Reduce Stress with These 6 Tips for Home & Work Balance

Life can get out of hand sometimes and it's easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle of doing too much both at work and home. Before long both get overwhelming and neither are happy. Here are three tips each to helping keep home and work balanced.

Home:

1.Learn to designate. Are there children in the home? Unless they're not yet crawling they can help around the home...designate! Having chores to do builds responsibility. Be sure to make it age appropriate. Even a 5 or 6 year old can help match socks ("what ones look alike/different?") and there's no reason a 10 year old can't wash dishes by hand or unload the dishwasher. Many of us did - and lived! If the only other one in the home has a tail - minimize the chores!

2.Organize. What can you do to make things 'flow' better? Be it laundry, cleaning or whatever make it your goal to make it better. Consider it a management issue! Give it just 15 minutes per day working on it.

3.Have an "off duty" area or room. This might be a bath escape or a place to read or a room to do a craft. This is the "do not disturb unless there's flames" area. Go there at least a half hour per day.

Work:

1.Learn to say no. If that looks tough learn to say NO! And mean it. NO you can't take on another 10 hour project due Monday on top of the 50 hours you're done this week. NO you can't donate just $5 to everyone who comes through the door asking. NO you can't blow off the kid's soccer game Saturday to work extra. There are times it's prudent to say yes but gauge it and learn to say no. Know your limits because others will push them and may not even be aware they're pushing them.

2.When you're at work devote the time to WORK! This may seem obvious but how easy is it to stop at a co-worker's desk for just a minute and a half hour later you're talking still. This not only costs your employer money but it sets back your work load. Give an honest effort at work and #1 will be much easier to say! Be efficient - find ways to do your job better, faster and with less interruptions.

3.Know your limits, and push your talents. If you're a talented design person use that! If there's something else you don't do so well pass or designate that. We all have talents and weaknesses. Take an honest look at yours and seek to use it wisely!

Keeping a balance is important. Not only does your mental health depend on it but physical health does too. Reducing stress makes a better and healthier YOU.