As a person with a career in the 21st century it is already difficult to find a balance between work and normal life, not to mention balancing a social life or time with family on top of everything else. Sometimes finding quality time for the people we love most can be challenging. No matter the challenge, it's imperative that you make the effort to find time to spend with your friends and family. On another level, as someone with over a decade in event experience, there have been many times (pre and post COVID) that work-life has momentarily overtaken personal-life. While not ideal, it can happen to the best of us because it's easy to get caught up in and sometimes overwhelmed by a large, multi-day event or an important client project that has a fast approaching deadline. The following will expand on ways this author stays productive while working, creates the mental space to be more present at home, and carves out the physical time needed for our social outings.
Be Involved at Work
One thing that the pandemic and ever changing world has taught us is that we can't always be working. While we are working though it's imperative to be mentally present and productive. When we are working it's important to stay organized in order to complete the necessary tasks that accompany our job or responsibilities. It is also important not to neglect your team. Now, you do not always have to be in meetings with your teammates, but it is important to have time together that is both collaborative and productive. This can include working meetings (virtual or in person) where there's minimal conversation and maximum individual productivity, or this can be a workshop-type of meeting to collectively complete various problems or complex tasks.
Looking at events specifically, especially with remote teams, the best thing you can do is to create this collaborative working time at least once a week. Most importantly, as the event gets closer prioritize putting the finishing touches on any plans or preparations as a team. This does not mean to do every task together. Split the workload evenly between team members, when possible, and collaborate on tasks as necessary. Most importantly, keep each person on the team accountable by incorporating existing organizational tools. Not only should this help with your team's morale going into the start of the event, but it also takes the pressure or additional stress off of any one person within the team. When traveling outside of where you live for events, one thing to address is bringing friends and family with you. If a member of your family or a friend can provide assistance at the event by volunteering or hosting a talk and/or session, that's fantastic! We always want to encourage involvement from those we know and enjoy having around us. On the other hand it can quickly become unprofessional to invite a loved one to work. A general rule of thumb to follow is: avoid bringing family and friends to work (including events) unless it is absolutely necessary or they are a relevant addition to what is happening at the event.
A very important thing you can do to feel more involved at work is to connect with your coworkers and teammates. Foster and grow relationships with those you work with over time to create a welcoming and enjoyable environment for everyone. Keep in mind that it is important to keep things professional, especially when you first start working with a new team or new team members. You can be open and honest, showing folks your personality, but stick to work-appropriate topics as to avoid uncomfortable situations.
Be Involved at Home
Although it’s tempting to be lazy on your time off, it's best to be active and specific while planning activities to do with your family and/or friends. As a spouse, parent, friend etc. we have priorities outside of the workplace that may occasionally overlap in a variety of forms. It is most important that both you and your employer understand that you, too, have a life outside of work. This life includes family and, to that extent, sometimes unexpected things come up that simply can’t be avoided. Having a well-rounded life should be encouraged, but do not take advantage of your employer's humanity. To this extent, know that taking a personal call from a family member while at work is perfectly ok when the need arises. What tends to trouble folks is taking advantage of these occurrences or taking attention away from your team and/or projects. Likewise, if you know you may be distracted at work for personal reasons to meaningfully contribute to your team, take a personal day. You will be able to care for whatever issues are at home, and you will feel much better afterwards, returning to your team with (hopefully) a clearer state of mind.
On a different note, when speaking about events, plan fun things to do with your family (and the families of your team) in the day(s) following the event you just finished running. If your event is based in the city where you and your team live, one great thing you can do is to recognize everyone's hard work with a fun, care-free day when the event concludes. This is also the perfect time to bring families together to enjoy the time after an event. By including your team and their families in post-event activities, you are encouraging a great future working environment for your team and showing that their personal lives outside of work matter. Moreover, by intentionally planning some family (or friend) oriented time after a long work week, you are creating and supporting a healthy work-life balance while deliberately nurturing your most important relationships.
Conclusion
If there is only one thing you take away from this article, let it be this: do not neglect one responsibility for another. In other words, avoid putting all of your time and energy into only one aspect of your life. Be sure to give meaningful effort to your job and be present with family and friends, however that may look for you. By creating a sort of separation between work and home-life, you give yourself the time and space to give your full effort to both, and have some spare-time for yourself at the end of the day.