My other article was going to be about maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Originally this was planned to help younger people cope with climbing the corporate ladder while still making time for life and social engagements, but I felt like this section could really help anyone which is why I'm keeping it. The first website I went on was the Mental Health Foundation

For starters, a healthy work-life balance can vary from person to person. Its not about halving your time between work and life but rather feeling content about both parts of your life. A few of the examples of a healthy balance is: meeting work deadlines while still having time for friends and hobbies, having time to sleep properly and eat well and not constantly worrying about work while at home. It can become harder to maintain this if you have other caring responsibilites or health difficulties

Its easy to normalise working long hours or being under extreme stress if its occurred for too long, which is why its good to step back every now and then. Sometimes its hard to change how you work, for example if you're on a zero-hours contract then it might be difficult to stop working long hours as you may not earn enough money to live. However, for those who still can, research (work-life balance is a cycle, not an achievement) suggests regularly checking your balance and following these five steps:

The first step is to pause. A few questions to ask are: what's causing you stress or unhappiness? How is that affecting my work and personal life? What am I prioritising? What am I losing out on? Most people only reflect on work when there's a major life event such as a birth or loss of someone, but thinking about your priorities is a major step towards maintaining a work-life balance

The second step is to pay attention to your feelings. Now that you've paused and thought about it, how does it make you feel? Do you feel fulfilled or resentful? After being aware of how you feel you can make informed decisions about the changes you need to make

The third step is to think about what needs to change. Is working longer hours worth not spending time with your family? Is working weekends worth having less time for your social life?

The fourth step is to consider alternatives to your current situation. This varies depending on what the issue is, but what can you do or change so it works within your new priorities?

The fifth step is to finally make the changes. For some that can be asking for more flexible hours and others it can be using your annual leave

It can still be difficult to stand up for yourself at work, especially if you're worried about losing your job. However a few tips the site gives are:
 

• Understanding your rights at work such as knowing your contracts, working hours, sick pay and parental leave. A site linked to help with this is Citizens Advice. If you have a disability (mental and physical conditions included), your employer may have to make reasonable adjustments

• Its important to speak up if you feel like your dem
  ands of work are too much. Its also good to take proper breaks during work. Half an hour for lunch and getting out of the workplace are great ideas. Workers are legally entitled to have specific breaks during the day

• Drawing a line between work and home is crucial as well. If you work from home then its a good idea to keep up a routine, make a dedicated workspace and switch off when work for the day is finished. NHS has tips on working from home specifically

• Work related stress seriously affects mental health. A few ways to reduce this is through exercise, eating well and supportive friendships

• If you feel like work gets in the way of spending time with your partner or friends, then a few things you can do are: schedule time together, get help with chores & childcare and making every second count if you still don't have enough spare time

• Its better to keep track of working hours over weeks or months rather than days as it gives you a broader and better view of your work-life balance. If you can then its a good idea to assess your balance with your colleagues and management staff

• Work smarter, not longer. This means prioritising and helps with not getting caught up in less productive activities

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I felt like the website was really detailed and expansive already, so I moved onto the final topic of promoting luxury businesses owned by black women. Similarly to the holiday article, I wasn't sure whether to focus on multiple people or just one person. For now I've decided to just do research on three brands. I first found Danessa Myricks Beauty which focuses on makeup and skincare. One of their blurring balm's went viral on TikTok. Going on the official site's about page, it talks more about Danessa herself. She's a self-taught makeup artist, photographer, entrepreneur, founder and mother

She started out as a self-taught makeup artist and used products in unconventional ways. She taught other artists her techniques and products selections and lead product development for "some of the most successful launches in history" for brands such as KISS and Benefit Cosmetics. Eventually she moved onto making her own brand

Her products are designed to be multi-functional and work in multiple places for multiple faces. For her the most rewarding part of her work is getting feedback from people who felt underrepresented and ignored by beauty brands. She's done make up for celebrities and worked with music and film entertainers previously. She currently trains makeup artists and enthusiasts

The brand was founded on the principle that any race, gender, age and personal style should feel included when experimenting with make up. The result is making makeup artists and consumers feel free to "play outside the box" when it comes to makeup