Effective time management is the steering wheel that keeps your work-life balance on course. If you lack proper time management, juggling work and personal responsibilities seems like a never-ending loop. You are either speeding through burnout territory or idling in procrastination land. The bright side is that you can bring your schedule back under control to be more productive, less stressed, on track with your goals, and happy about yourself and other people around you. It’s time to talk about time!
Technique 1: Prioritize, then delegate
“Identify what’s essential and let go of tasks that don’t serve your core goals. Delegate wherever possible to maintain balance.”
Nina Udovychko, a career expert at Amy with the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance
Prioritizing what deserves your effort overall and at the moment matters most. A healthy work-life balance requires giving the right amount of time and attention to both work and personal commitments—along with activities that help recharge you. In a daily routine or when it comes to life-changing occasions, identifying priorities is the fuel to understand what is important and what is secondary.
Exercise: Prioritization matrix
With the Prioritization Matrix exercise at Amy, you list down tasks that need to be done, split them into four groups (urgent and important, not urgent but important, urgent but not important, not urgent and not important), and fill in each of them.
After completing the exercise, you will have insights to improve focus, reduce overwhelm, and enhance productivity. A career coach can guide you if you are confused or stuck on core points to which you want to devote more time.
More and more work, why so?
Boundaries are the guardrails of your priorities. Without drawing boundaries, priorities are tough to follow. Since you may be highly motivated or worry not to let your colleagues down, you may have trouble saying no to extra activities. Setting healthy boundaries doesn’t hurt relationships, but constantly working after hours usually does. When you overwork yourself, your personal life suffers, and when your personal life is chaotic, your work takes a hit.
“Overworking often feels like being in a high-speed race with no end in sight. The first step of breaking it is learning to gradually slow down—sudden stops can be counterproductive. I often recommend starting with small, intentional breaks throughout the day, even just five minutes every hour, to step away, breathe, or do a bit of light exercise. Physical movement helps shake off accumulated stress and reset focus.
Once the initial pace has slowed, it’s important to step back and take a big-picture view of one’s life and career. Overworking frequently results from a lack of long-term planning, leaving people feeling reactive rather than proactive. To address this, I work with clients to develop a year-long strategy that aligns with their values and core goals. When they have a clear roadmap, they’re less likely to fall into a pattern of constant overworking. This process not only helps manage workloads effectively but also allows them to move forward with purpose, avoiding burnout along the way.”
Nina Udovychko, a career expert at Amy with the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance
A career coach can help you develop strategies for managing expectations and create a separation between work and personal life.
Technique 2: Use your calendar
“Schedule everything, from work tasks to personal commitments. This not only provides structure but also helps ensure that you’re making time for what matters most.“
Nina Udovychko, a career expert at Amy with the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance
Instead of just listing to-dos, schedule them on your calendar: intervals for work engagement, exercises, or family time. Treat your personal activities with the same respect as your work appointments. This way, you are less likely to push them aside because something “urgent” and job-related came up.
Exercise: Calendar audit
Calendar Audit exercise at Amy covers your reflections on events for the past 2 weeks in areas of mental health, physical health, career, family, and personal growth. You fill in each field and answer what you want to change in your planning. What you can do today to make it happen.
As a result, you gain control over your schedule, increase efficiency, and minimize stress by identifying and eliminating time-wasters.
Technique 3: Time blocking for deep work
“Set dedicated blocks of time for focused work without distractions, followed by blocks for personal or family time. This rhythm keeps you productive and present in all areas of life.“
Nina Udovychko, a career expert at Amy with the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance
Deep work targets tasks that require your full attention, like strategizing, writing, and problem-solving. You create a space where you get into the flow, not to be sidetracked by interruptions. How do you accomplish uninterrupted focus? Project management tools, time trackers, and apps for limiting distraction can help control involvement. But initially, identify the best focus times when you are naturally more productive and at your mental peak.
Exercise: Energy audit
Energy Audit exercise at Amy comes in handy to optimize your energy boost, manage energy for better health, and allocate energy to priority tasks. You evaluate your day and what activities add a drive in your highest energy level periods. You do the same for the lowest energy level periods—what decreases your motivation and drains energy. The finish line of the exercise wraps small steps to matching energy patterns with your daily schedule.
Example of a resulting schedule:
- 9:00 – 10:00 AM: Morning routine
- 10:00 – 11:00 AM: Deep work
- 11:00 – 11:30 AM: Break
- 11:30 – 12:00 PM: Emails
- 12:00 – 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 – 4:00 PM: Deep work
- 4:00 – 6:00 PM: Quick assignments
- 6:00 – 8:00 PM: Personal time
Technique 4: Unfocus to refocus
“Step away every hour or two to recharge—take a walk, play with your pet, or hit the gym. Small breaks can dramatically boost your productivity and focus.”
Nina Udovychko, a career expert at Amy with the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance
When you keep pushing your concentration, your brain gets tired, and you may feel stuck or burned out. Stepping away from your desk improves clarity. Think of it like rebooting a laptop to speed it up when running slow. A good shift would be something unrelated to work, like listening to music or doing chores.
Consequently, you could handle the demands of work, identify sources of stress, if any, and cope with the pressure.
Technique 5: Quarterly check-in
“Take time every three months to assess where you are and where you want to be. Break it down into life spheres—career, relationships, health, personal growth—and see what needs adjusting.”
Nina Udovychko, a career expert at Amy with the main area of expertise in Work-Life Balance
You may be so caught up in the day-to-day that you forget to pause:
- What is going well?
- Where do I feel off-balance?
- What is a step to make life better in this area?
- Are there any habits I need to start or stop? What can I adjust?
A quarterly check-in lets you hit the reset button, track the ongoing progress, and realign your focus. By breaking it down into specific areas of life, you get a clearer picture of what needs tweaking.
Example of quarterly check-in:
- Career: “Did I set clearer boundaries? Do I regularly block time for focused work?”
- Relationships: “I’ve been spending little time with my child because of extra work. I plan to delegate some responsibilities to free up my schedule.”
- Health: “I’ve been eating junk food lately because of stress. I will aim to prepare healthy meals at least twice a week.”
- Personal growth: “Can I dedicate an hour a week to learning about copywriting?”
Try career coaching
A career counselor helps you build strong organizational skills while working in the office or remotely, have more control over your schedules, and beat the procrastination trap. You meet professional deadlines while making space for your personal priorities and commitments.
When work demands too much and leaves little time for you, you seek a career that supports your lifestyle. Sometimes, a job may feel unbearable, and if prioritization and other techniques don’t fix the cause, consider a change. Use your free time to focus on a job search: set clear career goals, update your resume, and apply to preferable roles. Taking actionable steps not only helps you endure your current job but also moves you closer to something better.
With the help of career coaching, you can improve your work-life balance in a current role or a new job to stop sacrificing your personal happiness for your career. Try Amy career coaching platform for self-coaching exercises or expert guidance.