MANAGE YOUR WORK AND LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST !
For all of us working professionals , a typical
workday is long enough as it is, and technology is making it even longer. When you
finally get home from a full day at the office, your mobile phone rings incessantly,
emails keep pouring into your inbox from people who expect almost immediate
responses.
While most
people claim to disconnect as soon as they get home, recent research says
otherwise. A study conducted by the American Psychological Association found
that more than 50% of us check work email before and after work hours,
throughout the weekend, and even when we are sick. Even worse, 44% of us check
work email even during vacations.
Research
says that the expectation that people need to respond to emails during off-work
hours produces a prolonged stress response, called "Telepressure". Telepressure. ensures that you are never able to relax and
truly disengage from work. This prolonged state of stress is terrible for one’s
mental and physical well being. Besides increasing your risk of heart disease,
depression, and obesity, stress decreases your cognitive performance.
Hence, it is
necessary that we establish boundaries between our personal and professional
lives. When we don’t, our work, our health, and our personal lives suffer.
We need to
make the critical distinction between what belongs to your employer and what
belongs to you and stick to it. Below are some areas that need your attention .
If you don’t set boundaries around them and learn to say “No” to your boss,
you’re giving away something of immeasurable value.
Your Health. It’s difficult to know when
to set boundaries around your health at work because the decline is so gradual.
Allowing stress to build up, losing sleep, and sitting all day without
exercising all adds up. Before you know it, you’re rubbing your aching back
with one hand and your zombie-like eyes with the other, and you’re looking down
at your newly-acquired belly. The key here is to not let things sneak up on
you, and the way you do that is by keeping a consistent routine. Think about
what you need to do to keep yourself healthy (climbing stairs and avoiding elevators,
taking walks during lunch, not working on weekends, taking your vacations as
scheduled, etc.) Make a plan, and stick to it no matter what. If you don’t,
you’re allowing your work to overstep its boundaries.
Your Family. It’s easy to let your
family suffer for your work. Many of us do this because we see our jobs as a
means of maintaining our families. We have thoughts such as “My kids should get
all the facilities I did not get when I was young , I need to make more money
so that my kids can go to college debt-free. etc etc. ” Though these thoughts are well-intentioned,
they can burden your family with the biggest debt of all—a lack of quality time
with you. When you’re on your deathbed, you won’t remember how much money you
made for your family but the memories you created with them.
Your Identity. While your
work is an important part of your identity, it’s dangerous to allow your work
to become your whole identity. You know you’ve allowed this to go too far when
you reflect on what’s important to you and work is all that (or most of what)
comes to mind. Having hobbies and pursuing them is important . An identity
outside of work is about more than just having fun. It also helps you relieve
stress, grow as a person, and avoid burnout.
Bringing It
All Together
Success and
fulfilment often depend upon your ability to set smart boundaries. Once this is
achieved, everything else just falls into place.
Have experienced this personally...Very well written.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most meaningful blogs I've come across lately. Please keep them coming
ReplyDeleteWell written. We should b content in our life.then u can mange everything. This is my experience
ReplyDeleteVery well thought through. One can totally relate to this. We all need such reads from time to time.
ReplyDeleteRight time to set the boundary and save one's inner identities.
ReplyDeleteWell written blog!! With appropriate images!
ReplyDeleteBoundaries are definitely needed for oneself to avoid trespassing your quality family time.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting.. well said..
ReplyDeleteVery well written...keep it up
ReplyDeleteAll of us need to work on it.
Well said, Ramaa. Even I believe creating memories/spending quality time with our family is more important than money alone.
ReplyDeleteNice read. Will surely use some arguments here in our internal training for our staff.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you rama. We are always in the process of thinking about future that we forget to enjoy the present. We have to balance future (creating wealth for future)and present(quality time with family)
ReplyDeleteThanks to all of you for those encouraging words, we do need such reminders to keep our awareness in bay !
ReplyDeleteExpect more to come my way !!!
Excellent blog Ramaa,and so true and apt to modern times..I hope all of us make this crucial decision n start living for ourselves n be in the present.
ReplyDelete