Is Your Personal Invading Your Professional?

We juggle so much in our lives today. Work, family, friendships, personal time. There is some much going on and we are all living at the speed of life! But what happens when your personal life gets in the way of your professional life?

There have been instances in my life that my personal overcame my professional. Sometimes the cup overruneth with so many things, it becomes inevitable that your workspace becomes bothered with the personal space. Here are a few tips you can use to insure that this does not happen to you.

• Create Boundaries- Make sure your friends and family call you at work or on your personal cell phone during business hours only if there is an emergency. When people feel they can invade your life whenever they want, the lines get blurred. Make sure you know how to keep those lines up.
• Take Time For YOU- Take a break and step away from the office at lunch. Working through your breaks and lunches is problematic and doesn’t give you a chance to regroup and refocus. Use this personal time to check up on your personal life, missed text messages, etc.
• Take A Personal Day- If you have a problem that is simply too big to be dealt with while working, you may need to call in. You won’t be very productive if you go to work but are plagued with personal issues. Not everyone has sick time or vacation time, so missing work may cause you to lose money, but it will also keep you sane. And you don’t want others at work knowing your business.
• Tell Them No- Bill collectors or creditors calling you at work? Let them know that you no longer want them to contact you at your place of business. If they contact you again, they could be breaking the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and they could be fined.
• Put Them Away- Keep your personal devices, such as cellphones, PDAs, and other electronics put away while working so you won’t be tempted to keep checking them. Check your personal email during scheduled breaks and lunches.
• Break The Cliques- Do you work with a friend or relative? Minimize your communication only during scheduled breaks and lunches to avoid the meddling of professional and personal.
• Prioritize- Take care of business on your scheduled days off or after business hours so that it is not interrupting your workday.

These are just a few tips on how you can keep your personal from invading your professional. Utilizing those tools may help you be productive and worry free during your workday.