Most people have heard the saying, “All work and no play, makes Jack and dull boy.”  However, most people in America today do nothing but work.  America has turned into a society of workaholics, where the eight hour workday is now more like a 10 or 12 hour workday.  This means that you spend more of your life trapped inside an office with a bunch of strangers than do with your own family.

Working 50 and 60 hour work weeks is unhealthy.  It leaves you almost no time for exercise, as well as what is most important in life—enjoyment.  At some point in the last 20 years we’ve become a nation of workaholics.  This has destroyed our ability to have structured and stable home lives, as well as develop relationships with our children.  It also leads to stress and is partly to blame for the anxiety and depression problems that are beginning to run rampant in this country.

It is time that people stopped doing what society dictates.  Money is not everything—though it is important—but is the overtime pay from a few extra hours of work each week going to make that much of a difference to your finances once Uncle Sam gets done taking his share?  Not really.

Work is not everything either.  It’s great if you manage to find a job that becomes your passion and you absolutely love doing it; however, this is not generally the case for most people.  Yet most people still allow their job to dictate their life usually over the money factor.

Balancing Work

Here is the bottom line when it comes to work: work is work, and nothing more.  Working enables you to pay the bills and have some nice things in life.  You shouldn’t allow it to be your life.  While it is understandable that events are going to arise where you will need to work a couple of extra hours, don’t let it become a habit, and don’t let your job take advantage of you to the detriment to your own personal life.

If you constantly volunteer for overtime because you’re worried about losing your job or getting a promotion, then you need stop.  Everyone is replaceable, and in most states employers don’t need any reason to fire you.  In addition, many employers today don’t care how many hours you spend in the office when it comes to promotions.

Unfortunately, it’s not what you know but who you know.  For these reasons, there is no point in obsessing about your job.  If you tell your boss you’re not going to be available to work 60 hours a week and he/she doesn’t like it, you can always work somewhere else.  Never allow yourself to feel trapped or miserable in any job.  There are always other opportunities.

You should only let yourself work 40 hours per week the majority of the time.  Too much time is already spent working as it is, so don’t do any more than you need to.  Also, make sure and take your lunch breaks, but don’t spend them in the office.  Get outside and get away from the office for an hour.  You’ll find that it relieves the monotony of the day.

Balancing Life

Once you’ve put in your eight hours for the day you need to spend time doing what life was created for—enjoyment.  If you have kids then spend time with them, help them with their homework, read with them, play videogames—anything, just interact with them.  They’ll thank you for it when they are older. If you have a favorite pastime then take part in it, whatever it is.  Also spend time with your wife or girlfriend and your friends. 

Make sure and use all of your vacation time each year.  You don’t necessarily have to take any big trips; heck, you could lie around the house all week.  Just make sure and take the time off.  If you get sick days make sure and use all of them every year, even if you aren’t sick.  Take a mental health day when work is stressful.  They’re your sick days and sometimes you can’t help but be sick of work, so use them up.

Helpful Tips to Manage a Healthy Work/Life Balance

Don’t try to do it all in a day

Don’t put the pressure of unmanageable deadlines on yourself.  Only schedule in those tasks that you know you will be able to accomplish in a given day, but which you can accomplish while working at a comfortable and stress free pace.

Tell people no

This tip is a corollary of the one above.  Oftentimes people overload themselves with work because they are afraid to tell people “no” for fear of losing a client or making an enemy at the office.  However, you might be surprised to find that people don’t get upset when you tell them “no.”  Just give them an honest reason for your “no” and then tell them when you will be able to get what they want done.  Don’t let other people dictate your schedule!

Don’t strive for perfection

Humans are not perfect; thus, you will never be perfect.  You don’t have to waste time on projects obsessing over the minor details that only you’re aware of.  Do what is required to get a job done, and if you have a little extra time, then you can try and take your work up a notch, but don’t create more work and overtime for yourself by doing so.  Remember, when five o’clock hits, it’s time to go.

If you subject yourself to work all the time then you’re subjecting yourself to a miserable and uneventful life.  We only get around 80 years on this planet, so don’t waste all of them trapped inside a cubicle.  Make sure and give yourself ample time to have fun doing whatever it is you like to do so that there are no regrets when you’re lying on your death bed.  Money is not going to make you happy.  Your free time is going to make you happy.

About the Author - David Benton is a freelance writer and the sole owner of DM Writing and Editing Services (http://www.dmweservices.com/). He lives in the Central Valley of California with his wife and two dogs. He can be reached at dm42603 [at] aol.com.