17 huge reasons why a good work-life balance is important to relationships

Balance is needed for a successful and fulfilling relationship.

Focusing too much on your relationship can easily have you getting yourselves stuck to each other in a toxic codependent dynamic.

On the other hand, if you focus too much on yourselves and your work, you’ll end up slowly drifting apart… until you become strangers once more.

So how do you find the balance?

By managing the time you spend on work and life.

In this article, I will give you 17 huge reasons why a good work-life balance is important to relationships and what you can do about it.

Workaholism and relationships

Your sanity is probably the first and most important reason why a good balance between work and life is important for relationships.

If you’re too focused on your job, you’ll stop seeing the world outside of your workplace. You’ll start obsessing over everything that has to do with your job and lose all your passion for the people that matter the most.

An especially tragic consequence of this is that you won’t see things or experience things as they are. Instead, your time becomes a commodity and you start thinking about whether something is going to benefit you or not.

Even things you do for the sake of enjoyment are not spared. You will start thinking about whether that outing or hobby you’ve been thinking of getting into will actually be enjoyable enough to be worth your time. You judge things before you even get to try them.

The more work-focused someone is in their office, the less time they will have for themselves and their loved ones, which could have a HUGE impact on their relationships.

Reasons why a good work-life balance is important to relationships

1) It keeps you passionate and excited about work.

Spend more than 10 hours at work and you’ll start to hate it day by day. Even if you’re passionate about your job, a job is still a job and you’ll start to hate it when you feel overworked.

Balance your time out and you’ll not only do your work better, but also be happier with it.

And if you’re happy with what you do, it will show in your relationship.

Do you find it exhausting when you hear your friends—or even your partner—say “I hate work, I hate my colleagues”?

Then don’t be that person to your partner. Keep yourself happy with work so that you won’t have to dump your frustrations on them when you get home.

It’s nice to be in a relationship with someone who’s happy with what they spend 1/3 of their day on.

2) It keeps you passionate and excited about your relationship.

It might seem strange to think that spending time away from your partner will make you like them more. But it’s true!

If you spend too much time with them, you will begin taking them for granted, and your life will begin to become stale to boot.

But if balance your time, you’ll be reminded of just what they mean to you, so their presence no longer seems so stale. You’ll be exposed to far more in life, so you’ll have more to talk about when you get home.

3) You’ll be more likely to communicate with your partner.

When you’re too focused on work, and especially if you’re overworked, you’re less likely to notice your partner’s wants and needs.

And how could you? You’d be too tired and busy to spend that much time with your partner, keeping in touch with them and giving them the attention they deserve.

Keeping a healthy balance between work and home means giving yourself the time and energy to live your life. Time and energy that you can dedicate to keeping in touch with your partner.

It takes active effort to maintain a relationship, after all. People change, day by day. They might have had a change of perspective, or had found a new hobby, for example.

You can’t connect with your partner as they are today when your understanding of who they are is stuck a year into the past.

4) It could prevent you from having relationship problems.

If you spend too much time working, your partner might feel neglected.

Sure, you might be working hard to make sure both of you will have a good future. But it’s important not to lose sight of what’s important.

If you aren’t there for one another, your love will slowly grow cold. Conflicts—including those that would have otherwise not mattered—will begin to chafe at your relationship and wear it down.

Trying to balance life and work can help avoid that.

While this article will convince you why it’s important to have a good work-life balance, it can be helpful to speak to a relationship coach about your situation so you will know HOW exactly you can achieve that.

And if you already have problems because of it, then all the more it’s important to get proper guidance.

With a professional relationship coach, you can get advice tailored to the specific issues you’re facing in your love life.

Relationship Hero is a site where highly trained relationship coaches help people navigate complex and difficult love situations, like lack of intimacy due to poor work-life balance.

Why do I recommend them?

Well, after going through difficulties in my own love life, I reached out to them a few months ago. After feeling helpless for so long, they gave me a unique insight into the dynamics of my relationship, including practical advice on how to overcome the issues I was facing.

I was blown away by how genuine, understanding and professional they were.

In just a few minutes you can connect with a certified relationship coach and get tailor-made advice specific to your situation.

Click here to get started.

5) You’re more emotionally and mentally present when you’re together.

If you’re not overworked, and you’re not always busy with your job, you will feel more emotionally and mentally present when you’re together.

When you have time to be with your partner, you’ll be able to spend more time with them.

If you’re overworked, and tired all the time, it’s harder to be present and enjoy being together.

You don’t want to be on a date with your SO and they’re zoning out or talking about their presentation for the next day.

