Balancing your Work and Life
As much as I enjoy entrepreneurship, I can honestly tell you that being an entrepreneur is not easy. I don't know any successful sole proprietor who will tell you that it is, rewarding yes, but easy, no. There are moments of sheer joy and there are many things that I appreciate, such as the flexibility it brings in my day, but most times, it's a lot of work.
What keeps you committed to the work we do?
How do you balance your work with your personal life?
Having a fulfilling amount of work and personal time is balance. What does a balance of work and life mean to you personally and once you've defined that, can you say that you have a good work/life balance? Do you get enough time to complete your work and to exercise? What are you sacrificing personally to reach your professional goals, and vice versa?
The balance is different for everyone because what you value and prioritize is unique to you. For me, I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter and I enjoy my job. I know I'm in balance when my work day is over and I'm satisfied and ready to go home to my family. And I know I've had enough family time when I'm ready to start my work day and am physically and mentally prepared to take on my job load. When I don't have satisfaction, I know I have sacrificed too much on one side or the other.
What creates the feeling of being out of balance?
When I'm not in balance I experience stress. Do you feel stressed because your business is pushing you and you need to earn money? Do deadlines and income determine how much time you put into your work? Do you feel your customer relationships don't allow you to not be available or that you don't want to let them down? Do you find yourself out of balance and stressed by work because of customer demands?
Does your sense of ambition and desire to be the best and to have the best product or service stress you? Or, maybe you want to be liked, known, seen, and a valuable leader in your field and that drive brings on stress.
If your mode is to always feel like you're being pushed by your family or business you're probably out of balance and that stress is a good indicator that you need to get work and life back into balance.
What Can You Do About It?
Time management is usually the thing people turn to when they need to make a change to feel less stressed. But I would challenge you to look at your priority list and determine what is atop the list. Whether it's customer service, the quality of product you offer, making a difference on the planet, etc. Your business priorities will tell you where you should be spending your time the most and first.
Make a list of what you love and hate about your job. This will be the basis for your time management system, which is about managing tasks with the time you have. make your to-do list without deadlines unless there's a hard and fast deadline, let your priorities shift and be willing to delegate.