Work-Life Balance in Skilled Trades: Achieving Personal and Professional Success

The skilled trades are highly demanding, both physically and mentally. To be at your best personally and professionally, you’ll need some downtime. Here are a few ways to achieve work-life balance when you have a high-intensity job.

Time Management

There are only so many hours in the day, and each task takes as long as it takes. Many people in the skilled trades are overachievers and perfectionists, cramming their days full of as much work as possible. But this is a recipe for burnout. Learn to prioritize your tasks and carve out realistic blocks of time to accomplish each one. And professionals say that you should schedule no more than 80% of your day. Leave the rest of the time open for the inevitable delays, rest breaks, and other essentials.

Stress Management and Mental Health

Learning to manage your stress in healthier ways is one of the biggest keys to success. Identify simple things that bring you joy—which could be anything from reading a good book to playing video games—and do one or two of them each day. During your work hours, learn to take a breath and regroup. If you feel yourself getting frustrated or angry, go for a short walk or vent to a coworker. Letting your emotions out in short bursts will prevent them from exploding all at once.

Physical Health

Your job may be physically demanding, but that doesn’t mean it’s optimizing your health. The skilled trades tend to feature repetitive movements that can lead to overuse injuries. Balance this by implementing an exercise routine that includes plenty of stretching and whole-body fitness. The goal is to strengthen and stretch all of your muscles equally rather than allowing your work duties to create painful imbalances.

Choosing the Right Employer

As an employee, there is only so much you can do to protect your own work-life balance if your employer doesn’t see the value in it. When you work for a company that prioritizes work-life balance, such as Great Lakes Skilled Trades, you have a partner in protecting your physical and mental health.

Ready for a New Skilled Trade Position in the Great Lakes Region?

At Great Lakes Skilled Trades, we specialize in connecting professionals in the skilled trades with contractors who need their services throughout the Great Lakes region. If you’re a skilled trade worker looking for your next position, check out our available jobs today!