Starting to feel like your weekends are suddenly overrun with social events again?

As Australia gradually comes out of a life of COVID restrictions, we find ourselves in a strange new normal; many of us are still working from home or keeping up hobbies we picked up over lockdown, but our social lives have increased ten fold – and some of us are already burnt out!

It’s understandable, we’re all excited about the prospect of catching up at restaurants or bars and travelling, but some of us have slipped back into unhealthy habits trying to balance every aspect of our exciting new lives. If you’re feeling any level of social anxiety or feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to take action to ensure we are maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Here are our top 5 tips below.

• Prioritise

Whilst our new lives are exciting, too much socialising can lead to neglect of other important things such as work, exercise, downtime, seeing family and eating well. It’s tempting to say yes to every offer but maintaining a healthy work-life balance requires sometimes saying no! Prioritise which aspects of your life are the most important to you and your future, and if feeling overwhelmed, think about what hobbies or events you could miss until your health is back on track.

• Organise

Having a good organisation system is a great way of keeping a healthy balance of work, hobbies and socialising. Tools like a phone calendar or daily to-do lists not only help with negotiating a busy social life, but assist in motivating you to complete certain tasks before undertaking your favourite hobbies or going out.

• Make room for personal time

Even if you’re an extrovert, making sure you spend time on self care is a crucial way to prevent burn out or a lack of motivation. Set time aside each week to do something you love on your own, such as reading a book, going for a walk or watching your favourite movie. This will help you feel refreshed and ready to start a new busy week of work and socialising. 

• Stick to set work hours

Sticking to the normal 9-5 is easier said than done when working from home – and lockdown life has slowly merged the work and personal lives of many people. As we adapt back to normal and start to go back into the office, it’s important to keep work and personal hours separate to avoid unhealthy habits. 

• Look after your body

For some, lockdown removed the opportunity to exercise, and for others, they were exercising more than ever. One thing we’ve learnt is the importance and benefit of staying active and eating well for both your physical and mental health. Our new busy schedules sometimes mean that we forget or think we don’t have time to do this. Remember, you can always make time to get outside and exercise, even if it’s just for 20 minutes in the morning or afternoon. 

If you are suffering from social anxiety or burnout and would like to seek professional help, contact us here.