I chose the word balance because 2018 was a super busy and transitional year for me professionally and personally. Life is about the ebbs and flows, so everyone at some stage can appreciate a little balance. Balance “is a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.”

We hear a lot about work-life balance and ways we can obtain it. Going into 2019, I decided to try something I had not used in the past called a time budget. In today’s world, there are many things that cause distractions. We are more connected more than ever to work and personal life through technology. The purpose of using a time budget is to set limits and distractions that items that “steal time.” The exercise is to determine where you need to adjust to give yourself more time in the day. We only have 24 hours and we need to sleep!

At work, the #1 culprit is your inbox. Did you know the average person spends 28% of their day reading and answering email? That means the average person is spending 2.6 hours per day and receives about 120 messages! Here are two smart things you can try to improve your productivity.

1. Block a few times on your calendar throughout the day to review and respond to email. When it’s not the allotted time, close your email so you don’t have the urge to respond when it can wait.
2. Organize your email into folders and try to keep it clean so your inbox doesn’t get out of hand.

If you need some tips on how to better manage your email to gain some of your time back, the Harvard Business Review shared some suggestions in a recent article.

At home, it’s busy schedules, but also social media. Quick poll! How many people are guilty of doing a quick check on Facebook and it’s 45 minutes later? Well, according to Brandwatch, the average person has 5-7 social media accounts and spends approximately 116 minutes per day (on social media, this stat does not include watching videos). *the average does not include teenagers; no surprise but it’s much higher for them (almost 9 hours!)

Social media is sort of a slippery slope, since you may have commitments at work for using social media (posting, sharing content). Again, it’s important to carve out time on your calendar for these commitments.

Remember the phase “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”. A time budget can start with just a few things that steal your time during the day. Just start small and it will add up quickly.

I’m adding the picture since I’m already making progress. 😊

Can Purple Ink bring some balance to your HR department by taking on some of the tasks and projects that steal your time? Reach out to us for more information on how we can help!

Click here for more on Purple Ink’s 2019 words of the year.