Over my career, I experienced a lot of ups and downs. I felt overwhelmed and stressed because of my tasks. As a result of these wonderful experiences, I learned many lessons (some of them the hard way) to have a work-life balance. Here’s what I learned.

Setting consistent goals or focus

Consider this scenario: You have an important and urgent task. But your colleagues keep asking you to support them. We agree that helping others is good, but you do not have to do it immediately. Because when you switch between multiple tasks, you will experience high levels of stress daily.

Moreover, it is not efficient to work multiple tasks at the same time. We often end up multitasking because we’re scrambling to get as much as possible done. Most times, this is why we lose focus on what matters. And as a consequence, you might feel overwhelmed. Being overtired and overworked is not conducive to focused work.

This situation is familiar. How can you avoid this situation? Try to get used to these habits:

Write the prioritized task list down — organize them in order from the most to the least important to see if any contradict or overlap.

— organize them in order from the most to the least important to see if any contradict or overlap. Let others know about your status — tell them what you are currently focusing and you will support them later. Learn to say NO.

One task at a time, you do your work with full focus and dedication.

Let go of perfectionism

When I was early in my career, I had an urge to make every line of code perfectly. It hurt my productivity, and it took a lot of effort to achieve perfectionism. It’s easier to maintain that perfectionist habit as a junior developer, but as you climb the ladder at work, it’s hard to keep that habit of perfection going.

I realized that it was a destructive behavior, and it caused me to burn out quickly. Let go of your ego. You should accomplish your work to deliver real value.

Accept challenges

Hard-won things are more valuable than those that come too easily. — Richard Branson

When the time comes, you will tackle a problem that is beyond your current experience or level. Give up or overcome this situation, it depends solely on you.

Believe in yourself — If you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? When you believe in yourself, you will have the courage to overcome the unseen obstacles.

— If you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? When you believe in yourself, you will have the courage to overcome the unseen obstacles. Ask for support if you need help - You do not have to tackle this problem alone. When you work in a team, you should feel free to ask for assistance.

The approach you choose and the attitude you have when you face the problem is crucial!

Embrace failures

“As humans, we’re going to make mistakes. It’s what makes us human, and most of the time, the most effective way of learning is from a mistake.” — Nash Grier

You are working to reach your dreams. You have high energy, but failure seems like a frequent visitor. When you let failure scare you, you are preventing yourself from reaching the heights you can achieve.

If failures knock you down, get up . Get up until your body gets immune to rising up every time you fall.

. Get up until your body gets immune to rising up every time you fall. Learn from your mistakes. Acknowledge your mistakes. Ask yourself tough questions like: “What went wrong?” or “What could I do better next time?". Then make a plan that will help you avoid making a similar mistake. Be as detailed as possible, but remain flexible since your plan may need to change.

If you are conscious of what you are doing, you are less likely to make the same mistake again!

Control what you can control

Sometimes you can not choose which task or project you will participate in it. Or your task is repetitive. However, you still have the full control of these two other things below:

How you tackle this problem . Yes, this small task could be repetitious. But, how about giving you a chance to try a new way, a better solution to solve a same problem?

. Yes, this small task could be repetitious. But, how about giving you a chance to try a new way, a better solution to solve a same problem? How the outcome is. You are going to make your tedious task into a glorious masterpiece that your teammates would admire how good it is. The result is dependent on you utterly.

There is always a chance for you to improve, to learn! Sometimes you have to change your perspective.

Take breaks

You will be more productive if you give your brain some downtime. Try to schedule regular breaks throughout your workday, and don’t be afraid to take vacations that will help you recharge and refocus.

If it’s 6 pm and you’ve finished your work for the day, and you have no meetings, go home. You’re not cheating the organization. You’re putting that energy in the bank. Somedays, you will have to work overtime or even overnight to get something out the door. It is impossible to predict exactly when you have to do. If you finish your tasks, go home, relax, spend more time with family. Put that time and energy in the bank because we are on the long road, not in a rush, we will spend it later.