Jennifer Aniston Is ‘Not Good’ at a Work-Life Balance After an ‘Intensive Few Years’: I’m ‘a Bit of a Workaholic’ (Exclusive)

The Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award-winner also tells PEOPLE what her perfect day off looks like

 
Frazer Harrison/Getty Jennifer Aniston in September 2024.

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Jennifer Aniston tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she is “not good” at having a work-life balance amid her busy career in Hollywood
“I’m a bit of a workaholic,” the Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award-winner says
Aniston has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry for years, working continuously since she made a name for herself when she was cast in Friends in the 1990s

Jennifer Aniston is keeping it real when it comes to her work-life balance.

The actress, 56, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that she often struggles with carving time out for herself amid her hectic and demanding career.

“I’m a bit of a workaholic, so I’m forcing myself to try to take some time to travel and not work,” Aniston admits.

“It’s so critical, I know, but I’m not good at it,” continues the Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award-winner, who has launched a new campaign with Smartwater.

“Our work is diminishing returns at the end of the day, if you’re just working so much that you don’t have any wonderful life experiences,” adds Aniston.

Jesse Grant/Getty Jennifer Aniston in January 2024.

According to Aniston, focusing on crafting a better work-life balance for herself is of the utmost importance.

“I’m trying to take it easy, because this was a really intensive few years of work,” she says, referring to her busy lifestyle as an in-demand actress in Hollywood.

Aniston — who is currently starring in Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, which is scheduled to release its fourth season later this year — says she currently has a plan of action for how to separate work from the rest of her life.

“I’m trying desperately to learn how to create those auto replies when emails and texts come in, where it’s like, ‘I’m away forever. But call me in December, I’ll be back,’ ” she says with a laugh.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Jennifer Aniston in January 2024.

Aniston has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry for years, working continuously since she made a name for herself when she was cast in Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004. (In the years following, the actress has starred in a variety of television and film projects.)

When Aniston does have downtime for herself, she tells PEOPLE that her perfect day off follows a certain structure.

“It looks like a blank schedule — there’s not one thing on it,” she says. “That’s a perfect day, and then can I figure out what that day looks like as it goes.”

Aniston believes self-care and putting herself first amid her career is so important now, more than it has ever been before.

“There’s a lot that we need to not focus on, because it’s so awful and ugly,” she says of life’s not-so-great moments. “So we need to also remember to focus on the beauty and the positivity that’s also existing in our world right now.”