Photo: Colton Sturgeon / Unsplash
Being an entrepreneur is a satisfying and exciting route to take in life, but it can also cause a fundamental shift in your work-life balance. Don’t worry! There is a sweet spot, and these six hacks can help you find it:
1. Separate Work From Home
Hot desking, coffee shops, home offices – these options all enable you to separate work from home as an entrepreneur. A premium virtual office package can be particularly handy because it gives you a professional edge with options like answering services, a professional address, and even access to meeting rooms. Utilise non-personal working zones and services to create boundaries and protect your personal space day to day.
2. Unplug
The average internet user spends 151 minutes a day on social media. Though many people use social media for work, this is still a crazy amount of time to be attached to a screen. We may also overcheck emails or offer 24/7 contact to clients, adding even more minutes to our personal daily average.
Given the detrimental effects of excessive screen use, it is essential to unplug as an entrepreneur. Create workable boundaries with clients to limit expectations, turn off notifications, and set some time each day that’s totally phone-free. You need these absolute brain breaks to enjoy your personal life and come back refreshed when it’s time to work on your business again.
3. Fill Your Cup First
Around a quarter of entrepreneurs feel burned out to a moderate degree, and 3% feel deeply impacted by burnout symptoms. This can happen due to poor work-life balance, but burnout can also cause your work-life balance to suffer.
It can be a vicious cycle, so to avoid it, remember to always fill your cup first. Prioritize your health and happiness, and be very careful about sacrificing so much of your health and well-being to your entrepreneurial goals that you burn out. The result of doing that could be a set of symptoms that are very hard to shift. The effects of burnout will inevitably harm your business and personal life in the long run, so if you only follow one tip on the list, make it this one.
4. Create A Routine That Keeps Priorities Prioritised
As an entrepreneur, it can be almost automatic to create a routine that fits everything in, with no emphasis on what is essential and what isn’t. Entrepreneurs want to achieve it all, and their schedules generally reflect that ambition. The problem is that such overpacked schedules fail to account for the reality of the person trying to achieve it all.
To ensure you never let vital tasks slip under a pile of urgent but unimportant tasks, learn how to prioritize your day and practice eating the frog. You’ll also want to focus on social events, self-care, and breaks. If your schedule does not prioritize your work and personal life, it’s not workable.
5. Take Breaks
Use easy tools like the Pomodoro Technique to force yourself to take regular breaks. This helps you have a healthier work day and ensures you aren’t exhausted when enjoying personal time.
6. Delegate
By 2027, there will be over 86 million people freelancing in the USA. Many more people worldwide are offering freelance skills, making the global talent pool massive.
By delegating time-consuming tasks outside of your primary skill set to freelancers, you liberate valuable time and energy to focus properly on elevating your business. You also have more time for your personal life.
Use these tips to create a lasting work-life balance that will allow you to achieve your ambitions while ensuring you enjoy the fulfilling and enriching personal life you deserve.
