Nine Tips On How To ReBalance After A Tough Week

In terms of work life balance, the last week or so has been totally off kilter. I'm talking so much going on at work that I ended up working on days off, and rescheduling plans to accommodate it. It was frustrating to say the least, but rather than get all Debbie Downer on it, I'm slicing those lemons, adding hot water and turning it into something good. 

It's so easy to see the bad in these sorts of situations. When you're stressed an in the moment, you can get caught up in the 'storm in a teacup' type feeling, where everything revolves around the situation at hand. We've all been there, especially at work when something goes wrong and eats into the time which you'd set aside for yourself. 

In very few cases would we let anything else encroach on our own time / plans as much as we do work and yes that can breed resentment and frustrations, but what makes it worse is when you spend the time stressing or moaning about having to stay to do the work rather than battening down and getting it done so you can get outta there. 

We've all done it. You're working late along with someone else in the office, you get to chatting and all of a sudden 20 mins have passed and you've done sod all - not productive if you were supposed to leave for dinner with your best mate 45 mins ago. And although I'm all for a good bitch and moan to get it out your system, I also think it's best to stick to the job at hand in order to help yourself out as much as possible. 

The sooner you're outta there, the sooner you'll get a sense of perspective, or sense of achievement - depending on the task at hand. 

I appreciate that's easier said that done though, so rather than carrying a huge chip around on your shoulder the next day/week, or screaming 'woe is me' every chance you get, hopefully the following tips may be a useful way of helping you rebalance and try to find the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Learn from the experience

You learn from tough and stressful situations right? Whether it's what not to do again, or another case of hindsight being bitch, whatever your lesson, remember it so you can try and avoid similar mistakes happening again. And although it's not always easy, it's important to dust yourself off and move on, because time moves so quickly, not doing so means you're just going to be stuck moaning about what happened last week when everyone else has already moved on. 

Decide on the three main things you need to achieve that day

Whether it's work related, personal, or both - write a mental list of three things you need to achieve that day / week and ensure you make them you're priority and get them done. That way, whatever else happens, you've achieved the things you wanted to. You may need to reassess mid week or on a weekly basis for a while depending on your workload, but stick to your goals and commitments, achieving them will also give you a confidence boost which may be all you need to inspire you to do more. 

Get a meeting in
May seem obvious, but when we're in these situations at work, we're very rarely in them on our own, and chances are everyone is all feeling the same frustrations. So get in a team meeting, grab a cuppa and vent for a few minutes until you can all laugh at the chaos, call a spade a spade and move on. Teams are there to support each other and sometimes just knowing other people feel the same helps.

Phone a friend

Schedule a time to call a friend and get out of the office to do it. Chat to them about something other than work, or use it as time to vent. Whatever it is, it will help distract you from your current situation  and get you out the office. 

Get out the office
The worst thing about storm in a teacup situations is that you can make them worse by not getting a sense of perspective. It was a lesson I learnt, being in the eye of the storm only heightens anxieties and worries unnecessarily. Get out, go for a walk and step away from the situation for a few minutes. It may feel like you can't, but you'll thank yourself later. 

Reschedule missed events
Kinda an obvious one, but resenting working late because it stopped you doing something is crap, no ways about it - but plan ahead, reschedule and roll with the punches.

Treat Yourself
It's never good to feel like you're working for nothing, so why not reward yourself after a particularly busy time. Whether it's a new outfit, make up, sports kit, or even a bit blow out on the weekend - whatever it is that will remind you why you're working so hard, do it!

Take Care of Yourself
I'm really guilty of this, giving everything to work and forgoing other bits, if you can, try and eat healthy and stick to your routines as much as possible. It is easy when work is manic for it to take over your life, whether it affects your sleeping, downtime, ut try and avoid the stressed binge eating, you won't thank yourself later. 

Think Positive
Sometimes how you handle the work life unbalance can be just as important as the work your doing, don't let the good work or hours your putting in be undone by a bad attitude.  This links back to the point that nobody enjoys a moaner, and there is no point crying over spilt milk so they say, what's done is done and how you handle the unbalance is likely to be seen by someone.