Contracting offers lots of flexibility and variety, but how do you make sure you don’t over-stretch yourself so you can actually enjoy your down time? Take a look at our top tips to help you manage that work life balance.
Emails
Have a separate work e-mail from your personal e-mail. As well as promoting a more professional approach with a standard e-mail address, having 2 separate accounts for work and personal use will help you to keep away from the work e-mails once you’re at home. Turn off notifications for your work e-mail account at a certain time each night and relax knowing you can catch up on any missed messages in the morning.
Notifications
Switch off those notifications. Don’t access your work e-mails or voicemails when you’re not working. Not every message or e-mail requires an immediate response, and always being on call won’t help you to relax. Turn off notifications for your work contacts – most things won’t be that urgent that it needs to be dealt with there and then!
Routine
Get into a routine and stick to it. It can a take a few weeks for new routines to stick, so perseverance is key. It can be easy to slip back into old ways but sticking to your new routine will help you keep your work life and home life separate.
Work space
Keep your work space separate. Where possible, always have a separate space for your work when you need to work from home. It can be hard to switch off if your paperwork is all over the dining table when you want to sit down for a meal with the kids, and you will only be tempted to sort it out again once they’ve gone to bed. Having a separate space to work can help you to see the difference between work and home.
If you don’t have the room for a separate space for your work things, make sure your work things are packed away neatly and out of sight once you’ve finished for the day.
Time off
Take time off. It’s not always easy to take breaks from work but having regular breaks from work will help to keep your stress levels down, meaning when you are working you are much more focused and effective.
How can The Wage Shop help?
By trusting The Wage Shop to take care of the financial side of things, you can focus on relaxing, knowing all your Income Tax and National Insurance obligations are being met. As an employee of The Wage Shop, you are also covered by our Insurance Policy. Take a look at our website and see what we can do for you as a Contractor and what services we can offer Agencies. Use our Live Chat feature to get in touch or Contact Us for more information.