18 Ways to Achieve a much better - Business Work-Life Balance

1) What is? 2) Risks, 3) vs Integration, 4) Assess, 5) Time Mgt, 6) Burnout, 7) Mindfulness,

8) Balance, 9) Plans, 10) Organize, 11) Delegate, 12) Flexible, 13) Remote, 14) Use Tech, 15) Breaks, 16) Distractions, 17) Multi-Tasking, 18) Review.

All businesses will require too much work until they become independent in some way from everyday direct intervention from entrepreneurs. Because of that, Work-life balance is something that many entrepreneurs struggle with.

As a small Biz entrepreneur, you probably spend too much time planning, generating ideas, opportunity recognition, marketing, selling, research and development, managing, finances…

But, where are you here? What’s your compensation for your time and all of these efforts? You have your own life before and after you start a business. Also, are spending time with your family. They are your greatest treasure.

One of the frequently asked questions that comes to each entrepreneur is questions related to balancing work & life. Probably you already have asked yourself the following questions:

How can I balance my work and my life?
How can I balance my work and my home life?
What do I need to do to achieve a better work-life balance?
How can I balance my work and my personal life?

Understanding the Importance of Work-Life Balance

1. What is Work-Life Balance?

Work-Life Balance is simply the state of equilibrium where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one’s business and the demands of one’s private life.

When we talk about such a balancing, we think about balancing our work life with our personal life in most cases. What is more important for you: work or family, business or family? This question is a really complex question when it comes to the entrepreneur.

In the simplest form, Work-Life Balance is managing your work plus non-work aspects of your business and the non-business aspect of your business life. However, you are working because you want to make a better living for yourself and your family. Therefore, if I need to define something about work-life balance, I will say this:

Work-Life Balance is the concept of managing business and non-business life, or professional and private life, establishing clear boundaries between both to achieve optimal working hours that enable me and my family to have beautiful non-business or personal lives.

Sometimes, there are wrong concepts between entrepreneurs who say that they must work more if they want to earn more. In the post titled “More Working Hours Doesn’t Mean More Work Done,” I have presented four important factors that have a strong influence on your business productivity. If more working hours don’t mean more work done, then more working hours also don’t mean more earnings. This becomes more crucial when it comes to transition planning for a family business.

2. The Risks of poor Work-Life Balance

It’s essential to maintain a healthy work-life balance to improve physical, emotional, and mental well-being. A good work-life balance has numerous positive effects, including stress reduction, a lower risk of burnout, and a greater sense of well-being.

On the other side, poor work-life balance can lead to negative consequences, including stress, burnout, and a decline in mental and physical health. It can also impact your personal relationships, leading to conflicts and feelings of guilt or resentment. A poor work-life balance can ultimately affect job performance, leading to decreased productivity and a higher risk of turnover.

In his TED talk, (TED = Tech, Entertainment, Design) Nigel Marsh highlights the risks and consequences of poor work-life balance. As a successful businessman himself, he understands the pressure and demands of running a business while also trying to maintain a fulfilling personal life. He shares his own journey towards finding a better work-life balance and offers valuable insights for others struggling with the same issue.

Here I want to share a great inspirational TED Talk from Nigel Marsh. The talk is related to work-life balance, which we forget as one of the most important things in our entrepreneurial life.

One of the key points Marsh makes is that we need to redefine what success means in our society. Often, success is associated with long hours, high stress levels, and sacrificing personal time for work. However, this narrow definition ignores important aspects of our lives such as relationships, hobbies, & self-care.

3. Work-life Balance vs Work-life Integration

So, work-life balance is about having separate professional and personal lives or balancing between them. However, one concept that has become very popular in recent years is work-life integration.

Work-life integration is an approach that looks at how to integrate work into private life rather than separate them. It recognizes that in today’s world of technology and constant connectivity, it’s not always possible or desirable to switch off from work completely during personal time. Work and personal life complement a person’s overall lifestyle.

This approach values flexibility & autonomy so individuals can prioritize their tasks & responsibilities – based on their needs & wants. It also recognizes the importance of self-care and balance in all areas of life.

