Without moderation, the fatigue of trying to juggle everything that comes your way will eventually take its toll on personal relationships, demeanor, and mental well-being.
If you own a small business, do you struggle to balance the demands of your work and life?
Undertaking all the demanding tasks required to give birth to an entrepreneurial idea can be overwhelming. The focus of launching a new enterprise tends to be all-consuming, and there's justification for feeling that personal sacrifice will be required to bring it into being. But beyond the initial startup phase, the small business owner needs to develop the ability to discern the healthy parameters for growing the business without causing personal harm. Trying to endlessly give 100% of your time and attention to your venture is a foolhardy strategy that will become harder to maintain as time goes by.
The need to foster a moderate balance of work and life holds true for any small business owner, be they a sole proprietor or the manager of a staff of employees. Someone operating in an entirely sole capacity must be incredibly diligent, though, because without the checks and balances of other people to help provide some perspective, there's a genuine danger of burning out from being hyper-focused. Even with a team to help carry out the daily operations, allowing excessive time and effort to be spoken for by the demands of running the business can be detrimental. And since leading by example is a cornerstone of any solid business leader, burning the candle at both ends sets a poor example for those looking to the owner to provide a balanced formula for approaching what needs to be done.
Some entrepreneurs struggle with permitting themselves an opportunity to rest due to the paranoid fear that everything will crash and burn if they're not working twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Suppose the operation's demands genuinely require eighty-four hours devoted to them. In that case, the business is likely doing well enough to warrant bringing additional people into the equation. Even having just one assisting employee can translate that workload into two reasonable expenditures of time that won't leave either of the involved parties feeling drastically overworked. The transition from sole proprietor to business team carries many complexities, but balancing work and life is one consideration that often gets lost in the mix.
According to the Trust 2023 Small Business Survey, nearly 4 out of every ten small business owners struggle to balance personal and professional demands. The reality is that an imbalance of these factors can be tremendously damaging from a mental and physical perspective. Without moderation, the fatigue of trying to juggle everything that comes your way will eventually take its toll on personal relationships, demeanor, and mental well-being. This imbalance can be catastrophic for the sole proprietor, but even those entrepreneurs with employees will see their life quality suffer when things are out of kilter.
The first step in achieving a proper work/life balance involves critically examining the structure you live by to determine what is and isn't working. Some of the first casualties of an unbalanced approach are sleep and nutrition. When you operate within the mindset of constantly feeling that you need to do more than can be realistically accomplished within a set timeframe, these tend to be quickly sacrificed. It can seem that staying at the office until 10:00 pm is a sign of commitment and diligence. Still, without the benefit of downtime at home to decompress from the day, you're unlikely to have a productive sleep and will likely face another long day with an undercurrent of exhaustion.
Working too many hours a day is often the catalyst for skipping meals or substituting junk food for substantive nourishment. When coupled with a lack of downtime and insufficient quality sleep, maintaining an adequate energy level at work will become more and more challenging. This behavior will, in turn, lead to a lack of focus and a severe impediment to creativity, innovation, and attention to detail. Another often-overlooked casualty of these unhealthy habits is inadequate physical activity – when you spend every waking moment at your desk, even the most rudimentary exercise regimen can be challenging to work in. All of these destructive behaviors can cumulatively impact you in ways that end up being completely debilitating.
One of the first practical strategies you can incorporate to combat these negative factors is time management. Ironically, this can be easier to address in situations involving employees because having others in the mix automatically creates a certain degree of self-accountability. No team can effectively function long-term without firmly established parameters, and the structured use of time is a massive component. It's also essential to be committed to the structure – making exceptions and stretching things will create a scenario wherein the parameters are meaningless.
One good time management tool is delegation, which can be difficult for some entrepreneurs to embrace. If you're used to doing everything yourself, entrusting components of your daily operations to someone else won't likely be your first inclination. However, delegating is mandatory if you hope to maximize the time you spend each day. Being able to multi-task might make you feel like an entrepreneurial superhero, but there's only so much anyone can hope to give their full attention to simultaneously. "Sharing the wealth" by handing tasks to trusted team members will even out the facets of your daily operations and enable everyone to give attention to what needs to be done.
Without setting priorities, your personal and professional life will quickly devolve into nothing more than clutter. When that happens, establishing any sense of what should take precedence over something else can become completely lost. There are many tools, such as the Eisenhower Matrix, that you can employ to help sort things out. Once you have your priorities set and your boundaries firmly in place, you must be diligent to ensure that nothing creeps out of its lane. Everything needs to fall into its specific slot – either "work" or "home." If items in either of these designations migrate to the other, the net result will be a compromise of those boundaries you've so carefully established.
"At work, giving your full attention and focus to growing and developing the business is crucial. But when you're at home, the stresses of the day you just spent and the worries about the one to come must be put as far from your thoughts as possible."
Quality relationships with significant others, family, and friends are central components to help combat stress, but these should also be augmented by physical activity and hobbies. Having a dedicated hobby pursuit can be an excellent way to channel creative and intellectual energy when you're not at work. Some personality types are such that they can't simply "chill" and do nothing, so having a recreational outlet for all of that mental activity can be truly beneficial. This channeled energy expenditure can also refresh and recharge the individual in preparation for the next stint at the office.
Conscientiously addressing the workplace culture will also contribute significantly to living with a healthy overall balance. If people come to a work environment of tension, bitterness, and despair, this will inevitably harm everyone there. Conversely, team members dragging the negativity they're experiencing in their personal lives into the confines of the business will sour the entire climate. Keeping an eye on the temperature of things requires diligence, and in team settings, everyone must actively participate in that process. Holding each other mutually accountable for embracing balance and positivity will help everyone stay on course and perform their job functions in the healthiest manner possible.
One of the most beneficial approaches you can take when it comes to establishing a healthy and sustainable work/life balance is simply learning to say "No." Common sense constraints exist, but resist the urge to commit to everything that crosses your path. Trying to do everything means you'll likely need to do something better. Start discerning what's truly important, and you'll find that your efforts will be more effective and less draining.
Operating your business and embracing the facets of what you fill your own time with aren't mutually exclusive. With a little effort, you can adequately categorize the elements that comprise who you are, and doing so will enable you to flourish and embrace true success in both the short and the long term.
Achieving a healthy work/life balance is crucial for your well-being and the success of your small business. At ValorExcel, we specialize in helping business owners find that perfect equilibrium. Reach out to us today to discover how our expert coaching can improve your daily operations and personal life. Visit our website at https://www.valorexcel.com/book-online, to book your power hour session where you’ll meet with ValorExcel staff to get started. You can also call us at 240-329-9387 or email us at info@valorexcel.com, Also, don't forget to check our recent videos on YouTube by clicking HERE. Let us guide you towards a more productive and fulfilling future.✨ #WorkLifeBalance #BusinessCoaching #SmallBusinessSuccess #ValorExcel
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