How do these professionals juggle their work and personal lives, and what tips do they have for others struggling to find balance?
With many professionals experiencing the hybrid business landscape, work-life balance has become a very real, tangible challenge. While work from home offers the benefits of having more time with the family, reduced commuting and more flexibility, boundaries can become blurred.
There are only so many hours in a day.
From personal self-care, to dedicated workspaces and routines, we got the lowdown on how successful business leaders and entrepreneurs frame their day, and their time, to manage their business and personal lives – successfully.
Poppy Kypreos
Founder: Litralearn
As a full-time primary school teacher, having an intensive social life between friends and family, whilst also working on publishing multiple children’s books, it can be tough to balance. I have tried a lot of different ways, but I have found the best strategy is through my diary.
I’ve tried using digital diaries and I would always get lost in them. But having a hardcopy that I’ve colour-coded has helped me a lot. It reminds me to have “even” colours every day, that way I make sure that I am always balancing my friends, family, career, aspirations, and personal to-do lists. My best tip for other professionals would be to similarly colour-code each area of their life to track at a glance, whether this be as a hardcopy or digital; it always keeps me organised.
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Anastasios Kalfoglou
Director of APAC: dmarcian
Being a fully remote worker, I struggled with this in the beginning. Do not work in any living areas. Having a dedicated work room has allowed me to separate from my work after hours. I check emails on my phone occasionally outside of work hours, and will flag the email if it requires a follow up, however I do not respond.
Creating a routine and strictly adhering to it, I enter the office at 9am and leave at 5pm. Working with people across different time zones, I will occasionally have a meeting either in the early morning or at night. I will take these meetings when required. If there is a follow up email needed, I inform the person on the other side that “as it is after hours right now, I will be following up in the morning if that’s ok.” Everyone is human, many have families or other personal commitments, they understand when I tell them this.
Sticking to your routine will make you more efficient in your work, as you know you have a set amount of time to complete your tasks. Saying “I’ll do this later” usually ends in you pulling out the laptop at 9pm.
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Anisha Anandh
Program Facilitator and Founding Member of the Youth Advisory Council: The ASE Group
Balancing work and personal life, especially as a 16-year-old entrepreneur juggling school, can be challenging. Along the way, I’ve learnt that it’s beyond important to make sure that I’m intentionally making the time for “me-time”, where I would just do something enjoyable that is completely detached from school or work to relax and recharge my mind.
If there’s some advice that I can impart to others, it’d be to instil the knowledge in your mind that regardless of what happened yesterday, you get a clean slate today. And if you don’t do something you wanted to do today, then you can do it tomorrow.
It’s beyond important to have a good routine so you ensure that you’re taking the time for your mental health and wellbeing. So be kind to yourself, prioritise your well-being, and remember that a successful and fulfilled work-life integration starts with a healthy mind and a healthy body.
