5 Ways to Balance Work-Life Stress

A healthy work-life balance is key to productivity and enjoying your life as a busy professional. As the publisher of The Afford, I manage a lot of moving parts  –content creation, subscribers, advertising, collaborations, social media. My work hours are not your typical 9-5 so I need to find ways to balance a busy schedule and minimize fatigue.

Here are a few ways to balance work life:

Socialize. My job has me exclusively working form home with little physical interaction. Communication is almost always done via text or email. As humans we are built to be social and need deeper interaction. I will meet friends for coffee, dinner, or drinks to chat face to face with others. Sometimes I even pick up the phone to have a conversation.

Brain dump. Having a lot of "to-do" items and new ideas on my mind is a burden. At the end of the day I empty my mind by writing it all down in the notes app on my phone.

Mandatory lunch & exercise. Everyday I unplug at noon to go for a walk and follow it with a healthy lunch - no screens or communication for 45 minutes. It's important to take relax your mind and exercise your body.

Plan your day the night before. It's not productive to start your day with an overwhelming amount of things to try and accomplish. I find I accomplish very little, when I am overwhelmed. Each night I write down the things I need to accomplish the following day and get to work as soon as I finish making a cup of coffee.

Read for pleasure. Reading is a great exercise for the mind. Work-related reading will cause my mind to wander and idealize (sometimes this is good). If I need a break from work, I choose books that have nothing to do with my professional life.