It’s not at all uncommon for IT professionals to work 60+ hours a week, to log time at night or over the weekends, and to constantly be on call if something goes wrong. Those kind of demands make it hard to achieve a manageable work-life balance, often leading to burnout and rash career decisions. Luckily, there are ways to remain a standout professional and steadily secure steadily higher positions without dedicating all of your life to work. We’ve outlined some strategies below.

• Establish Your Priorities – At the start of each day or week, make a list of your top priorities at work. Once those are taken care of, you can spend time away from work knowing that the important stuff isn’t being neglected.
• Track Your Time – Study the way you actually spend your time at work. There are likely inefficiencies that you can fix, allowing you to get more done in less time.
• Stop Multitasking – Trying to juggle 10 things at once typically takes longer than completing each of those things one at a time.
• Embrace Enjoyment – Once every day, take some time to do something you love – playing tennis, reading a novel, making a meal from scratch, etc. This simple commitment to your personal pleasures helps to make time away from work more rewarding.
• Prioritize Life – If you have time away from work, don’t let yourself get dragged back into the office unless it is an absolute emergency.
• Get Healthy – Poor diet, lack of sleep, and not enough exercise can leave you feeling sluggish at both work and home. Practice a healthy lifestyle and every facet of your life will improve.
• Take a Vacation – Spending some extended time away from work every year is essential. It doesn’t have to be an exotic or expensive vacation, it only has to give you a week or two to focus on everything but work.
• Ask for Help – If your current work-life balance is unmanageable, reach out to a friend, family member, or your boss. They can be a greater source of support than your realize.
• Set Boundaries – It’s easy to feel connected to work at all times in all places. Commit to some time every day when you don’t check work emails and don’t accept calls from the office unless it’s an absolute emergency.
• Say“No” – You don’t have to accept every single assignment at work to be a standout employee.
• Revaluate – Achieving a proper work-life balance is an ongoing process. Periodically take some time to reassess your situation and determine where the balance stands.

Prioritizing a balance between work and life is good for your personal life and good for your professional life, too. Learn more about long-term career success by contacting RennerBrown.