As we enter May, we are reminded of the importance of achieving and sustaining a healthy work-life balance. But today we also want to remind you (and us too!) about the importance of understanding why this is directly linked to our overall health, and how it will help us be more productive.
By Life Lovers Magazine Editorial Team
Global Employee Health and Fitness Month celebrates the balance of our personal life and health with our work, which can be easily forgotten. And even though most people living at home might think that travelers and expats don’t struggle with being overworked, the truth is that it can happen in any scenario, and it can easily affect our work performance, as well as exhaust us and make us unhappy.
Luckily, a couple of issues back, our wonderful Shelly Zev @shellyzev shared with us their inspiring story titled “Juggling that Work-Life Balance on Vacation.” So, today we’d like to summarize for you their best tips on how to manage it and keep the perfect balance, wherever in the world you’re reading from.
“Ever since I started working for myself, it’s been harder for me to take vacations where I can switch my work life completely off. While I admire those that can do it, I get a little stressed when I think about completely disconnecting for a few days.” Shelly Zev on “Juggling that Work-Life Balance on Vacation”. November 2023, Life Lovers Magazine.
Tips to keep an effective and healthy work-life balance:
- Be realistic.
If your typical workload requires longer than 8-hour workdays, you will have to be ready to reduce that workload significantly on an everyday basis and, if you’re on holiday, to reduce it drastically. So, to do that, you have to first decide exactly how much you’d like to work. Do you want to work a couple of hours in the morning and then at night with infrequent check-ins with your clients? Will you be working for a few specific hours each day, and anything that comes in after hours can wait until tomorrow? That’s up to you; just remember to be realistic, but also forgiving with yourself.
- Make an action plan
Once you come up with a schedule that sounds realistic to you, it’s time to think about how you can execute this reduced workload. You can do this in a multitude of ways, including setting up automatic email replies, creating additional method instructions to follow, or using automated platforms like Zapier to activate responses.
“For me, personally, I like to get my team members involved and make sure that my assistants and subcontractors are ready to assist…I let clients know that I will be unavailable for my off time and that I would be happy to assist them again upon my return,” added Shelly.
- Communicate
Now that you have a strategy in place, it’s time to tell your clients and team, and give advance notice. Communication is key when you work with clients. “I usually recommend taking a very proactive approach and letting clients know a month in advance (the schedule change),” explains the author.
- Set boundaries
On that note, we enter the following key step. You will need to expertly set boundaries with the client by letting them know that you will not be always available but that you can support them in advance or guide them through some autonomous tasks for them to not need you as much.
If you are choosing to work autonomously, you may want to give a heads-up that you will be traveling or unavailable for meetings, but you can check in via email as needed. You can also let them know which projects can continue in your absence, through your colleagues, or which will need a pause until you return.
Speaking of boundaries, you will also need to discuss them with your friends and family – whoever is joining you on the trip and leaves with you. If you have a plan to wake up early every morning to work before continuing your adventures, you need to communicate this with your travel mates so they are respectful but also aware that you are unavailable then.
And overall, it is important to keep in mind that you are not perfect. If you make the mistake of checking your email too frequently and then get worried that you can’t respond right away, don’t judge yourself. You’re learning how to balance this “work less, be more productive, and relax more” lifestyle. It’s not child’s play.
On that note, Shelly likes to add that they try “to combat this by reminding myself that not everything is an emergency.” And you? Any key tips to celebrate this month?
5. Embrace tech
Technology sometimes gets a bad rap, but it provides incredible opportunities for us to work smarter and embrace freedom and flexibility within our professional lives. Advances in tech mean that many of us can work from almost anywhere in the world at any time of day. This provides options in terms of traveling, combining work and downtime and exploring different career paths or types of jobs. If you are looking to enhance your work-life balance by working from home more frequently, working remotely, traveling, or taking control of your schedule, it’s essential to prioritize security. Tapping away at a laptop on an exotic beach may seem like a dream, but using unsecure networks can make you vulnerable to cyberattacks and phishing scams. If you’re sharing files or planning to watch movies or listen to music, explore options like a torrent VPN or make sure there are locations with secure, password-protected networks available. Cybercrime is expected to cost businesses more than $10 trillion in 2025, but it’s not just international corporations that are at risk. If you’re using a mobile device, smartphone or computer, always ensure you have robust defenses in place.
About the author inspiring this article:
Shelly Zev @shellyzev (they/them) is a writer, editor, librarian, and publishing consultant. When they are not supporting their clients or working on their next book, they can be found traveling, with their trusted laptop in hand.
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May/June 2024 | Life Lovers Magazine.
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