As we grow up, our lives get busier by the day and between maintaining your full-time job, spending time with the family and getting enough sleep, you lose other valuable things and people in between. You lose the time to do the things you used to love, you lose the time for a hobby and in time, you start distancing yourself from the people who are closest to you.

But it’s never really your fault, you’re already juggling between things as much as possible. So what to do when your job is taking too much of your time? How to balance between your social life and career? Here are some tips to help you get the answer.

Schedule lunch breaks and coffee dates

Your day may be packed but you gotta eat at some point, am I right? So, if you are a person with fixed lunch breaks, then turn those lunch breaks to a small get together with a friend. Even if it is only an hour in midday, this will help you more than you think and you will probably get back to work feeling more energized.

That way you can keep your normal routine to some extent and still be able to catch up with those who matter most to you.

Plan an evening out at least once a week

I personally know how hard it is to hang out after work, you are always tired and eager to get some rest. But at least one day a week, plan an outing with your group of besties. Even if it is just for coffee or a breakfast, spending time with close people outside of the office is very important.

Switching up your routine will keep things fresh and exciting, so whether it’s over the weekend or after work, you must go out every now and then.

Prioritize your time

Create a to-do-list of all the tasks in hand, and start prioritizing them so that you can know which task can be done at a later time and replaced by some time for yourself or for your hobby.

You can prioritize them as follows:

• Urgent and important
• Important but not urgent
• Urgent but not important
• Neither urgent nor important.

Schedule phone calls

It sound ridiculous at the moment, right? But when was the last time you gave an old friend a call? When was the last time you caught up with your friend who now lives abroad? If the answer is that you don’t remember, then it’s not that ridiculous after all. Plan when and who you will call midday and whenever you’re free, even if it’s only for 10 mins, give that friend a quick call.

Enjoy some ‘You’ time

Maintaining a social life includes you as well! It is extremely important to take a night for yourself and do the things you enjoy, even if it means just laying back and not doing a thing.

Catch up on a series, read a book, take yourself out on a date or exercise! The important thing is to give yourself a break from all the hassle and find peace and quiet.

Exercise and meditate

Exercise is a very effective way to reduce stress as it pumps feel-good endorphins through your body and helps lift your mood. I know how busy one can gets, but even if there’s absolutely no time to hit the gym, you can at least go for a 30 minute walk even if it’s just once a week.

Limit time-wasting activities and people

If someone or something no longer add value to you, limit it or cut if off of your life. You no longer have the luxury of wasting your time on invaluable things and toxic people, so identify what’s most important in your life and then draw boundaries so that you can devote quality time to these high-priority people and activities.