Success Advice
4 Habits To Achieving Success Through A Balanced Lifestyle
Admit it. Someone has said you need more balance in your life. You’ve heard ‘you work too hard,’ more times than you care to remember and it’s become as easy to ignore as your lunch break.
Truth is, balance is a necessity. The best bit? The truth doesn’t have to hurt.
Here are 4 habits you need to adopt to help you achieve success through a balanced life:
1. Taking a lunch break
Probably the easiest to avoid for the hard worker, taking a break has seemingly become synonymous with lack of dedication. It isn’t. Too many of us are skipping lunch in favour of dining al-desko, despite tons of evidence suggesting a break is good for you.
Putting aside the fact it avoids a crumb-laced keyboard, escaping your desk improves your productivity. You’ll be far more susceptible to procrastination if you stay glued to a monitor all day, so if you really can’t afford to take an hour, take 20 minutes.
Over half of the successful women surveyed in Eventa’s study fit a lunchbreak into their daily routine, so there’s no need to feel guilty for doing the same.
“I never dreamed about success I worked for it” – Estee Lauder
2. Watching television
We can’t advocate hours spent spaced-out in front of the box, but the way we watch TV has changed; making it a healthier – and easier – habit to fit around a busy lifestyle.
Television has been blamed for obesity and laziness, but the miracle of catch-up TV now means we are not slaves to the screen. We no longer have to commit to a specific time, for a specific period; it’s easy to fit small chunks of entertainment – thanks to Netflix and Sky+ – around your schedule.
Evidence has also emerged watching a crime drama is good for your brain as it challenges audiences to keep up with complicated storylines and aids memory by encouraging you to remember cliff-hanger endings from the episode before.
With shows like The Following, True Detective and The Killing all proving popular at the moment, it’s as good an excuse as any to take time out in front of the television.
3. Booking a holiday
Reportedly, 40% of Americans aren’t planning on taking all of their allocated holiday. More concerning, is their reasoning is often fear of being replaced. A holiday is your legal right.
Holidays are necessary for recovery. When you relax, your brain focuses on embedding skills you’ve already learnt. So lying on the beach could be an effective way of understanding that new process you were struggling with in the office last week.
Day dreaming is great for creativity and problem solving too. Since the typical hard worker isn’t likely to be doing this often, a relaxing holiday, full of new cultures and cuisines, will provoke fresh ideas.
“Don’t confuse having a career with having a life” – Hillary Clinton
4. Starting a hobby
Picking up a new hobby is a great way to inject something enjoyable into your life and give you a break from work.
The routine of committing to a regular task or attending weekly classes aids time management skills. Depending on the hobby, you’ll also meet new, likeminded people, or have the chance to spend more time with friends wanting to join in.
If it’s exercise related, the added health benefits can’t be ignored, and most hobbies are excellent for stress relief . By focusing on this, your mind gets time to enjoy something new.
Still adamant you can’t commit hours a week to a hobby? Start with half an hour every few days – we know you can find this somewhere – before building it up.
Next time you’re stopping yourself taking on something new or enjoying a break, because you think it’ll impact your likelihood to achieve, think again. Success is all about balance!
Thank you for reading my article! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!
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Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
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