While both work-life balance and work-life integration have their advantages, it’s ultimately down to personal preference and individual circumstances. Some people will thrive with a strict separation between work and private life. Others will find more happiness in integrating the two. Whatever approach you choose, the most important thing is to find a system that works for you and allows you to live a happy and whole life.

4. Assess Your Current Balance

Before you can start working to improve your work-life balance, 1st, you must assess your current balance between work & life. Only in such a way will you find improvement opportunities and achieve work-life balance.

4a. Evaluate your Priorities

After you have done the assessment, you can easily see that one of the main causes of burnout is the mixing of professional & personal life. With technology, we can be connected 24/7; checking your emails and responding to work requests outside of work hours can be hard to resist. But this constant connectivity can lead to burnout – as it blurs the lines between work & private life.

You need to set clear boundaries & priorities for yourself. That means setting specific work hours and sticking to them, not checking emails or responding to work requests outside of those hours, prioritizing your personal time, and allowing yourself to switch off from work. For instance, if your technology mixes work and pleasure, you can turn off notifications on your phone, computer, etc.

5. Incorporate Effective Time Management Strategies

Another key factor in preventing burnout is effective Time management. This involves setting realistic goals & expectations for what can be accomplished in a day, week, or month. Using a To-Do list, prioritizing tasks and breaking them into smaller, manageable pieces, you can achieve better balance and avoid feeling overwhelmed and burned out.

It’s also important to schedule breaks throughout the day to recharge & refocus. Taking short breaks allows your mind and body to rest and prevents burnout from constantly working at a high intensity.

I have already explained the difference between effective and ineffective time management principles. I call them a virtuous and vicious time management cycle.

First, you must take time to reflect on your priorities & goals to determine what’s most important to you in your professional life and personal life.

The most important question here is how you want to live your life. So, to respond to this question, you must identify areas where you may be over-committing or neglecting important aspects of your life.

6. Recognize the Signs of Burnout

1st. When discussing clear boundaries between our work & personal lives, we should pay attention to physical, emotional, & mental signs of burnout, such as fatigue, irritability, & decreased motivation. Knowing the signs of burnout can make a huge difference. I know that too many hours of working or more work hours can surely be some signs of burnout, even if you do not recognize them in most cases.

The 2nd important thing is to assess the impact of such burnout on your personal & professional life, including decreased productivity & weakened family relationships, when you recognize the signs. If you are in such a situation, you must take proactive steps to address burnout.

More Strategies for achieving a Good Work-Life Balance

7. Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance thru Mindfulness & Self-Care

Today, it’s so much easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of your daily life. We often find ourselves working on multiple tasks and responsibilities, leaving little time for ourselves. However, in order to consistently perform at our best, it’s important to escape health problems and prioritize self-care, high level of mental health and maintain a healthy balance between work and private life.

One key aspect of maintaining mental health is mindfulness – being present at the moment and fully engaged with what we are doing at that specific moment. By practicing mindfulness, you can reduce stress levels and improve your overall well-being. This can be achieved by setting aside a few minutes each day for your mental health activities, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises.

Also, it can be tempting to work non-stop in order to achieve more, but this can actually have a negative impact on your productivity and overall well-being. Schedule breaks throughout the day for yourself – whether it’s going for a walk, listening to music, or simply taking a few minutes to stretch and relax. These breaks can help you recharge and improve your focus when you return to work.

8. How to Achieve a Sustainable Balance

Managing Work-life balance is something that can eliminate stress and improve your overall life as a businessman. This means that you must start managing your own time, plan your activities, and understand your priorities.

Also, you need to know exactly what satisfies you and what doesn’t satisfy you, as well as what creates value – not only for your customers – but also for you & your family.

If you take some measures using the strategies I have explained above and you improve work-life balance, if you come back to your old habits, it is the same as you have not achieved anything. So, it is really important for you to achieve sustainability with the right balance for you.

Here, I will share some pieces of advice that can help you ensure your own work-life balance:

9. Create Long-Term & Short-Term Plans

First, you must develop a Long-term plan for achieving and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I have seen many younger workers who don’t think much about balancing. However, as time passes, they quickly become aware of the problems because of the health issues that will appear.

