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Finding your own work/life balance and why I choose to pay someone to clean my house

teachingtechleads on October 23, 2019

One of the biggest lessons that I needed to learn was how to maintain a life outside of the office. It's a tough one. Finding a work/life balance i...
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Mateus Vahl

I couldn't agree more, I kinda had to learn it by myself after a burn out a year ago:
dev.to/mateus_vahl/i-think-i-will-...

I'm now working full time remotely, so a typical perfect & balanced day is:

  • Work from 8:00 ~ 17:00
  • Walk / Running time: 1 hour (Summer only)
  • Piano practice: 1 hour
  • Cleaning & Cooking: 1 hour
  • The remaining time is for laziness, study & chill

Also, I can now get a break in the afternoon, going out for a walk with my dog or getting coffee break.
(Before working remotely, I was losing*two* hours just on traffic. lol)

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teachingtls profile image
teachingtechleads

Hey Mateus, thanks for the reply man. I think you subliminally nailed your own issue in your post without even realizing it.

You wrote, "I love my career, but.." Everything you were facing was an issue with that particular job,not your chosen career!

I'm so glad you took the leap and stepped away from that environment and now can find that personal balance. Great job!

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Josh Ransley

It's all about find your own balance, as you say. What works for one person wouldn't necessarily work for another.

For example, I wouldn't pay someone to clean my house for me – while I don't enjoy cleaning per se, I appreciate the time to zone out.

It can be a bold move, but one thing I did do was during my interview for my current job I made it clear I don't stay late in the office regularly. I said I'll be on task during office hours and for the odd situation outside of that, but otherwise I leave when I'm meant to.

I don't get work email on my phone and I asked early on for my mobile number to be taken off my email footer, which had been added by default.

On the reverse of that, a colleague contacted me on a day off recently and I had no issues with logging in and sorting something out quickly. It's a balance.

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teachingtls profile image
teachingtechleads

You've got it right, Josh. It is a balance. And it's a personal balance, what works for me isn't going to work for everyone.

That's a great step that you took to openly define your work boundaries. Being upfront about it makes the decision all the easier for you later.

It's your evenings, you should get to decide if you're willing to work through it.

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SyntaxSeed (Sherri W)

I also have someone who cleans my house, despite it being a relatively large expense for us. It is hands down the best dollars I have ever spent. As a work-part-time-from-home parent I totally have the time to do it myself. But I don't like it, I have a million things I'd rather do, and that's enough reason for me.

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Alvin Crespo

Say no more often.

This has been the most helpful advice I received early on in my career. People won't like it, but that's too bad.

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teachingtechleads

Some people won't like it, but some will. I've know managers that will use it as a test, they'll throw work at you to find your breaking point. Because at a certain point in your career, you NEED to know your limit and how to vocalize that.

It's not a good practice, granted, but it does happen in the real world.

Learning to say "no" is a great way to designate your boundaries and limitations.

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Alvin Crespo

Yeah, I've had managers do that to me early on in my career. As a manager now, I would never do that to someone. It's a managers responsibility to uphold best practices.

you NEED to know your limit and how to vocalize that.

Very true! 👍

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Andrew Fortier

I recently stumbled upon this insightful blog post about finding work-life balance and the choice to hire someone for house cleaning. It's refreshing to see the value placed on time and self-care. This concept of outsourcing tasks that can free up your schedule got me thinking about the benefits of hiring services like a roll off dumpster rental. Outsourcing cleaning can give you more time for meaningful activities, so renting a roll-off dumpster can simplify home improvement and decluttering projects. It lets you focus on the task, promoting a healthier work-life balance. It's all about optimizing our time and prioritizing what truly matters!

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mzahraei profile image
Ardalan • Edited

Great Article 👌🏻

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teachingtechleads

Thanks Ardalan!