Do you want to have it all? You’re not alone. Most people – particularly young people – don’t want to sacrifice anything. Take having kids. A lot of couples want kids, but they want to make sure that they continue to advance in their career, climbing further and further up the ladder.
There is a heated debate about whether not promoting people who spend more time with their families instead of supporting their business is a form of discrimination. The jury is still out on that one. The good news is that there are steps that you can take to ensure that you don’t sacrifice one for the other. You can live your life and gain a solid footing in your career. Here are the choices that we recommend you explore to achieve this goal.
Follow A Schedule
First, you need to make sure that you are following a schedule in work and in your personal life. Following a set schedule that makes sense for you will ensure that you aren’t wasting time while also providing the key benefits you need in terms of productivity. There’s lots of technology and software that you can use these days to help you set the right schedule. You can plan everything out online and then follow it all down to a tee.
You could be working remotely and might even be operating on a freelance contract. If that’s the case, then you need to be careful that you don’t end up working unsociable hours. This can be catastrophic in the long term and cause you to encounter serious problems with energy levels as well other mental health issues. Instead, it’s in your best interest to try and work during a typical day routine.
Regardless of whether you are working for yourself or working for a company, putting the right amount of hours in will be key for advancement. You just need to make sure that this isn’t negatively impacting your personal life and that’s what the right schedule will guarantee.
Use Your Spare Time Wisely
Next, you should think about how to make sure that you are using your spare time the right way. Don’t be afraid of using at least some of your spare time to advance your career. This doesn’t need to be stressful or time consuming. You should aim to gain new qualifications and take additional courses to advance your career position. However, these days, you don’t have to head into college to gain benefits like this. Instead, you can decide to learn online and still gain the qualifications that will help you stand out when you pursue a new role in your chosen field, industry or sector. For instance, there are online CPE courses for accountants and similar online courses for other sectors such as medicine and healthcare. Indeed, due to the COVID pandemic, most learning can now be completed online.
Another way that you can use your spare time wisely is by planning out your next career move. Even if you are currently happy in a position or job, you need to be careful that you don’t stagnate. If this happens, then you can end up staying in a job far longer than were expecting or planning to. This can stunt your career to the point where you miss your original goals completely.
Just putting out feelers and exploring the different jobs and positions that are out there can be incredibly beneficial because it shows what else is available to you. This means that if anything ever does happen to your job or your position, then you will already have options that are worth exploring which could still be available on the market. You won’t be stuck.
Take Advantage Of Social Media
You might also want to consider taking advantage of social media. The best way to ensure that your career advancement isn’t taking up your spare time and eating into your personal life is to let it happen without you putting too much effort in. Something to be aware of is that these days, employers don’t always wait for people to apply for jobs. Instead, they go on the hunt for the people that they are interested in the most. But they can only do this if they are able to find you.
To guarantee that they can find you, it’s vital that you are active on as many social networks as possible. Everything from LinkedIn to Twitter could be important when guaranteeing that you are gaining the interest of a potential employer online. If you use social media the right way, you’ll find that you are quickly headhunted for the right positions.
Make Sure You Switch Off
You need to make sure that there is a clear distinction between the end of the work day and the beginning of your spare time. If you are working from home, operating remotely, or freelancing, this can be significantly more tricky. There are numerous reports of remote workers struggling to switch off which has become more significant due to the pandemic.
The good news is that there are easy steps to take here. You need to make sure that you are proactive about separating your work day and personal schedule. For instance, you should think about switching off all your tech devices related to work at the end of the day. As tempting as it may be to keep a check on your emails, they should wait until tomorrow. That way you can enjoy your evening with your friends, family members or even time to yourself in peace.
Avoid Sleep Deprivation
Finally, you should think about how to ensure that you are getting enough sleep each night. As mentioned, it’s important to make sure that you have enough energy for every aspect of your life. This includes both work and play. If you don’t have the right amount of energy then you’re going to be exhausted when you get in from work and you won’t be able to appreciate the spare time that you do have.
Getting the right amount of energy is always going to start with making sure that you do have the right level of sleep. There are lots of different things that can impact your sleep. For instance, you might find that you are struggling with sleep because of your night environment. For many people, it can be that simple. You should think about switching up aspects of your environment such as the mattress.
Most people assume that a mattress is a one-size fits all product, but this isn’t the case. In reality, everyone is different and some people will benefit from a firmer mattress because it will provide the back support that they need. You might fit into this category if you often wake up exhausted with significant back pain.
We hope this helps you understand everything that you need to consider to ensure that you advance your career while also enjoying your life to the full extent. If you take the right steps then there is no need to sacrifice one to guarantee the other.
Do be aware that this is often about making the most of the time you have. If you waste a lot of time throughout the day, then you’ll find that both your work and your personal life suffers equally. You won’t get the benefits that you hoped for from either of these parts of your life. If however, you remain productive, set yourself the right goals then will see tremendous advances in all areas of your life.
