Make sure your brain is off the clock too

This means, don’t take work home with you. But it’s not just “work” to consider. Are you learning software during your free time? Sure, it can get you some new work, but if you’re having an issue with work-life balance, this can be a problem.

“When I’m not at work I’m not doing anything for work. Do you want me to learn new software? I’ll be doing that at work,” says Christoph Jess. “I’ve had managers tell me how they listen to tutorials over the weekend to learn the software, etc. Apart from the fact that I don’t learn like that I also won’t do tutorials on the weekend for work. That’s my time and it’s sacred.”

Achieving work-life balance goes beyond just physically logging off from work – it’s about ensuring your mind is off the clock too. If work thoughts persist while you’re playing with your kids or enjoying time with your spouse, your job is occupying mental space without compensation. Similarly, if work ruminations intrude while you’re in the shower or lying in bed, your free time becomes entangled with work hours.

It’s important to recognize that you have control over your thoughts. Cultivating mindfulness is key to noticing when work infiltrates your mind during leisure moments, and this effort is truly worthwhile.

Ask for Flexibility

Working from home can have life-changing benefits for work-life balance. No commute, you see your family more, there’s a lot more flexibility with kids, and you save money by eating lunches at home, less wear on your car, and more. There are downsides of course, but for many, working from home will have a huge positive impact.

I have worked from home for almost 20 years. It’s more difficult when you have kids at home, as many of you experienced during the pandemic lockdown. It’s nice that I can catch up with my husband or daughter during a break, or I can run some ideas by my husband in person. I love that if I want, I can roll out of bed and walk across the hall to work, with my teeth and hair unbrushed, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. Or I can roll into the office right after a workout. If I want to work with a pet on my lap, I can! Working from home just makes life a lot more relaxed.

Working from home can make the separation more challenging, however, there are strategies to distinguish work from personal time in a home office. For instance, if you have a dedicated home office, make a habit of shutting down your computer at the end of your workday and closing the office door behind you. These actions can help create a clear mental boundary between work and personal life.

Be selective about the work you take on, i.e. Learn to say no

At times, you might find yourself assigned an overwhelming workload that seems impossible to complete within the given deadline. It’s crucial to be aware of your limits regarding the amount of work you can manage. Yes, you have the right to gracefully turn down projects that exceed your capacity.

For some individuals, asserting themselves can be a challenge, particularly for those with a tendency to please others. I’ve always leaned towards being a people-pleaser, avoiding disappointing others for as long as I can remember. However, I’ve learned the importance of saying no over the years. Taking on too much will only lead to misery and resentment, and the quality of your work can suffer as a result.

If you’re a freelancer or own your own business, you don’t have to take every job that comes your way. “The 80/20 rule is real… at least it was for me,” David Baker, owner of Classic Animation and Instructor at Ferris State University explains. “20 percent of your clients provide 80 percent of your revenue. Treat those folks well. Don’t chase after business that doesn’t respect your time or talents. This helps keep balance in your life and checkbook.”

Trent Armstrong, a senior motion designer at The Igniter Company agrees. “Pricing some projects a little high will either price me out of a project and thereby open up my schedule or give me a higher return on my time investment in the project.”

See: 10 Strategies to Overcome Your Fear of Saying NO

Prioritize your tasks

“Learning how to properly prioritize things… lead goals vs. lag goals… knowing that everything that appears on fire is not,” Sum explains. “For many people, they have lag goals as a top priority and it creates stress and makes it very hard to achieve balance. Lag goals are ongoing, sometimes infinite. Learning how to identify something as a lag goal was helpful in my life.”

So how do you figure out what is a priority and what is not? There are some methods that you can use to figure out what you should work on first.

• Eat the frog. Do the hardest and least pleasant job first and the rest of the day will be easy.
• The Eisenhower Matrix: How to prioritize your to-do list. Organizing by importance and urgency, plus figuring out which tasks to delegate.

Using time management and organization tools during your workday can help with keeping track of tasks. As it is a massive topic, and this article is already long, “Time Management, Organization, and Automation” will be covered in depth in a future article.

See: 7 steps for prioritizing your workload by Brent Barnhart at Teamwork.com

Delegate tasks

We can’t do everything ourselves, and let’s be honest, we are not all suited for every job. I struggle with detailed jobs that have a lot of steps. If you can delegate tasks that are more suited to someone else’s skills, this will free up your time to focus on tasks that are better suited to your skill set and make your workload more manageable.

Tasks that are small, time-consuming, tedious, or that you’re not suited to are the best tasks to delegate.^[10] Delegation can be tough though, as it requires trust. Will the other person do the job up to your standards? Can you let go of control? Will the task be finished in time?

“Delegation is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of a strong leader,” says Genevieve Conti in her article How to Delegate Tasks Effectively (and Why It’s Important)

Schedule breaks

When we have too much to do, it’s easy to tell yourself that you don’t have time for a break. However, research has found that taking a break can help reduce stress, help focus, and improve all over well-being.

Incorporate regular breaks into your workday to get away from the computer every couple of hours to stretch your legs, chat with colleagues, or do whatever else you need to do for a quick recharge. How often? Some people take breaks on a consistent schedule. I prefer to take breaks when I end a task, or my focus is broken.

Hot Tip: If you get hyper-focused and forget to take breaks, wearable technology like an Apple Watch or FitBit can let you know when you’ve been sitting too long.

