It’s been a little over a year since the pandemic hit us, and there’s no denying that remote working is here to stay. Between parenting, running errands, and working, the pandemic has significantly altered the way we live. As we continue to work from our homes, the lines between work and leisure often start to blur. Days begin to blend together. In situations such as this, it is imperative that we reclaim some balance to our days and weeks. And it’s good, not just for mental health, but overall productivity, too.
ThoughtSpot recently invited Olivia Bath, Founder of The Women’s Vault on the occasion of #womenshistorymonth to conduct a curated workshop on Productivity, Work-Life Balance & Boundaries for its employees.
Finding the balance
Olivia Bath draws inspiration from her own life experiences as a mother, who had to return to work from maternity leave in early 2019. She struggled in the beginning, and felt torn between her baby and a career she loved. One day, after she’d had enough of the ‘juggling act’, she decided to take back control, and there was no turning back.
“I established The Women's Vault to help professional women, including new mums, accelerate their careers and achieve work-life balance,” said Olivia. “Right now, particularly with the ongoing pandemic, organisations are taking a proactive approach to supporting their employees' mental health in any way possible. I was delighted to deliver a workshop on Productivity and Work-Life Balance to ThoughtSpot employees globally and encourage them to be more efficient with their work while carving out time for rest.”
<br>During our workshop with Olivia, she focused on providing practical tools for coping with stress and setting boundaries that anyone can implement at work. I recently caught up with a few Spotters who attended the workshop to learn what resonated and how they’ll be making more time for mental health. Read on to hear their takeaways.
“The session with Olivia Bath was extremely helpful and relevant for the current work from home environment. She provided tips on establishing boundaries between work versus personal time as well as interpersonal versus individual time. These included practical advice on how to communicate such boundaries to those around me, and how to determine when and where to draw the line. Implementing these tips in my daily life has enabled more productivity and fulfillment.”
- Faye Teng, Finance & Strategy Associate
“After the workshop, I really started to reconsider my relationship with the different screens in my life. Her recommendation to go on a 15 minute walk every morning without the distractions of music or podcasts has been a much welcome change to my routine.”
- Tejas Sachdeva, Sales Development Representative
“The session was really insightful. The top three takeaways that I had from the workshop were: work hard but also rest hard to be able to give your best performance; find out if you need to be present on every Zoom meeting you’re invited to or if the issue be resolved over a simple phone call; and the importance of setting boundaries for a better work-life balance.”
- Hayley Bird, Office Manager
“As a member of the People Ops team, employee wellness is an important aspect of the overall employee experience that we look into. Olivia’s workshop laid emphasis on the need to rest well and balance work with personal space, especially now that we’re working from home. The recommendations and tips she shared were so relatable and relevant. I think the session also allowed employees to see that they are not alone and there are others facing similar challenges.”
- Prajeetha Prasad, Director People Operations
“I had the opportunity to attend the workshop on productivity by Olivia Bath and it was a great session! Olivia did an awesome job highlighting the importance of owning your time - both so you can maximize productivity, and also maintain a healthy work-life balance. I will definitely be trying to implement some of her recommendations in my daily life.”
- Josh Richards, Sales Development Representative
<br>Focus on ‘Life’ in ‘Work-life’
Productivity is such an elusive feeling. If we are to find it, we will need to break through the clutter and noise that is slowing us down, both in our personal and professional lives. My own take away from the session was how important it is to automate tasks and set aside more time for high-value work. Turning-off notifications while doing high-value work or when with family and friends is another good way to keep work from taking over your life.
We must learn to prioritize the parts of our lives that bring us the most joy and not let any distractions come in the way of that.
If you’re looking to join a team that prioritizes work-life balance, see our open positions on our careers page.
