Categories: Balance

Balancing Your Career And Your Social Life: Can You Do It?

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re neglecting an area of your life? Is it possible to have both a successful career and a booming social life? Many women feel as though they have to choose between being sociable and being career-driven. You will never be happy if only one area of your life is complete. A career girl will always long for a large social circle. Whilst a social butterfly will always wish, she’d tried harder in her professional life.

There is no magical answer that will help you balance these two opposing areas of your life. You can’t be in two places at once, so sometimes you are going to need to choose. The key is to balance your decisions. Always choosing work will leave you lonely and sad, but always choosing to socialize won’t help your career. Find a happy medium between the two. Here are just a few tips to help you with the balancing act that is your modern life.

Define Your Work Life And Your Social Life
You need boundaries in your life. Always socializing with your colleagues will mean that you are always talking and thinking about work. Try and define the two aspects of your life in a clear way. Socialize with people outside work, so that you can get a real break from your day to day stresses. Ensure that whilst you are at work you are not distracted by outside things. When you step into the office, you should leave your personal life behind. Don’t worry about what happened at the weekend or what your dinner plans are. Clear your mind and focus on the task at hand. When the day is over, you’ll still have time to think.

Know What Will Help You In The Long-Run
Figure out what you want to happen in the future and work towards that. If work is the most-important thing to you then, you will need to choose work engagements more often than social arrangements. Keep reminding yourself of your decision and why it is important to you. It is easy to block out our goals when we want to go out and have fun, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of what we want.

Cut Social Corners When You’re Busy
When you’re short of time, you can still spare a thought for your friends. Cutting social corners doesn’t mean that you neglect your friends. Instead, find quicker and more efficient ways of showing your friends you care. For example, at Christmas why not send your friends eCO2 Greetings ecards? Sending wishes via email takes half the time of writing out cards, but the sentiment is still there. The point is that no matter how little or how much time you have to spare you make an effort to remember your friends.

Have Mini-Dates Between Work
Never mind having a social life as a career girl, how about dating? Dating is almost impossible when you are trying to establish a career for yourself. You would like to have a partner, but finding the time to date is almost impossible. Try having mini-dates with potential partners, rather than dedicating an entire evening it. Find people who also work long hours and suggest the idea. A mini-date will mean that you savour every second of the date, rather than sitting around feeling bored. Make sure that you use your time well. Ask as many questions as you can think of on the date and try to connect in a short period.

Make The Most Of Your Waking Hours
How many hours do you sleep per night? The chances are you sleep in the region of seven to nine hours every night. You only need around six hours sleep per night to function well. Think about what you could do with an extra hour or three every single day. When you are trying to balance a hectic work schedule and a busy social life, you need all the hours you can get. Decreasing the amount you sleep will make you feel healthier than oversleeping. It will also give you extra hours during the day.

 

Mavian Arocha-Rowe

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Mavian Arocha-Rowe

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