Work-life balance – does it exist in the new COVID-19 world?

How to create better balance between work and life in the new COVID world

Life in the new COVID-normal world presents both challenges and opportunities to managing stress and work-life balance.

Recent research commissioned by NobleOak revealed that 30% of people spent more time working from home in 2021 due to Covid-19 compared to 28% the prior year. This suggests that working from home is becoming a long-term change for many of us. Unfortunately, we’re also drinking more (14% vs 9% the prior year).

Here are some tips to help you deal with the stress of working from home and balancing the other important aspects of your life.

Working towards reducing stress

Working long hours can lead to a less-than-balanced lifestyle as well as physical and mental stress and even exhaustion.

Keeping work stress at work and remembering to pay attention to your family and personal life is a step in the right direction.

By creating more balance in your life, you can help reduce your stress levels, that sense of being overwhelmed by life and the demands being placed on you. According to Health Direct stress is a normal human response to challenging situations. It can have a positive effect including being more alert and higher energy levels. Or it can result in a negative impact both physically and emotionally if you are stressed for a long period of time.

Tips for reducing stress include regular exercise, avoiding undue conflicts, relaxation, good diet, plenty of quality sleep and enjoying life.

Working from home

If you do work from home, it can be very easy for work and home boundaries to become blurred. This could be better managed by:

Setting up a home office for work use only
Switching off personal social media and email during work hours
Developing a strict schedule and routine for work at home where possible

Taking more control

Another way of achieving more work-life balance is to find ways to control more areas of your life. This can be achieved by doing a few of the following:

Setting goals
Improving time management, such as by redefining priorities
Creating a boundary between your work and personal life
Eating and sleeping well
Asking for help when you need it

Being active

Keeping active may be particularly beneficial for managing stress. We all know the benefits of regular exercise in helping to improve mood, sleep, energy levels and positivity, and also for relieving moderate depression. It doesn’t need to be complex or expensive either – a simple activity such as regular walking is a good place to start.

Eating well

A healthy diet ensures you have the right nutrients to cope with the demands of life. The connection between our gut, food and mental health is well researched revealing that a poor diet can result in mood swings and mental health. Nutrition Australia recommends eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes and wholegrains, along with healthy fats and oily fish whilst limiting consumption of highly processed foods and sugary drinks.

Do more of the things you enjoy

Having quality personal time for yourself, your family and friends is important for maintaining a balanced lifestyle and living well. If your life is lacking in this area, you may need to take a step back to focus on you and make time for the ones you love most.