How to Achieve Work-life Balance as a Designer

What is work life balance?

Work life balance is the ratio between time spent staring at the computer and time spent on friends, family, and hobbies. It has become a huge topic as of late, especially as people switch between remote work and working in the office. Its importance has become a growing concern in North America as more and more employees are being tied down by work related commitments and responsibilities.

Multiple European countries have catered favourably to work life balance and have been practicing it for many years and thriving, should we adopt those same ideologies?

Climbing that corporate ladder can sometimes lead to burnouts. So how can we accomplish that perfect ratio between working and ourselves?

Nick Morrison, unsplash

Keeping your Creativity

In the design industry employees can easily fall victim to “burning out”. Creativity and passion are emotional traits that take up a lot of energy. Creativity cannot be a mindless or a tedious task, it is constantly driving and needs attention, easy given the right motivation and passion. In the design industry a designer must be creative and must constantly be using and fuelling their creativity – it’s who they are, but can be exhausting when over worked.

How do we fuel the creativity after a burnout?

Designers and other creative workers need breaks, some more than others. Instead of getting increasingly frustrated, take a moment to think about anything else or not think at all. Shut it all away and close the door until it bursts open again, it will always come back, it’s just a matter of time. Find inspiration anywhere and everywhere, take a walk or scroll through Pinterest, we all do it.

Enjoy your work and workspace

The key to work life balance is you must enjoy – to a degree – both aspects, otherwise one will always outweigh the other. If you enjoy your work, fantastic, but too much may cause a burn out. On the other hand, too much life…well that is no way to make money – at least not for all of us.

Make your space your own, either at home or at the office. It is important to create a working atmosphere that inspires and focusses you, whatever that might be.

A plant or two will increase and purify the oxygen in your workspace, and good coffee is always a must.

Ben Kolde, unsplash

Work life balance is a choice

If done correctly you’re in for a wonderful life. Give yourself a break, reset and think… is there something I am unhappy with or need to adjust? Can I make any improvements or am I already spot on? Don’t work overtime if you don’t need to, hit your deadlines while at the same time hit personal goals and milestones. Creating this atmosphere will lead to more happiness, workplace security, and give you a more positive outlook on life.