Work-Life Balance Is Healthier For You and Your Business
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could leave work at the office? Imagine getting home, kicking your shoes off and never giving work another thought until clocking in the next day? For many self-employed persons, it’s almost impossible to separate work life from home life, and yet that’s one of the reasons so many people decide to go to work for themselves.
Is it possible to obtain that perfect work-life balance?
We know spending quality time with our families or otherwise enjoying the fruits of our labors is the goal, but it never seems like we can accomplish this. What are some ways we can get a better balance?
Realize that there will always be work that needs to be done. If you find yourself worrying over your business because you know you will have one busy day after another, you may need to change how you think of unfinished work. Breaking up the work into smaller tasks is a great way to do this. Knowing that you accomplished one-fourth of a project is much better than fretting that the project isn’t done.
Just because you’re tired doesn’t necessarily mean you should rest. It’s far too easy to proclaim yourself exhausted and retire to the TV chair, where you’ll somehow find the energy to watch 3 hours of television. It would be much better for your health—both mental and physical health—if you went for a walk or participated in some other exercise.
Use a brain dump. Studies have shown that writing down your issues can help declutter your mind. Whether you create lists, use your planner, or journal, a brain dump is an excellent tool to use when you feel overwhelmed with work. Often the very act of physically writing things down will not only help your stress, but will give you a means to organize your thoughts. This is good for becoming more productive.
Think about your options. It may be that you’ve created more work for yourself by making your business open for more hours than it needs to be. Perhaps you could benefit by downscaling your business into a more niche market. If you have more control over your business, you aren’t as likely to feel so bewildered.
Relax. If you need to, make a list of things you’d rather be doing. One of the reasons you became self-employed was so you could do things you enjoy. Find time to pursue your hobbies, and/or hang out with friends or family. Know when to say ‘no’ to extra commitments.
A proper work-life balance is one that helps you remember what it’s all for. From time to time look your life over to see if you’re “taking care of business” in a way that’s taking care of you.