Why work-life balance is vital to success

As published on Thrive Global .

Imagine my surprise sitting in a course from a well-known PR guru when they happily announced to everyone, “There is no such thing as work-life balance if you want to succeed.”

As a person who takes work-life balance seriously and encourages it, you can imagine the look of horror that appeared on my face after hearing this, especially when coming from an individual who is supposed to be an expert in their field. 

If it’s one thing I’ve learned about success, it’s that it goes hand in hand with a healthy work-life balance. If you don’t get this formula right, you will suffer from burnout, anxiety and be in a negative space mentally. 

So how does one get their work-life balance right and succeed?

It all comes down to prioritizing and time management. And believe me when I tell you if it’s two things I know well: prioritizing and time management are it.

As a freelance writer, children’s author, and presenter, you can imagine how full my days and weeks look. I often get up at odd hours of the day and night to meet with clients overseas, read my books to children in schools worldwide, or be interviewed for different publications. 

All of this takes time and effort, which requires me to prioritize my tasks to ensure I have a healthy work-life balance, and you do too. 

There is nothing worse than sitting at a desk with feelings of anxiety and job burnout. Giving so much to a job that you don’t stop and smell the roses, as they say, is detrimental to one’s health, wellbeing and success.

If you want to succeed, you need to have a work-life balance. A healthy work-life balance will enable your mind to operate at greater capacity and achieve your goals.

If you struggle to prioritize your schedule, break down your tasks into smaller tasks and tick them off as you go along. It would help if you also learned to set boundaries which means ensuring you set limits on your work time and switch off when that allocated time comes around. 

And yes, that means not even checking your work emails!

Switching completely off is needed if you truly want to have the work-life balance you crave. For me, that means absolutely no phone calls or emails. I use that time for me and me only.  

Times have well and truly changed; gone are the days of slaving away at the office. Instead, the modern era is about having a positive relationship with your job, workplace, and self. 

Of course, there will always be people who disagree with this connotation, including experts like the PR guru I mentioned at the start of this article. 

In saying that, if working twenty-four hours a day makes you happy, then good for you, but for the rest of the people who understand the importance of having a work-life balance, I am here to tell you it is still very much possible to succeed when putting your needs and self first.

Is that selfish of a person? No, because we all need to take care of our health and wellbeing.

I didn’t get to where I need to be by sitting still, but I did do it by having a positive mindset and work-life balance.

If you are an expert or leader in your field, it would be helpful to educate staff on the importance of having a work-life balance, particularly for those entering the workforce for the first time. 

I was fortunate enough to work with a phenomenal leader who understood staff needs and led by example, including highlighting the importance of having a healthy work-life balance.

Regardless of where you are in your career, you need to know that prioritizing your mental health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance to succeed. 

People say success comes at a price, but I beg to differ. Success is about living life on your terms, doing what you love, and not sacrificing yourself.

So, take it from me when I tell you, you can succeed and very much have a healthy work-life balance while achieving anything you want to!