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"Work-life balance is a hot topic these days, and while you may think of it as something that only really applies to your boss or parents (read: old people), first jobs can be incredibly demanding! It's important you're mindful of this issue right from the start, particularly as you transition from life as a student (read: a person with a relatively insane amount of free time).\n\nThe truth is this: Balance means different things to different people! You might enjoy working a lot in a career you're passionate about, or you might prefer to work less and prioritize friends and family instead. Balance doesn't have to consist of equal proportions, and coming up with your own work-life strategy is totally doable provided you're honest with yourself about what you want. Read on, and consider this your first step to conquering the professional and the personal.\n\nSet firm rules.\n\n Though it can be hard to stand up for yourself as an assistant, you gotta do it. Really. It's totally reasonable to say \"I won't check my work email after 10 p.m.,\" but that has to mean \"I won't check my work email after 10 p.m.\" If you make the occasional exception and reply to messages post-cutoff, the people who know about your rule\u2014your coworkers, your boss, your clients\u2014will throw said rule out the window. It's much, much easier to start off firm and then become more relad over time than do the opposite, so implement boundaries as soon as you can and stick with them until everybody knows you mean it and respects your time. Remember: You don't get a prize for working the most.\n\nRelaxation is part of everyone's routine.\n\n Your stress-buster of choice\u2014which could be anything from going on a run to doing your nails to reading a book to watching the latest episode of the Pretty Little Liars\u2014should be a sacred component of your life. Even if stress relief constitutes a small portion of your day's activities, it will be a majorly important factor in the long term! And while we're on the subject, no matter your schedule, you need to sleep. Not getting enough shuteye has major health implications, and a lack of quality snoozing will make you fuzzy-headed, hungry, stressed, and not as capable of making good decisions.\n\nFind a teammate in your field.\n\n When you're first getting started, you may spend a lot of time going to panels, conferences, mirs, and other events that are supposed to further your career. Sometimes they're fun\u2014and sometimes, they're not. Having a close friend who's in the same industry will help make these things feel less like work, and work stuff that doesn't feel like work can go a long way when it comes to balance. There are other benefits too! For one, you can play off each other: If one of you is shy in social situations, the other can help with networking, or if one of you is great at details, you can help the other get more organized. Being able to combine your networks is also a major plus.\n\nAsk yourself this one important question.\n\n It's easy to focus on the small stuff and concentrate on making it through one day at a time, but periodically you should ask yourself this one question: \"What am I building?\" Over the course of a life, we build many things: a meaningful body of work, a collection of close friends, a family. Ponder this when you're making decisions about which things to keep in your life and which to spend less time focusing on. Does going out five nights a week help you make important contacts in your industry, or does it make you too tired at work the next day? Is your second job worth the extra money toward paying your loans, or does it mean you're too busy to see your friends anymore? Figuring out your end-game will make day-to-day choices so much easier.\n\nAccept that your definition of \"balance\" may change over time.\n\n When you've just graduated from college and are starting your first job, your idea of balance might be way more skewed in the direction of work as you find the career you want to pursue and start learning about the industry. But by the time you're in your late 20s or 30s, you may want to spend less time at the office and more with a spouse, partner, or kid. Or maybe you'll start off more carefree in your 20s, only to get serious and passionate about your career later on. This is OK! The important thing is being able to recognize when your priorities shift and subsequently reassess how you want to allocate your time. So, breathe! Balance is achievable, no matter what life phase you happen to be in."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/work-life-balance>