5 Time Management Tips to Improve Your Work-Life Balance

Feeling a little out of balance with work? Here are a few time management tips to help you prioritize what’s most important, avoid burnout, and enjoy life.

1. Plan your vacation days in advance

According to a study by the U.S. Travel Association, 52% of employees have unused vacation days left over at the end of the year. Look at your year in advance and block off which days or weeks you plan on taking some time off work. Even if you don’t have a vacation scheduled, block off days or weeks when you will plan to be unavailable for work. Whether it’s a vacation, staycation, or self-care days sprinkled throughout your year, rest and replenishment are important to your overall health and well-being. 

2. Practice the Sabbath

In Genesis 2:3, God created the earth, blessed the seventh day of rest, and called it holy. Pastor Todd says, “The first thing God called holy wasn’t a person or a place but a period of sacred time that was set aside for rest.” God didn’t rest on the seventh day because He was burnt out or exhausted. God was modeling something He wanted us to replicate—a day of rest.

To maximize the Sabbath, try minimizing your screen time and maximizing your time of connection with God and others. The Sabbath is a time to stop, rest, and delight. So when you consider how to spend your time on your day off, think about whether or not it fits into one of those three categories. Does it help you stop all the busyness and work? Does it help you rest? Does it help you delight in God and the abundant life He has for you? 

3. Set boundaries

You don’t have to be available all the time. It’s tempting to want to respond to an email or text right away, but not everything deserves your immediate attention. Consider setting boundaries for when you are available to respond to work and block off undivided time for the things that are important to you. Stephen Covey wisely states, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”

4. Use your lunch break

Many people eat through their lunch break to be more productive. But one survey by Tork found that employees feel more engaged and productive when they take a lunch break every day. 

Take your lunch with intentionality. Ask yourself what you need that day besides food. A time of connection with another co-worker or friend? A time to slip away and pray? A walk outside? Maybe your brain needs a break from all the noise, and you can find a quiet space to eat your lunch. Take your lunch, and use it intentionally. 

5. Use a time management system

One way to ensure you are making time for what’s most important is to use a time management tool such as the Urgent/Important Matrix, which has been attributed to both Eisenhower and Stephen Covey. The idea is to draw a square with four smaller squares (or quadrants) inside. Fill it in accordingly: 

Quadrant 1: Things that are important and urgent
Quadrant 2: Things that are important but not urgent
Quadrant 3: Things that are urgent but not important
Quadrant 4: Things that are not important and not urgent

Usually, our time is mostly spent in quadrant three, but the ideal is to spend most of our time in quadrant two. Analyzing where you are spending your time can be a great tool for self-awareness and growth.

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