As a content creator, it can be really challenging to create the perfect balance between work and personal life. Between social media being accessible 24/7 and falling into the comparison trap by looking at what other creators are doing, it’s easy to overwork yourself and neglect other aspects of your life. However, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial for both your physical and mental health, and it can also improve your productivity and creativity. Even though I’m not perfect at it either, here are some tips that I have found useful in my life on how to create that work-life balance as a content creator.
Although it can be tempting to continue working into the night if there are things that still need to be done, this is one of the most important things you can do to create a work-life balance as a creator.
Setting clear boundaries between work and personal time means establishing specific working hours and sticking to them as much as possible. The work will be there for you tomorrow. It also means avoiding the temptation to check work emails or social media outside of those hours. By setting boundaries, you can ensure that you have dedicated time for both work and personal activities.
Prioritizing self-care is essential for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Make sure you are taking care of your physical health by finding time throughout the week to go to the gym, exercise classes or even going on a daily walk (these can also do wonders if your mental health).
It’s also important to keep your mental health in check by doing things that bring you joy. Whether that means reading before bed for 30 minutes every night or scheduling that pottery class you’ve been wanting to do for so long, making time for these things can help so much in preventing burn out. Find activities you enjoy doing that are outside of social media.
Additionally, prioritize your mental health by seeking support from loved ones or a mental health professional if needed. It is also extremely important to connect with other creators because they are the ones that will relate and go through similar experiences as you.
As a content creator, you may feel like you have to do everything yourself: brainstorming content ideas, creating the content, editing it, coming up with captions, negotiating brand deals, the list goes on. However, delegating tasks can help you free up time for other activities and focus more time on the tasks that you genuinely love doing and are good at.
For example, you can use Klaia to store all documents and manage brand deals, you can also use Later to schedule your social media content. If there’s something you don’t enjoy doing, consider outsourcing it. If designing YouTube banners is something you dread, then find someone on fiverr or upwork to do it for you.
Planning your schedule can help you stay organized and ensure that you’re making time for both work and personal activities. Use a physical planner, Google calendar, or whatever else works for you in order to map out your week. Make sure to include both work-related tasks and personal activities such as hobbies or time with loved ones.
It’s okay to say no to projects or collaborations that don’t align with your goals or values, or that simply you do not have time to commit to. Overcommitting can lead to stress and overwhelm. As a content creator, your inbox is likely always full of collaboration opportunities. But it is important to prioritize and make sure you aren’t overcommitting. At the end of the day, your brand is definied mostly by the number of opportunities you reject, rather than the ones you accept.
Getting a notification that X amount of people liked your post, you received a DM, or that “Angie posted a story,” are notifications that can wait until your regularly scheduled office hours.
Seeing those notifications pop up on your phone will only make you want to spend even more time on social media and make you want to compare yourself even more to what other content creators are doing.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever said “I’ll just scroll on TikTok for 5 minutes for content inspo” and ended up scrolling for 3 hours straight 🙋🏻‍♀️.
It is so easy to get distracted and sucked into the endless loop that is TikTok. And when you are constantly seeing what other creators are posting, you might get discouraged because your content might not be “good enough”, “high quality enough” or “funny enough”. You might also subconsciously “copy” their content and lose your originality. So, make sure to set time limits on your phone and focus more on spending than on endlessly scrolling. Go outside – we are begging you.
Remember, finding a work-life balance as a content creator is a process, and it won’t happen overnight. But by implementing these tips, you can create a more fulfilling and healthy lifestyle as a content creator.
Related: A Guide to Setting Realistic Goals as a Content Creator
