If you’re a career-oriented person, it’s easy for an imbalance between work and other parts of life to occur. You may find yourself so busy with your career that you have little time for those in your life who are important to you. This can strain your relationships in various ways. Maybe you aren’t having the date nights and quality time with your partner that the relationship requires. Perhaps your stress levels are high, and it’s impacting the partnership as well as your mental and physical well-being. So, what can you do to find a balance? Thankfully, there’s an answer. Today, we’ll talk about how to balance love with your career and what to do if you need support in the process.
How To Balance Love With Your Career
Here are three things to do to more efficiently balance love with your career:
Be Mindful Of Your Overall Work-Life Balance
Before you do anything else, take a look at your current overall work-life balance. Do you have time for yourself? Do you have time for others? If not, what can you do to make those things a priority? In many cases, you might be able to set boundaries with yourself and others that help you create a better work-life balance. This could look like deciding that you won’t respond to business emails at certain hours or on certain days, or it may look like checking on where you are overextending yourself and what you can do differently. It could be that you need to start saying “no” from time to time, or you might need to look at what you are imposing on your schedule that is taking time away from other areas of your life, such as interpersonal relationships and self-care.
Check In With Your Partner
It’s important to make sure that you’re having open conversations with your partner. This must go both ways; you should be checking in with each other. Talk about what both of your needs are and how you can implement more quality time into your partnership. Having an open and honest conversation where your partner can say that they feel like they aren’t getting enough time with you or where they’re able to say that, for example, they would like more time for deep, meaningful conversations, time to relax together and cuddle, date nights, or something else, will help you gauge how to best tend to your relationship. You can also express your own needs and let them know that work has been overwhelming for you and that you want to put effort into creating a better balance and spending more time with them. Communication really is key, and this is just one example of that fact.
Get Creative With Your Schedule
You might not be able to change your work hours or the amount that you work, but perhaps what you can do is set aside specific dates and times for your partner. If you haven’t been planning dates due to work-related stress, it can really strain your relationship. Many experts emphasize the importance of going on dates in long-term relationships to avoid falling into the daily mundane or ceasing to take time for displays of appreciation and affection, so be sure to set aside time for romance if that’s not something you’re already doing. Make sure that you are telling your partner that you love them and that you are taking the time for romantic acts, big and small.
Find Support
No matter what you’re going through in life, you don’t have to do it alone. If work-related stress has you down, or if you’re wondering how to maintain a work-life balance and take care of your relationship, seeing a therapist or counselor can help. To find a therapist, you can ask your doctor for a referral, contact your insurance company to see who they cover, use an online directory, or sign up for a reputable online therapy website like BetterHelp. BetterHelp offers individual counseling, couples counseling, and teen counseling. All of the providers on the platform are licensed, and online therapy is typically more affordable than traditional in-person therapy in the absence of insurance. Regardless of how you go about finding a therapist, you deserve to get the support you need, so don’t hesitate to take the first step and get started today.
Author Bio:
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health-related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest in and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
