Advice For Workaholics: 12 Helpful Ways To Attain Work-Life Balance

August 5, 2019

Society has evolved to a point where business people occasionally post 80-hour weeks in search of success. Consistent abuse of one's body in such a way can lead to burnout—not to mention, destroy the quality of a person's life. Profits and reaching goals are consequential, but so are health and well-being.

Workaholics can be a danger to themselves, and the more they dedicate toward success, the less they have remaining to help them achieve proper balance in life. To help workaholics deal with unhealthy habits, 12 members of Forbes Coaches Council outline a few strategies to avoid overwork and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

1. Take Time To Rest

Take time to rest to grow at work. It's similar to getting stronger when we lift weights. Our muscles grow because after tearing the muscle fibers while lifting more weight, they fuse together when we rest to form new muscle. The issue is being able to rest. So, build in a 15-30-minute transition period after work such as journaling or walking to decompress, make better choices and choose rest. - Rosie Guagliardo, InnerBrilliance Coaching

2. Identify Your Behaviors

Daily identification of behaviors and activities that are expending valuable energy and those that create value, growth and opportunity is key to work-life balance. Employees who are disciplined and courageous in their daily routine, who have a high sense of self-awareness and manage their energy daily realize higher productivity over shorter periods of time, and higher levels of contentment. - Lori Harris, Harris Whitesell Consulting

3. Quiet Your Mind And Cut 10 Hours

Working 80-hour weeks without proof that it’s working is insanity—especially at the cost of your health and family. In order to attain the right work-life balance, you have to learn to meditate and quiet your mind, taking breaks for silence and giving yourself the permission to realize that this is acceptable. You’ll be more productive for it, healthier for it and happier for it. Lastly, cut 10 hours! - Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience

4. Say ‘No’ Effectively

The ability to say "no" in a way that is well received is essential to ensuring a satisfying work-life balance. Consider: 1) Defining exactly your professional goals with the person doing your performance review. 2) Checking your motives before saying "no." 3) Thinking carefully about the words you choose when delivering the message. 4) Accepting incremental changes as you redefine boundaries. - Lisa Walsh, Bridgepath Career Advisors, LLC

5. Self-Evaluate And Decide What You Value Most

Take time to self-evaluate and identify what compels you to work so much. If you are motivated by fear—e.g. fear of losing money, not measuring up, not being needed, facing other parts of your life, etc.—it’s time to start looking at what you value most and what is missing. If the motivators are joy and fulfillment, examine how creating balance and time for other activities can bring even more joy. - Andrea MacKenzie, Lead With Harmony

6. Make It Fun And Involve Family

Let's face it, some people are going to work 80 hours. The question really is, how to avoid burnout. My wife and I own an equestrian business, we both have full-time jobs and we run two nonprofits. We love what we do and much of it we do together. This makes it less work and more fun. Plus, we work with horses and they're very therapeutic. If you're going to work hard, involve family and have fun! - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises

7. Learn The 80/20 Rule

Workaholics benefit by learning the 80/20 rule—how 20% of what they do can achieve 80% impact when they align their actions to the goals. To show them how to achieve this alignment, I share Dr. Sara Lazar's research on how 20 minutes of meditation a day will help them relax and become more clear-minded. As they begin to make better choices, they let go of overexerting themselves. - Susan K. Wehrley, BIZremedies

8. Outsource Some Of The Work

Team "no sleep" is overrated! What is the point in putting in 80 hours a week if you are not able to enjoy the fruits of your labor? Learn how to delegate by hiring a virtual assistant or utilizing Upwork or Fiverr to get some of your mediocre tasks done. This will help you be able to utilize your time on more profit-driven tasks and increase your bottom line. - Stephannie Addo, Dr. Stephannie Addo Enterprises

9. Eliminate Your Future Regrets

Enjoying what you do for work is healthy. However, no one wants to look back and feel they missed on the other aspects of life and living. Oftentimes, workaholics regret not taking deliberate action to experience those other aspects. Wake up each morning and identify one thing you're going to do that will add balance to your life today. Eliminate your future regrets one day at a time. - Sarah Spradlin, DBA, Vitruvian Advantage

10. Track Your Vital Signs

What is the first thing that happens when you have a medical appointment? Somebody checks your vital signs. If you are putting in crazy hours, sitting all the time and potentially jeopardizing your health, you need to stop and fix it. If, however, you are being monitored like a patient and it is all good, then you may be OK. But don't fool yourself. Crazy work hours often lead to health challenges. - John M. O'Connor, Career Pro Inc.

11. Take Time For Reflection

Reflection, meditation, whatever you might call it, is a crucial tool in my management kit. Even if for only 10 minutes per day, find a time every day to stop what you're doing and just sit quietly. The very act of quieting down for a few moments will help you to see more clearly what is important, what is not and will likely lead to new ideas about how to solve a problem you've been facing. - Aric Wood, XPLANE

12. Balance With Play

The most important advice I give to workaholic clients is to recognize that we can't be our most productive at work if we don't engage in productive self-care away from work. This means making time to nurture body, mind and spirit. It means adequate sleep, fun, food and activities that take our minds completely away from work. To perform our best at work, we must take time to rejuvenate. - Barrett McBride, Ph.D., MCC, Barrett McBride & Associates