Being an entrepreneur is an incredible experience, but like any job, it comes with a good number of challenges. To really make progress in the integration of work and personal life, you will have to constantly refine and optimize your strategy. Here are six ways to improve your balance between work and personal life commitments while running a business venture.
Create Work Limits
Plain and simple, start by creating work limits for yourself. Make it a rule not to check your email before 7 in the morning.
If you work in an office, try to create a consistent schedule for yourself, whether it's 9 to 5, 10 to 6, or whatever time works best for you.
Use Your Day Job Security
So don't let the fact that you can't devote all your time to your new business discourage you. If you're still working on your day job while you're starting your business, use that security to your advantage.Set Goals
Dave Nevogt, from Hubstaff, also suggests setting a goal, based on savings from your daily work. It can be an amount saved in your daily work, an amount earned in your new business, or both.
Network
It's incredibly energizing and motivating to interact with other people in your field, especially if you have a job where you normally work alone. Encourage your employees to do the same: their conversations could generate useful information for your company.
Make Time for Family and Friends
As a small business owner, it's often difficult or impossible to leave work.
Make a conscious effort to create a space to spend quality time with loved ones. Make appointments with family and friends and treat your commitments seriously, including those you make with your family.
Know Your Why
Knowing “your why” is a concept that has taken root in the business community and doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. Work is part of life, especially if you're at a point in your business career where you've really found your calling (and not just working for a salary). The most ambitious and successful entrepreneurs learn for life and are committed to always being at the forefront of the learning that is required to achieve leadership in their field.Take Care of Yourself
Getting there can seem downright impossible, especially if you're in the habit of ignoring your personal needs.
Schedule activities with family and friends, take the kids on a weekend trip, camping, hiking or biking; just be sure to dedicate a couple of hours solely to your personal well-being. A study published in the European Heart Journal examined the risk of atrial fibrillation in people who worked more than 55 hours a week compared to those who worked 35 to 40 hours a week. The researchers studied more than 85,000 working men and women aged around 43 and, 10 years later, more than 1000 of those people had developed new cases of atrial fibrillation. Let's see how balancing work and spending time on personal activities can strengthen the overall success of your company and increase your level of health and happiness.