6) Your life can be more in sync.

People generally want their lives to be in sync with their partners’ own. But when you put too much of a focus on your work, what’ll happen is that your work dictates your schedule—and not the other way around.

The end result is that it becomes hard to be 100% in sync with your partner. You will lose control of the times when your schedules coincide and let you spend time with each other.

This breeds frustration on both ends as your goals and responsibilities become harder and harder to share. And you’ll also probably end up somewhat sleep-deprived, too.

Having less time with one another and being sleep-deprived means that you’ll end up being short-tempered around one another. Trust becomes a commodity that becomes more and more scarce.

7) You won’t bring stress and tension to the relationship.

If you spend too much time working, it might create tension and stress in your relationship.

Work is stressful enough. You don’t need to add more stress to your life by overworking yourself.

Working long hours can also make you feel burnt out, which can lead to fatigue and sleep deprivation.

8) You’re more patient with your partner.

Because you’re not overworked, you’ll be more patient with your partner.

When you’re tired, or overworked, you will tend to get impatient and frustrated with your partner and not be as patient with them.

You’ll be able to spend more time with your partner and be more patient with them.

9) You won’t have as much anger towards each other.

If you’re overworked, you might feel angry at your partner when they do something that irritates you or doesn’t meet your expectations.

If you’re tired and overworked, you’ll also be more likely to get frustrated with your partner.

If you’re tired and overworked, you’ll be less patient with your partner. This means that you won’t be as patient with them and will have more anger towards them.

10) You’ll have more energy to get things done.

If you’re tired and overworked, you won’t have as much energy to get things done around the house.

You’ll be too tired to do all of your chores and responsibilities at work or home, which can cause you to feel stressed out, angry, frustrated or overwhelmed.

You will also not be able to do tasks that need a lot of effort, like exercising or working out.

But if you have a good work-life balance, you will have more energy to do all of these things.

11) You would have more moments together…which is what life is made for.

Our society has become more and more about the so-called “hustle” these days.

The priorities have shifted, and we no longer work to live—instead, we live to work.

We keep being pushed to get ahead in the hustle and get more done. To dedicate our time to the act of creating money, where taking the time to indulge in simple pleasures becomes a sin.

But what is life, if not for enjoyment? And if you’re not overworked, you’ll have more moments with your partner to enjoy and cherish together.

12) Your connection will grow deeper.

Nothing can become deep if it’s often interrupted by many stressors in life.

You probably won’t be able to make in-depth conversations about life and love and everything in between.

Distraction is the enemy of connection.

When you have a good work-life balance, you will have more time to connect with your partner.

You’ll be able to nurture your relationship and grow together.

13) You won’t just let life pass you by.

If you are exhausted and overworked, you won’t be able to fully enjoy life. You will miss out on many opportunities to do things that make you happy.

If you’re exhausted, your life will fly by without you fully appreciating it. That’s because no matter how tired and overworked a person is, they can still find the energy to do things that make them happy—but only if they take time out of their busy schedule for those activities.

It may be tempting to say “no” when asked if we have time for anything else with so much going on in our lives right now but don’t let work or stress get in the way of making this happen! You deserve some joy too!

14) You can keep toxicity in your relationship under control.

Love isn’t easy. It may start out that way, for sure, but then your differences start to make themselves known and then keeping your relationship together begins to take active effort.

Toxicity can easily taint a relationship, as unfair compromises and petty conflicts start simmering under the surface.

But you’re married. Chances are that you know this already, and you’re probably feeling helpless and frustrated trying to find a good work-life balance in your relationship.

Too far in one direction and your partner complains about never having food on the plate. Too far in the other, and they say you’re never there for them.

You may even be tempted to throw in the towel and give up on love. How do you keep your partner happy at that point?

I want to suggest doing something different.

It’s something I learned from the world-renowned shaman Rudá Iandê. He taught me that the way to find love and intimacy is not what we have been culturally conditioned to believe.

As Rudá explains in this mind blowing free video, many of us chase love in a way that’s toxic and ends up stabbing us in the back.

We expect to be the world for our partners, and push ourselves to demand more out of our partners than we should, and getting frustrated when they just can’t deliver.

We think that just because our partner “completes” us that we think we can monopolize them, and get jealous when they hang out with other people at work or in their free time.

Rudá’s teachings showed me a whole new perspective.

While watching, I felt like someone understood my struggles to find and nurture love for the first time – and finally offered an actual, practical solution finding a good balance between life and work.

If you’re done with unsatisfying dating, empty hookups, frustrating relationships and having your hopes dashed over and over, then this is a message you need to hear.

