How Technology Can Help Your Work-Life Balance
When it comes to achieving an optimal work-life balance, technology can both help and hinder your efforts.
On the one hand, technology makes it difficult to fully switch off from work. Increased levels of connectivity mean there is pressure to be ‘always available’ and responsive. When we use the same device for our work and personal needs, this pressure only grows.
On the other hand, there are many work-life enhancements offered by tech. We can connect and collaborate with our team in any place, any time in exciting new ways by leveraging powerful apps. We can access new information at any time, and the answers to all our questions are just a quick search away.
So how do we utilize technology to ensure the impact on our work-life balance is a positive one?
Set Your Ideal Schedule With Remote Work
One of the main problems with traditional ways of working is the sheer amount of our life work takes up.
For example, did you know that the average American will spend over 150 hours a year (that’s 19 full work days!) driving to and from work?
Also, despite the average workday lasting around 8 or 9 hours, many people are only productive for three of those?
All things considered, the traditional model of work wastes a lot of time and is inefficient.
Work from home statistics show that technology is opening up the opportunities provided by remote work for more and more people.
Whether working for a company on a remote basis, starting a business, or simply taking some days out of the week to work from home, remote work is enabling people to work at the times that suit them best.
Studies have shown that remote workers are often happier and more motivated than their traditional work counterparts.
If you’re struggling to achieve a healthy work-life mix, see if remote work could tip the balance back in your favor.
Give Yourself A Break From Never-ending Work Communication
A major cause of work-life stress for many people is the never-ending flood of communication.
This is especially true for people who operate across multiple time zones. For those people, they may end up receiving emails around the clock from people in various countries.
In the old days, communication was not so constant. There might have been work faxes, but outside the office, you didn’t have to think about your job nearly as much.
So how do we fight back against the intrusion into our personal lives that ceaseless notifications represent?
You may consider adopting more asynchronous collaboration methods within your team to reduce the need for instant feedback and constant screen-checking.
Besides changing the way you work, using a dedicated app for work communication is an effective solution for many people. This not only provides all of the specialist features and benefits you would expect from a business-focused app but also allows you to simply switch it off when you need some downtime.
Even if you don't have the luxury of using a dedicated work comms app, you can still take charge. Set up your inbox in a way that filters particular messages at particular times, or limits your notifications to certain times of the day.
Too much work communication can have a serious impact on your physical and mental health. Take proactive steps to let yourself feel relaxed and recharged.
Improve Your Health & Behaviour In and Out of Work
A lot of attention is given to the negative side of tech. People worry about addictive apps and the fact that social media can have a severe impact on self-esteem.
However, we need to remember it's not all bad. We are in charge! We can choose to select apps that improve our health and behavior, rather than hurting it.
Modern smartphones have a range of features and capabilities for helping your health.
If you’re feeling particularly stressed out, you can use the heart rate monitor found on many phones to focus on calming down measurably and visibly. You can access meditation apps that have been proven to help health, and track your time to ensure you are spending it on the things that matter the most to you (not to mention improving those hours of productivity).
Organization aims and goals can help you manage the various tasks and responsibilities you have, preventing the feeling of personal and professional overwhelm that can result from an out of control work-life balance. For example, you can easily find a solution to forgotten appointments using appointment reminders, whether they be over text, email or voice messages.
If you ever find yourself fretting about the negative impact of technology on your health and work-life balance, take a moment to reflect. Proactively take charge of your devices and apps, choosing only those which help your personal and professional lives exist in a healthy equilibrium.
Seek Out New Skills and Opportunities
While even the best jobs require you to have sufficient time away from work, typically you are a lot less affected by work-life balance issues if you’re doing something you love.
In days gone by, becoming more skilled at your work often involves going on training courses out of town or away from the office. Many people found these to be a waste of time — or at least an inefficient and expensive way of learning.
Nowadays, you can quickly learn almost any skill out there from your smartphone by checking out various online course platforms. If you want to feel more competent at your work, it’s never been easier to acquire new abilities.
Also, if your job is unhealthy to the point where no amount of work-life rebalancing would fix things, you can seek out new opportunities from around the world with a couple of touches of your smartphone screen.
While it’s important to be aware of the ways that technology can potentially lead to unhealthy levels of work, it’s also good to remind ourselves of the freedom and opportunity it grants. It’s all about taking control of your time, and monitoring how it is spent.
Thanks to modern technology, you never need to feel stuck. That’s something to be grateful for.
Will You Take Control?
Hopefully, you now see that there are plenty of ways that technology can make a meaningful, positive difference to our work-life balance.
So, will you take control? Will you refuse to feel controlled by your smartphones and apps, and instead find ways to limit their negative impact on your life?
Ultimately, technology is only a tool. It’s down to us to ensure tech plays a positive role in our life.
Your wellbeing is too important to leave to chance. Take charge today, and force the tech you use to play a positive role in your work-life balance.
About the Guest Author
Andreyana Kulina is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Brosix, specializing in Content marketing and outreach strategies. Besides her passion for digital marketing, she likes hiking and mountain-biking.
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