go work on some projects you forgot about. Obviously, do this within your means and talk to your significant other so you can be on the same page of how much time a week you can be working on the things you want to and vice versa. The reason, people use this mantra, is because if you can work hard then why can’t you play hard?

Lastly, take that vacation. Go out and enjoy the world that we live in. Schedule out your vacation as thoroughly as possible, so it can be the least bit of stress for you. Enjoy it to the fullest potential. This will help you relax and reboot your system by stepping away from work.

Start scheduling your life, so you can too work hard, play hard.

Your Life Tutor
-Sam