Farha Ahmad on Work Life Balance

Farha Ahmad is the UCL Institute of Health Informatics’ Administrator. Her day to day life includes a number of activities ranging from HR tasks to running the fire induction tours. Farha shared some key insights into how she maintains a good work life balance in amongst the busy working day.

I always wake up early! I’ve read that high achievers and successful people wake up at 4am to start their day. I don’t always manage that, but my alarm does goes off at 6am. I’ve then got so much time for all the things I like to do.

I always try to remember to take breaks and get some fresh air which I find really helps me to be more productive when I am at my desk working. No matter what, I make sure that one of these breaks involves at least 10 minutes alone time every day. I like to use this time to just breath slowly and catch my breath!

Finally I think it’s really important to remember that everyone has something they are struggling with so be kind and patient with others. The world won’t end if you can’t complete something today.

My big tip for anyone trying to strike a good balance would be to figure out which part of the day you are more efficient then ensure you do not have distractions at that time to get things done- it will leave more time for doing the things you enjoy outside of work.