Mike Custer experiences neurodivergence, like many creatives, and this introduces the idea of being in a flow state with full concentration. According to Better Up, a flow state is “The flow state is the experience of being so absorbed by an engaging, enjoyable task that your attention is competely held by it. You generally lose sense of time, self-consciousness, and anything that doesn’t have to do with the task at hand.”^[8] When you’re in a flow state, you may not want to take a break.

Mike explains, “I get crazy tunnel vision and end up leaving work hours late because I was just lost in CAD or renderings. I also can’t tell you how many times some surfacing has blown up and I keep trying to solve it via brute force method – only to have the solution hit me five minutes into a walk/break. Knowing when to unplug and give yourself mental space for solutions to form is something I’m working hard at.”

Jim Kanter, former Education Director at the Digital Film Institute and a MacProVideo.com trainer, has brought up the “Point of Diminishing Returns. How many times have we been so absorbed in our work without taking enough breaks that we think we’re coming up with brilliant solutions, only to come back the next day and spend hours undoing the last few hours of work? At a certain point, you simply have to call it a day and get some rest.”

Ali Ruth, a mental health professional, explains the importance of focus and break time. “There has to be a balance between focus time and default neural network time. That’s the background of problem-solving. Also, managing emotions: if you’re stuck, take a break by interacting with playful/funny content, speaking (not texting) with a friend.”

Breaks can also mean taking days off for mental health and refreshing creativity. Jerzy Drozda, Jr, Technical Artist and Director explains, “I don’t mean obvious ‘during the workday’ breaks, but during the month – once every two or three at the most. Allow yourself to waste time.” Jerzy recommends taking off a Wednesday, midweek, for a refresh. “It’s not always easy to do, especially when one is not organized or automated, so work on that first. If possible make Wednesday your day off.”

See: Know Your Brain: Default Mode Network

Give your eyes a break, too

Computer Vision Syndrome, also known as digital eye strain, happens when you spend a lot of time in front of screens. According to the American Optometric Association, eye strain can cause headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes, and neck and shoulder pain. Besides staring at a screen for hours, poor lighting, glare on the screen, sitting too close or too far from the screen, and undiagnosed vision problems can also cause eye strain.

How do you fix this? Take breaks, fix your lighting, and make sure your monitor is at a proper distance. I like to go out for a walk to focus my eyes on objects that are far away and make sure that I move my eyes back and forth a few times. Kim Sternisha at Toolfarm adds, “If you work near a window, look out of it occasionally to focus your eyes on something in the distance.”

pic.twitter.com/gGPltYRnVW

— World Council of Optometry (@WorldCouncilOpt) May 8, 2020

Artificial and blue light emitted from screens is a known cause of sleep issues. Do blue-blocking glasses work? I’ve tried a cheap pair of blue-blocking glasses with yellow lenses, but I found them to be annoying. And, they are a big problem when working with color. Now, it’s inexpensive to add clear blue light filter coatings to regular prescription glasses, which do not give the world a bright yellow tint.

Make self-care a priority

When you’re feeling stressed or on the verge of burning out, sitting in front of the TV watching reruns of The Office with a bag of Hot Cheetos may feel like what you need. That will not be nearly as beneficial as consistent self-care.

What is self-care? I’m sure you are picturing candle-lit warm baths and massages. Those ideas are lovely and definitely can help, however, self-care is about prioritizing your mental health and physical health. To avoid burnout, it’s pertinent that you get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, stay hydrated, and get regular exercise. Watch your alcohol, junk food, social media, and news intake.

We plan to take a deeper dive into self-care for video professionals, addressing issues specific to the challenges of working in post, but the information below will give you a general idea about how you can give yourself some self-care.

Nurture your creativity

Remember, you are recharging your brain and your creativity when you take care of yourself. Get out in nature every day. Meditate. Laugh every day. Self-care also includes exploring other creative outlets. Creative writing and journaling, drawing or painting, listening to music, dancing, playing an instrument, cooking, gardening, doing arts and crafts, crocheting or knitting, or working on models are all things that can nurture your creativity.

“Schedule time to research new things and play creatively. Keeps things fresh and inspires new ways to solve problems,” says Trent Armstrong.

“I find creating something in a completely different way is relaxing and resets my brain,” says Karen Spalink. “Step away from the keyboard. Sit in a comfy place. Knit a few rows, work a puzzle? Work on a painting, start something tasty to eat later when you’re exhausted, play funky music…”

“Never minimize the importance of play in stoking one’s creativity,” says Andrew Tolar, a retired teacher.

Connect with people

It’s easy to be a hermit. Since the pandemic, I have noticed that I get anxious before social gatherings and I prefer smaller get-togethers with one or two friends.

Social support is incredibly important for wellness and resilience to stress, but it needs to be in person. Even a phone call will help. “Overall, it appears that positive social support of high quality can enhance resilience to stress, help protect against developing trauma-related psychopathology, decrease the functional consequences of trauma-induced disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and reduce medical morbidity and mortality.”^[6]

Having friends at work is equally important. Building strong relationships at work has been known to increase job satisfaction and productivity. Work friends can give you emotional support, reduce stress, strengthen your team, and improve the workplace culture.^[9]

Simply put, have a network of people who can support you, or talk to a therapist or life coach to help you gain work-life balance.