I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Click here to watch the free video.

15) You’ll live in the present.

Being tired and overworked will make it hard to live in the present.

But we often justify it as something we invest in for our future.

You will be so focused on the future that you won’t be able to enjoy your life now.

This makes it difficult to truly enjoy your partner and what’s going on right now.

If you’re tired and overworked, you’ll miss out on many opportunities to appreciate what’s going on right now in your relationship.

And if they break up with you because you’re too busy, then you won’t even benefit from what you invested.

16) A good work-life balance actually brings more success.

A good work-life balance can actually make you more successful.

This is because you’ll have more time to do things that help you grow.

You’ll have the energy when it’s actually needed for your job and you won’t get burned out.

You’ll also be able to build your business or gain new skills that will help you advance in your career. You’ll be able to read great books, learn new skills and spend time with the important people in your life.

Even if you don’t succeed, at least the effort was well spent. All of these things will improve your quality of life and make it easier to keep doing them once you’re successful in whatever it is you’re trying to do.

17) You’ll have more time for yourself.

If you have a good work-life balance, you’ll have time to actually take care of yourself.

You’ll have more time to sleep, to maintain good hygiene, eat well, and exercise. You’ll have time to look good and wear make-up. Let’s face it. These things DO matter in a relationship.

If you are taking good care of yourself, it will show, and it will have a tremendous effect on your relationship.

You’re 50% of your relationship, so taking care of yourself is already doing half the work.

How to have work-life balance

Schedule your work time

Schedule your work time and stick to it. You don’t want to be stressed out when you have to go to work.

You’ll be more productive if you can actually plan on going into work, instead of having it be a last-minute thing.

Take a day off every week

You need to take a day off every week for yourself.

It’s important for your health, and it will make you more productive at work too.

You don’t want to burn out, do you?

Every week it is crucial for a person who has the ability to choose their schedule wisely by taking off one day during the workweek. Taking a break will make both your physical and mental conditions better as well as improving productivity at work!

Calm your mind while at work

If you really can’t find a job that allows you a good work-life balance, you can still achieve almost the same effect by learning how to manage stress.

Take a break every hour or so. Listen to good music. Talk to colleagues, grab a coffee.

It’s important that you take these breaks because not only will you be more productive at work, but you’ll also be more efficient overall.

Learn to say NO

Don’t get caught up in your work and phone calls.

Say NO when you can’t do something.

Your time is too important to spend on things that aren’t important.

I know it sounds like a tough thing to do, but you are the only person who can say no. You have to protect your time and not let other people take advantage of you by using up all of your time on minor things that don’t matter in life.

It’s OKAY if they call or text – just tell them “no” when they ask for something that could be done later or doesn’t need as much attention from you.

Find the right career

Some careers are impossible for you to have a good work-life balance.

If you are in a career that requires you to be on call, you need to set your schedule to accommodate your family’s needs.

You need to be able to take care of your responsibilities at home and at work.

Find one that doesn’t drain you. And if you can’t find one…

Create a different path

If you can’t find a good work-life balance in your field of work, you might want to consider creating the job you want and the lifestyle that you want.

You can do freelance work, consulting work, and many other career options that don’t require you to be on call.

Free time is the most valuable resource that you can spend on yourself. We all deserve to take care of ourselves first and foremost, before we try to please others or companies who don’t prioritize our well-being as much.

When people are given the freedom they need, their natural talents and abilities shine through because they’re not being held back by one company or another’s stringent demands.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help when it’s needed.

You don’t have to do it all. In fact, you shouldn’t.

You should be able to delegate tasks, hire people, and manage a team.

You can’t do it all. It’s up to you to decide what you’re capable of and what you’re not. You can take on more – but you have to be able to take on more.

When we feel like we have to do everything, it’s impossible for us to get a good work-life balance.

Be happy with what you have

We are a bunch of overworked people because we want more.

We want the promotions, the raises, the extra money…

But we don’t want to be happy with what we have. We want more. And that’s why we work so much harder than we need to.

It’s time for us to stop stressing about what we don’t have and start focusing on what we do have.

We are all allowed to want more, but we’re not allowed to be miserable in getting it.

Conclusion

Remember, it’s not about how much you work, but rather how you work.

If you put in the effort and make yourself—and your relationship— a priority in your life, everything else will fall into place.

In the end, the question we want to ask ourselves in regard to our work is “are my sacrifices worth it?”

I hope you’ll say a resounding YES by creating a life that has a good work-life balance. Trust me. You don’t want to be rich and lonely.

No one on his deathbed ever said, “I wish I had spent more time working.”