When talking about entrepreneurship or business, we forget the essential: the balance of the entrepreneur himself. Your business is a reflection of you.
Entrepreneurship requires emotional balance. “A mind at peace will have a company at peace.”
If you have balance in work and life, it will increase creativity, concentration, and leadership skills, improve memory and emotional intelligence, reduce negative stress, depression, work exhaustion, anxiety, and blood pressure. It will also strengthen your immune system, can reduce physical pain, eliminate insomnia and reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress when you have gone through severe stages of life.
As a small business owner, it can be challenging to find time for anything. Even in your supposed downtime, you invest time into ensuring the company runs smoothly. The truth is most of us work almost ALL the time.
I was doing some research and found this useful article I wanted to share with you to make sure we take time to pause, and smell the roses. It is hard, but it is necessary!
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Work-life balance as an always-busy professional can be hard, if not impossible, to find. When you don’t focus on your well-being, however, both your health as well as your relationships can suffer. Being busy is essential for success, but so is knowing when to stake a step back.
Work-Life Balance for a Growing Business
So, with such an active lifestyle, how does an entrepreneur know how to balance work and pleasure? To find the answer, we asked 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:
“What’s one way always-busy small business leaders and employees can establish work-life boundaries while experiencing rapid growth in their business?”
1. Focus on the Things That Really Matter
“Most people don’t focus on the things that really matter. If you plan your day out, it typically goes much better than being reactive. It can be very hard, but it keeps you from doing things like spending three hours to mail something trivial, or two hours on customer service trying to debate a $20 bill.” ~ James Guldan, Vision Tech Team
2. Set a Hard Stopping Time Each Day
“Set a hard stopping time each day and stick to it. I fell into the trap of working 16-hour days for a long time and would start procrastinating since I could ‘just get it done tonight.’ I found that when I set a hard stop at 7 p.m., I actually started getting more done in less time and my business flourished because of it.” ~ James Simpson, GoldFire Studios
3. Create a Defined Workspace and a Routine
“Create a defined workspace and create a routine. Now more than ever, people are working from home and this makes keeping work-life boundaries even more difficult. I’ve found that the best way to maintain these boundaries is by finding a routine that works for you and also creating a dedicated workspace that is separate from your living space.” ~ Brian David Crane, Caller Smart Inc.
4. Spend Time With Family and Friends Every Week
“Making the effort to spend time with family and friends every week (without answering emails or taking calls during that time) is very important for balancing work with life. If you’re going out to dinner with your family or friends, leave the phone at home or in the car so you’re fully present.” ~ Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
5. Explain Why You Work Long Hours
“There is nothing more destructive to your personal relationships than forgetting to explain to your loved ones why you are working long hours. Taking the time to explain your desired working hours, and what you hope to achieve in the short term, will help them to better accommodate your endeavors. The last thing an entrepreneur needs is a confused home life.” ~ Ismael Wrixen, FE International
6. Try to Keep Work Off Your Phone
“If you’re able, try to keep work off your phone and limit it to just your computer. That way, when you finish the day and walk away from your computer, you won’t be hounded by incoming work messages or notifications. Work-life balance can be critical to your success and longevity, so make sure you invest in it.” ~ Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff
7. Have Two Separate Phones
“Have two phones — one for work and one for your private life. Things can get messy when you have everything coming to one phone. It can make switching off impossible. You need to avoid burning out as this can be detrimental to your performance. Always work on maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Think of your brain as a muscle. If it doesn’t get time to rest, it won’t perform at its best.” ~ Ibrahim Alkurd, New Mine
8. Explore Automation Tools and Platforms
“Business owners need to explore tools and platforms that can automate tasks. It’s also worth considering hiring a virtual assistant to help out. Although these steps may be an added expense, you’re freeing up more time that can be put to your personal needs. Time is the most valuable thing you have, which is why you should reduce your workload and focus on your personal life.” ~ Blair Williams, MemberPress
9. Take Advantage of ‘Away’ and ‘Snooze’
“Take advantage of ‘away’ and ‘snooze’ functions. Snooze your Slack and be vigilant about your ‘away’ messages. As leaders, you must set this standard and not respond to messages or concerns unless they are deemed an emergency. Your employees will follow suit. Set these standards of availability as boundaries and the transgression of them to be scope creep. If you really cannot get away, revise your model.” ~ Matthew Capala, Alphametic
10. Delegate Smaller Tasks to Other Members
“I’ve found that by delegating smaller tasks to other members of the team, I’m able to have a decent work-life balance. Instead of putting everything on your shoulders, think about how you can bring your team together to solve some of these problems. In many cases, a lack of balance occurs when a boss thinks that they need to have a hand in every single thing that happens within the company.” ~ John Turner, SeedProd LLC
This article was first published here: https://smallbiztrends.com/2020/08/work-life-balance-growing-business.html