Based on my personal experience, I strongly felt like talking about this topic. It’s been two years since I started working and I’ve learned so much during this time period. Job life in Pakistan is not easy as it seems like. People here, literally struggle with maintaining a balance between their professional and personal life. They don’t know where to draw the line between these two and then most people end up experiencing the worst case scenarios.
Keeping this in mind, I want to share a few tips regarding how to maintain this balance. It’s not like I’m a full fledged expert in these sort of advises but I just want to share my opinions and suggestions.
- Once you enter into this life, start dividing your professional & personal gathering. Keep them separate. The moment you blur the lines, you’ll start experiencing the after affects eventually. This helps in keeping a clear perspective and you are able to decipher what to share with whom.
- You have to set some moral rules as soon as you start working professionally. Believe me, your personal life will depend on these set of rules. In a way, it will be beneficial for your sake. You are entitled to live your life the way you want outside of your job description.
- Don’t show your true-self during office hours, as it’s your work space not personal. Trust me you won’t feel comfortable with it. Yes! you’ll have to pretend to be someone you are not and it will be exhausting. I experienced it myself but with time you get used to it. The main thing is not to lose focus of who you are. What’s the reason behind it? People take advantage of you.
- If you can, keep separate contact numbers for your personal and professional use.
- Professional friendships are just for the sake of work. It is very rare when you find a genuine mentor or a friend in this sort of cut throat environment. I somehow found a few people like that and am very grateful to have them in my life. Still, beware of the snakes around you.
- It is important to have a passion/hobbies outside of your work life. If you don’t have it yet, then find it, develop a hobby or else you’ll just burn out. These sort of things help you in maintaining your stress level and bring you inner peace. You are able to relax after 9 hours of mental labor.
- Distance yourself from place gossips and avoid disclosing personal information with colleagues.
There are so many points that can be added here but the key is to maintain your work ethics and take out time for your personal goals as well. Yes! At first it was hard for me in balancing both but eventually, I learned over time. It needs a lot of patience and constant practicing to achieve a sort of balance.
How did I learn all of this in two years? I observed, silently and staying fully conscious about the things happening around me. You have to understand that each individual’s experience is different. The timeline for achieving this balance varies too. But don’t worry, take your time in observing your work place dynamics and your personal routine. Then only you will be able to implement it.
Hope this post helped you gain a clear perspective. Let me know in the comments below as to how do you keep a balanced life?