How to Master the Work-Life Balance as an Entrepreneur

It’s great that you’re a business professional working to change the world with your talent and innovation. However, sometimes you might feel as though you’re swamped with meetings, e-mails, and deadlines. It can be tough to manage all of these while still maintaining a strong relationship with your family and friends.

Mastering a work-life balance is important no matter what industry you’re in. Here are some tips on how you can balance your life to get the best of both worlds.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

We really do mean the full eight hours. Getting a good night’s sleep can help you focus on the tasks you need to finish from your workload to grocery shopping. With more energy, you’ll be able to work more efficiently during the day and reduce your overtime.

If you work from nine to five, you’ll want to have as much energy as you can when you go home to see your family and friends. If you’re tired, you’ll be less likely to go out for dinner or spend time at a friend’s house. Having a good night’s sleep will help you feel better about yourself and give you the ability to stay active throughout the day.

Don’t work, work, work!

Okay, you’re superman – you manage the employees, run the social media, make client calls, work on the website, and keep the office tidy. You wear these tasks with a badge of pride and you’ll do anything to make sure your company succeeds.

However, if you start working more than spending time with your significant other or friends, they’ll notice. That’s why it’s important to remember to work hard but also give yourself a break. You might want to be an all-star because you have talents in many areas, but chances are you will end up taking on more responsibility than you can perform.

Here are a few strategies you can use to ease the workload:

1. Delegate among your current employees. You might be able to find some of them will have some extra free time on their hands. Maybe someone would really enjoy doing something new or always wanted to develop a talent in a new field. Either way, don’t be shy to ask someone else if they can take on an extra project or two.
2. Prioritize what needs to get done. Double-checking your financials, keeping your website up-to-date, and making sure your employees stay happy are definitely towards the top of the list. Things like organizing your file cabinet or squeezing in an extra social media update can be put on the back burner. At first, it might be hard to know what to prioritize; start by making a list of the most important things to finish before the month ends.
3. Hire a freelancer or intern. Hire freelancer or intern to do your social media, manage your website, create your graphics, or whatever else you need to get done. This will give someone else a chance to bring their talents to the table and ease some of the tasks off of your plate. Just make sure you company’s intern or freelance program is compliant with the law. Chances are, they’ll thank you for giving them an opportunity to grow with your company!

Set aside time for family on your Calendar

A calendar is the lifeline of an entrepreneur because it’s cluttered with meetings, deadlines, and little sticky note reminders. Without your calendar, you wouldn’t know when your deadlines are and how to prioritize your duties.

But while you consider all of your work-related tasks important, why not add some family time on to your calendar? After all, that’s important too!

The benefits to adding time for your family is you know you won’t be neglecting them. You can plan to have dinner with them every night at six or set aside special time to go to the movies every Friday. Make a plan that makes sense for your schedule and start spending more time with your family and friends!

Unlink your work e-mail and communications from your personal phone

With technology, the work day never seems to end. People can update you at any moment and you have the ability to know what’s coming before next Monday morning. While this might seem useful, it can have a significant impact on your work-life balance.

You are causing yourself unnecessary anxiety when you’re off the clock by having your e-mail linked to your phone. Do you really want to be texting your employees during your child’s recital or bringing your stresses to the pool when you went there to relax? Live in the moment. You can check your work e-mail when you come back into the office the next day.

Don’t engage in time-wasting activities at work or home

When you’re at work, sometimes it can be boring. Checking Facebook, chatting with coworkers, browsing cooking blogs, and keeping up with the latest in your friends group chat are all more fun than what you have to finish for the day. It’s easy to be distracted by these things, but you’ll finish work more efficiently by cutting these activities from your day. This will reduce overtime and can save you hours at work!

The same goes for when you go home in the evening. You might really enjoy watching YouTube or Netflix when you come home, but you could be using that time to spend with your family and friends. It’s okay to do these things once in a while, but they may be hindering your ability to spend time with those you love. If you’re passionate about being able to spend time with your family, prune the time you spend on these activities and start planning to be with your loved ones.

EMS Supports Entrepreneurs!

At Electronic Merchant Systems, we are proud to support the hardworking entrepreneurs of America. You build the economy and help people with your innovation and talent. That’s why we offer efficient electronic credit processing systems to help make your life easier.

Electronic Merchant Services is dedicated to the success of the companies we serve. Contact us to learn more.