There’s no question, the line between our work and personal lives is becoming more blurred as our work week gets longer and longer.As a result, almost everyone is guilty of taking personal calls or using the Internet and email for personal use while at work. Doing so, to a certain degree, is acceptable to most employers. After all, emergencies come up, and making a medical appointment outside of work hours or during lunch break is almost always impossible, for example. But it’s important to know the boundaries, and ensure your personal life isn’t boiling over into your workspace.

If you want to grow within your company or use a current supervisor or coworker as a future reference, you want them to focus on your work ethic and not the fact that your phone was constantly ringing with countless personal issues.

Besides being incredibly distracting to coworkers, overboard personal emails or phone calls will create more work-related stress for you. The more you mix personal business at work, the more you can become sidetracked. Meanwhile, you’re “to do” list grows bigger and more unmanageable. So what can you do to control personal issues while at work?  Here are some tips:

1. Organize your daily schedule. 
   Make a daily list of what you want or need to accomplish. Getting better organized will help you become more productive, allowing you to spend less time working after hours and more time to tackle personal needs.
2. Manage persistent callers. 
   You know that friend who calls everyday at 10 a.m. just to talk?  Let him or her know that company policy does not allow for personal calls, but you will get together after work to catch up.
3. Look at the signs. 
   Constant communication from friends and family may mean you are spending so much time at work that you are neglecting your personal life. Schedule more time with friends and family. Organizing your workday will allow you to better disconnect from work once you leave.
4. Silence your cell.
   Out of courtesy to your coworkers, keep your cell phone on silent or vibrate.  If your phone is set to vibrate, don’t leave it on a hard surface. This will keep you and your coworkers from being interrupted at while still receiving calls and messages. Also keep in mind that musical ring tones can make you look unprofessional.
5. Know company policy on personal phone and Internet use.
   You don’t want to build a bad reputation with your employers simply because you aren’t aware of what is and isn’t acceptable. Even if personal phone and internet use is acceptable, keep it to a minimum. 

Follow these rules and you’ll not only better manage your work and personal life, but you’ll protect your reputation as a hard working and professional employee.