Maintaining a work/life balance is one of those things that are easier said than done. Once you start, you think it’ll be a cinch but a short while down the road you realize you’re spending more Saturdays at the office than with your family and a family vacation no longer fits into your to-do list for the year.

Maybe next year, right?

There’s no reason to wait that long, though. Here are some thoughts to help give you back the power and personal time that you so badly need.

Enjoying Life Is a Task, Too

Experts believe that looking at down-time as a critical part of work is crucial for success. There’s a good reason for this: the more you get overwhelmed by work, the less motivation you have to go through with it, leading to burn out and diminished quality of output.

The solution? Make sure you include leisure activities in your weekly schedule, inserting them at strategic points where you expect you will most likely be in need of recharging.

If You Want to Move Up, Plan Some Down Time

As a human being you need down time to stay efficient. It’s during your down time that you recharge your batteries and regain energy for the work that lies ahead. The need for down time is the reason why it is usually a bad idea to cram all the study material into your head on the night before the big test in college—it’s more effective to break things down into smaller, easily processed chunks in the weeks leading up to the exam. Studying in this manner supports the way the brain operates while cramming the night before is a sure route to disaster.

Another added benefit of adding in leisure periods into your weekly schedule is that it gives you the opportunity to later check them off your list, which is sure to give you an endorphin boost—as a result of the satisfaction that comes with achieving anything you earlier planned to do. Coupled with the mental breather during down time, this can only be a good thing for your overall wellbeing.

All of this sounds easy to do on paper, but requires a shift in perspective about the way we look at work and leisure, as well as what is most important in our lives. Yes, is important to work hard in order to achieve your goals; but equally important is the need to live your life. In fact the latter feeds into the former.