A long-term plan to find balance will give you a sense of direction and help you prioritize your time & activities. Think about what is truly important to you in the long run, both personally and professionally, then create a plan that allows you to achieve those goals – while also maintaining balance in your life.

Next, translate your long-term plan into Short–term plans for each of your day, week, month, or year related to your business and non-business activities. Your plan must be based on both – your business & personal goals.

Remember that when you structure your day based on the highest priorities, you will improve your productivity and have more free time to spend with loved ones.

10. Organize your Business & Personal Activities

If you are not an organized entrepreneur, you can’t make enough balance between your private and business activities. I know that as a businessman or especially a startup, you think that everything is important. Still, you must forget low-priority items; don’t bother yourself with them.

You can achieve this when you incorporate prioritization and a Time management matrix, which can be really helpful for this purpose:

Ensure that each week, you have prepared a schedule for the next week. Then, you can answer these ten questions that you should ask before the start of the next week.

Also, develop another To-Do list where you will put things you like to do with people you like. For example, ensure you have tasks for spending time with friends & family or entertaining in a hobby that will make you happy when you don’t work on your business.

In my experience, there is no perfect balance today. But the least you can do is ensure you are spending quality time with your loved ones.

11. Delegate

As an businessman, it’s hard to let go of tasks and trust someone else to do them. But if you do everything yourself, you’ll be overwhelmed. Delegating is key for efectively managing your own time. Identify what can be delegated and delegate to team members or freelancers to take on those tasks.

12. Flexible Workplace

As a business owner, you can create your own workspace. Use this and design a space that suits you and your needs. Find what works for you to allows you to focus and be most productive.

13. Remote

With technology, remote work has become more accessible and popular. As a business owner consider working remotely some times to save time on commuting and have a more flexible schedule. Just make sure to set boundaries and establish a routine to stay productive.

14. Use Technology

There are many tools out there to help you manage your time. From Project Management software like Trello or Asana to time-tracking apps like RescueTime or Harvest. Find what works for you and make it a efficiency booster.

15. Take Breaks and Practice Time Blocking

It may seem counter-intuitive, but taking breaks can actually increase your productivity. Schedule regular breaks throughout your day to give yourself some rest and recharge your brain. This will help you stay focused & motivated when you return to work.

Time blocking is a technique where you schedule specific blocks of time for certain tasks or activities. This helps you stay focused on one task at a time and ensures that each task receives adequate attention. Try incorporating time blocking into your daily routine and see how it improves your productivity.

16. Eliminate Distractions

In today’s world, distractions are everywhere. From social media notifications to constant Email alerts, it can be challenging to stay focused on work. To combat these distractions, try turning off notifications for a set period each day or use website blockers to limit access to distracting websites during work hours.

17. Avoid Multi-Tasking

While it may seem like multi-tasking can increase efficiency, in reality, it can actually decrease productivity. Instead of trying to do multiple tasks or projects at once, focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention.

I have already explained the impact of multi-tasking or working on two projects at the same time in our post about what you can do when you feel overwhelmed with awesome ideas. Here is the execution cash flow for both cases: jumping from project to project, finishing one, and then continuing with the next one.

18. Review and Adjust Your Wins

A healthy Work-life balance will require you to review your wins regularly to ensure they’re healthy and sustainable. Take time to reflect on your wins & challenges. This will help you identify what needs to be improved or adjusted. Celebrate your wins, no matter how small they may seem.

Conclusion – Key Take-Aways

1) Many business owners can’t achieve a work-life balance because being an business owner is hard. This imbalance leads to burnout, decreased productivity and strained relationships with family – so business owners need to find ways to balance their work & personal life.
2) Imagine missing out on family moments and feeling exhausted, because your business takes up all your time and energy. This constant struggle is what highlights the need for Work-life balance.
3) Setting boundaries between work and personal time, using Time management strategies, and prioritizing self-care can help you have a healthier work-life balance. Adding mindfulness and time for family & hobbies will make you better, and you’ll have a more enjoyable Business journey.

18 Ways to Achieve a much better – Business Work-Life Balance