10 Stress Management Tips for Work-Life Balance

As it's mental health awareness week, I would like to share some habits and systems I have in place to help me feel and function at my best. I use these to help with my work-life balance.

I'm by no means an expert in this field however the following has worked for me in creating a healthy lifestyle.

These habits and behaviours have been added in and developed over a period of time. This spans from throughout my time at university and into my professional career.  

The transition from uni to work made me realise how important it is to have balance and remain on top of your stress. Speaking up and taking action is always a good place to start.

I can't guarantee these will all be relevant to you however I hope at least one can be helpful in some form. Here's what I do:

1. Exercise regularly - this one doesn't need an explanation. Keeps your mind and body healthy.
2. Spend time with family and friends - have fun and a laugh! Let them know how you're feeling and talk about it.
3. Schedule time to relax and unwind every day - reading or listening to books and podcasts, meditation and journaling are staples of my daily life. Writing down what is causing you to stress, your thoughts and feelings in your daily life can be helpful.
4. Schedule breaks at work - I find this helps improve my productivity. It also helps your brain recharge. You could even use this time to...
5. Go outside - being in nature can be invigorating. If you work at a desk during the day it'll benefit you're body too! Even in Scotland where the weather isn't great, I make sure to go and get some fresh air. It's a perfect time to listen to a few cheesy tunes!
6. Get enough sleep - 7 to 9 hours will benefit you massively in the long run. Avoiding screens before bed will improve the quality of your sleep.
7. Set a definite finishing time at work - lets you go home and spend time with your family or have some leisure time.
8. Learn something new - this could be a language, coding, cooking or in my case, writing.
9. Eat well - whole foods such as meats, fruit and veg to get all the macro and micronutrients your body needs. Food is fuel.
10. Drink plenty of water - drinking a pint of water at each meal time gets 1.5L of water. Another pint at some point during the day and you've got 2L.

There it is! What do you do to keep on top of your workload? Whether that be completely different to what I've mentioned or similar I'd be excited to hear.