How to Thrive at Work

It can be easy to fall into the mindset that work is life. You sit down at your computer at 9:00 am and out of nowhere, three hours have gone by. You haven’t gone to the bathroom, drunk any water, and all the muscles in your body hurt from sitting. It’s important to maintain a healthy balance between work and life in order to thrive. Often it’s something simple, like just taking a few minutes for yourself to do some of the things on this list. Other times it’s a larger boundary you need to establish, like setting strict working hours. Below is a list of 25 tactics to help bring a sense of balance to your life and ultimately thrive at work.

1. Set strict working hours (and stick to them)
2. Actually start your day before you start your workday
3. Prioritize or schedule out your day
4. Set an intention for the day that benefits one of your life goals
5. Know your optimal work time during the day and schedule hard tasks during that time
6. Make to-do lists at the end of your workday so you can truly leave it at work
7. Delete your work email from your phone (if you can)
8. Delete any work instant message apps from your phone, or at least turn off notifications
9. Talk to work friends about non-work topics
10. Take five minutes to organize your workspace

11. Take a legitimate lunch break
12. Schedule personal time to give yourself a true break
13. Meditate for five minutes
14. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sit quietly while enjoying the warmth
15. Take a walk outside or around your office building
16. Have a conversation with a friend or connect with someone you care about
17. Exercise during the day, even if it’s during your lunch break
18. Get a good night’s sleep to avoid anxiety from lack of sleep
19. Schedule social events after work for things to look forward to
20. Stand up and stretch, or stretch in your chair regularly

21. Say “no” if you’ve got too much work on your plate
22. Take a five minute dance break in your car
23. Schedule mental health days throughout the year
24. Read a book for five minutes
25. Focus on the results of your work, not the hours spent doing it

Practicing a few (or all) of these habits will not only help your day-to-day balance but will help your mindset towards work overall. When you’ve built breaks into your day, you have moments to look forward to and automatic coping mechanisms for when things get stressful. And let’s be honest, sometimes you just need a break!