5 Productivity Hacks for Better Work-Life Balance - Your Career Intel

5 Productivity Hacks for Better Work-Life Balance - Your Career IntelWork-life balance its a top goal for most professionals, but many including myself struggle to achieve it. As technology continues to blur the lines between our partieal and professional lives, its sometimes hard to tell where the workday ends and our personal lives begin. While company culture certainly plays a role in work-life balance, theres plenty you can do yourself to take back your time and prioritize the things that matter.When I first started my career, I didnt work efficiently. I was putting in long hours at the bro and while the work would get done, I struggled to find time for anything outside my professional responsibilities. When I took a step back and looked at how I spent those hours, I realized I was losing significant time to smaller, non-urgent tasks that nonetheless seemed important at the time. I began researching productivity hacks to better structure and manage my time both in and out of th e office.One thing Ive learned over the years? Everyone has a different rhythm, and whats effective for one person may not be for the next. Heres what works for mePrioritize professional and personal non-negotiables.Non-negotiables are the tasks that need to happen each day to meet essential professional and personal needs. At the start of each day, take a few minutes to identify your non-negotiables and then block time to achieve them. For example, if youre working on a major work assignment but frustrated by constant emaille distractions, turn off your email and block time to focus on a single key deliverable.Personal non-negotiables are just as important, and prioritizing ansicht are critical to finding work-life balance. If youre a parent, this could mean structuring your workday so you can make your childs soccer game or share a family dinner at home. Determining daily non-negotiables also brings clarity to which tasks arent as important but can feel urgent in the moment, makin g it easier to block time and focus on what really matters.Stick to the same schedule.Snoozing the alarm clock for 30 minutes and then running out of bed in a panic every morning starts your day on a chaotic tone. Some folks are naturally early risers and others find their peak productivity is mid-afternoon or early evening. Dont try to force yourself to become a morning person if its never going to happen. Instead, find the schedule that works for you and stick to it.I feel best when Im up early and have time to organize my morning. Ive also found that if I fail to prioritize an early bedtime, I wake up feeling foggy and sleep-deprived, which can throw off my whole day. Sticking to the same general schedule each day keeps my body on a consistent rhythm. Not only do I feel energized throughout the day, but I also know when Ill be most effective at tasks that require analytic or creative thinking so I can prioritize my time accordingly.Schedule time for personal odds and ends.At work , were part of a team and this accountability structure holds us to deliverable deadlines theres no hiding if you dont get the job done At home, however, its easy to let the little things slide. We put off opening mail, organizing bills, scheduling doctor appointments or updating shared calendars until these tasks reach a critical tipping point and consume an entire Sunday afternoon. My strategy set aside 15 minutes one day a week to knock out your personal odds and ends. This keeps your to-do list from backing up and prevents personal distractions from creeping into your leisure time or spilling over into the office.Find the productivity tool that works for you.Whether you prefer digital solutions like Wunderlist, Evernote and Google Calendars or a tried-and-true day planner or desk calendar, find a solution that works for you. Sometimes the best productivity tools are the simplest. I experimented with several different tools before settling on Google Calendars since they let me st ay in sync with my familys schedule. When choosing a tool, think about your big-picture needs and challenges. Do you frequently forget about smaller tasks? A built-in reminder system can help. Are you juggling multiple schedules for your family? A single shared Google calendar is a simple, free solution for keeping everyones schedules in sync.Set aside time to declutter. Just like scheduling personal odds and ends, regular decluttering is a time management essential. Studies show that visual clutter over-stimulates the brain, making it harder to focus. Even though you may feel like youre focused, visual clutter strains your brains mental resources so youre actually less productive and take longer to complete simple tasks. A disorganized desk space or home office makes it harder to process information and make decisions. I set aside 15 minutes at the end of every workday to tidy up loose ends so I walk in to a fresh, organized office each morning.What productivity hacks help you orga nize your time efficiently? I invite you to share your secrets in the comment sections below.

How To Pull Yourself Out Of A Social Media Blackhole At Work

How To Pull Yurself Out Of A Social Media Blackhole At Work Got five years to spare? Thats about how much time youll probably spend on social media in your lifetime.The scrolling and the clicking and the liking it adds up And its seemingly harder and harder to disconnect. Something that once started as a great way to keep in touch with faraway friends has morphed into a one-stop shop for information overload, with multiple hours worth of content on any subject your heart desires right at your fingertips, 24/7. Thats pretty powerful stuff.It makes sense that employers are growing mora and more concerned about how much time their employees spend on their smart phones throughout the workday. Like it or not, social media can be a bit of a time suck. Sure, it can be a really lovely, meaningful time suck at times, but often, its a lot of mindless wandering and exploring otherbei peoples highlight reels. I mean, raise your hand if youve ever gotten lost scrolling through InstagramThe next thing you know, youre fully up to speed on what your boyfriends cousins ex-boyfriends coworker did on her 2016 summer vacation. Yikes.And if that was, say, while you were at the office, theres a good chance that your time could have been better utilized by completing tasks on your to-do list, or interacting in in person with colleagues.Now thats not to say that using social media to take a mini breather during the middle of a stressful day is negative, because it can be a helpful release, and an easy way to turn the page in our brain for a moment. But for some of us, it can become a tempting distraction thats tough to ignore. especially when were staring into the face of another spreadsheet, or fighting anxiety from a client email.If you feel like youre losing yourself to social media during the workday, here are a few easy ways to impose some discipline and create new habits1. Delete your favorite social media apps from your phone.This is probably the easiest way to avoid social me dia during the workday, like ripping off a bandaid. It forces you to go cold turkey unless, of course, you feel comfortable visiting the sites from your work computer. Word to the wise thats probably not the best option regardless of wasting time, especially if its a computer issued by your company.2. Create boundaries.Decide ahead of time for how long and when youll check your personal social media accounts. For example, maybe youll only check them on your lunch break plus once in the afternoon, during a five minute break to step outside.3. Put your phone away.Simple, right? Leave your phone in your bag, or place it in a drawer at your desk. Out of sight, out of mind. You could even go so far as to turn it off, unless you have other responsibilities that require it stay on (children, a job that necessitates receiving and making calls, etc.).4. platzset calendar reminders for work tasks.Use your work calendar to strategically remind you about priorities or projects you have to work on during the day. If you happen to be perusing social media when they pop up, youll be reminded of the millions of other things you have to do, boss lady.5. Use a timer.If all else fails and you feel like you must see whats going on over in social media land, use a timer (such as on your phone) to keep track of however long of a break you want to take, whether thats five minutes or 15. Once that buzzer goes off, though, its back to the grindstone.Trust us social media will still be there when your workday ends.--Joelle is a writer, editor, and registered yoga teacher living in southern California with a passion for celebrating the messiness of life through storytelling. She holds a MA in Journalism from New York University and loves a well-written sentence, brunch, and staying active. To read more of her writing, visit her websitewww.joellezarcone.com.