Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and people who are aiming to advance their careers tend to have a tough time reconciling their commitment to their work with everything else that they want to prioritize in their lives. If work dominates your day-to-day life to the extent that it leaves very little room for anything else, you may be susceptible to excessive stress or burnout.

Manage Your Time Efficiently

Good time management is foundational to a healthy work-life balance. Using your time as productively as possible enables you to accomplish more throughout your workday.

Start your day with the most challenging items on your agenda so you can give them your attention before you get worn out. Plan your schedule out as best as you can, but also be adaptive.

Leave Time in Your Day for Breaks

Taking breaks throughout your workday is good for your focus. If you’re tired and you want to take a quick break, don’t admonish yourself. A break may be just the thing you need to fend off stress, recalibrate your perspective when you run into unforeseen obstacles, and support your general efforts to maintain a good work-life balance.

Breaks also benefit physical health. Sitting in front of a computer in the same position for hours on end can make you vulnerable to a variety of health conditions. Getting up and stretching support your joints, muscles, and cardiovascular function.

Get Essential Rest

Trying to power through a busy day without sufficient rest could make fairly simple tasks seem harder than they are, and you’re probably going to run out of steam before you’ve checked as much work off of your to-do list as you would have liked to.

To reinforce your work-life balance and optimize your rest, try to avoid focusing on work when you need to be winding down. Get into the habit of going to bed at the same time every night. Consistency in your sleep cycle is likely to cause you to drowse off pretty effortlessly when you need to, even if you’re a little bit wired about work or anxious about the day ahead.

While a great work ethic is an essential element to professional success, putting too much of yourself into your work can be problematic. Striking a healthy balance between work and your other priorities will help you to achieve all of your most important goals.