While achieving work-life harmony may play out like a Monty Python movie, it remains the holy grail for many millennials. (More than 55 percent of our survey respondents rated it "extremely important" to job satisfaction.) So we asked Erin Johnson, a 27-year-old quality assurance and marketing associate at Ardleigh Minerals and film producer at Welcome to Midnight, how she juggles two careers, a social life and hobbies such as learning Portuguese and blogging.
Plan It Out
Johnson uses an online calendar and handwritten to-do lists to determine her schedule several days in advance. She plots her film company time — which can range from two to 12 hours per day — around her 40-hour workweek. Then flexibility becomes key, she says. "This makes things easier when the unexpected arises because I'm not going by an extremely stringent schedule."
Just Say No
In the past, Johnson tried to do everything but that led to burnout. So choosing what to delegate — designing a website for Welcome to Midnight's The Adventures of Fab Jenkins Web series, for example — can make an Internet-sized difference. "I try to figure out if there is someone else that can accomplish the task well, or better than I can, and in a more timely manner."
Deep Breaths
When emails and texts become overwhelming, Johnson recommends a daily 15-minute meditation session. "It's really made me step back and see things from another perspective," she says. Just make sure your phone is on Do Not Disturb mode.
