Hobbies and Work Balance. Tips to successfully take work holidays. How to make it happen?
Hello!
Balancing work and hobbies…it’s difficult to sum it all in one word. For this interview, we asked Rina, who is one of the mgn members who is good at balancing work and hobbies. What are her tips to successfully take time off? What did she do to make it happen? Let’s hear it now!
For Work and Hobbies, it’s good to have a 4:6 ratio
I think many people feel that balancing work and hobbies is difficult. When people think of “balancing work and hobbies,” at first glance it seems like the ratio of work is 5 and hobby is 5, but I actually think it’s fine to have a 4:6 ratio. I think it is better to give more priority to your hobbies because in the end, you will realize the result will be just 5:5.
This is because realistically speaking, even if I try to prioritize my hobbies, I only have two days off a week, and the rest of the five is working days (laughs). Plus, you won’t used all of those time you have for your hobbies in just two days. In fact, no matter how much you prioritize hobbies in your mind, the ratio of five days or two days is the same.
That is why we can actually achieve balance by making our hobbies a priority as much as we feel like.
To reserve your vacation schedules
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In my previous job, I would asked questions like, “Because of my hobbies, sometimes I would have to schedule days off ahead of time so is that something you accommodate?”. At first, it is important to ask. Then, in order to secure my days off for my hobbies, “Let’s schedule them ahead of time!”. When it comes to ticket lottery, I am pretty lucky. Therefore, I tend to win it quite often. And that’s why I put my days off in my calendar way ahead of time.
“Sorry, I won the ticket again 😀 “.
It was easy for me to take days off since I confirmed it earlier when I entered the company. In mgn, we have a system called the “3-day holidays challenge and 39 holidays (2 days off per month are given to each employee),” in which I take full advantage of. I find the system of “no-carry-over vacation days, and carefree style” is a great system. I use the 39 holidays system in advance on the days I want to take off. With paid leave system, I might already used up all my days off for emergencies or when I need to take care of something. However, with 39 Holidays, I can now use my paid leave for when I needed to use it. Therefore, I am very happy now.
What I think makes mgn different from other companies is that almost everyone schedule in advance using 39 holidays or takes advantage of it. I am no longer afraid of taking days off.
Dealing with a wide variety of hobbies
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I have four major hobbies. These are theater performances, music, events, and theme parks. Some of these hobbies involve long-distance travel. In those situations, since it is difficult to travel only on Saturday and Sunday, I plan a three-day weekend by adding a 39 holidays on Monday or Friday. Occasionally, I plan a day trip in the middle of a workday to take advantage of the holiday system and take a day off accordingly!
To ensure a smooth holiday, plan your work early and have plenty of time to finish.
In order to ensure a pleasant holiday and without overlapping work, I plan my work way ahead of time and get work done as far in advance as possible. If I finish work at the last minute the day before my holidays, I will not be able to take a day off if something goes wrong on the day before. That’s why I try to finish with enough time to spare before that. I’m doing my best for this.
On my holidays, no matter how urgent something is, I don’t have my computer with me, so if I just look at the work messages on my phone, I would have thought something like “Oh my God, I screwed it up”. I really hate being like that so I try to finish work way beforehand and do my best to show my colleagues that “I’m off on this day!”. Then, when I adjust my work schedule, I can exclude that day from my schedule.
Use Emojis in the company calendar
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I use emojis on my calendar to indicate which hobbies I am planning to do. For example, if I am going to Okinawa, I use a hibiscus emoji, and if I am going to a live performance, I’ll use an emoji that is related to that performance. Doing things this way will help other people to understand that I have a day off to do this and that plan cannot be easily adjust. Furthermore, you can easily remember what you are supposed to do on which day. It also helps you to stand out on the calendar. Of course, I sometimes move my plans around to a day where I don’t have any schedule or according to my work progress.
Adjust your schedule on a daily basis, even when work is too much
Of course, there are days when there are a lot of work to be done and little time to spare, or days when we are just too busy and have to work overtime. Even in those times, I adjust my work on a daily basis. This is also something that I feel is possible only at mgn. Sudden or unexpected work does not happen that often in our company.
Summary
Tell people around you in advance about your day offs.
When you take a day off, schedule it in advance and with plenty of time to spare for your work.
To achieve this, try to work as hard as you can. Work with plenty of time to spare.
And that’s what Rina has to say about her holiday and work balance. Her style involve planning with plenty of time to spare, and giving her all to both her work and hobbies.
