No one said being a small business owner was going to be easy, but finding a way to maintain proper work-life balance is important. Unfortunately, small business owners and entrepreneurs have a tremendous responsibility to their businesses and families. Therefore, it’s essential to achieve and maintain a proper work-life balance. We believe creating and maintaining this balance is necessary to have a successful personal life and a successful business, so we’ve outlined 4 core tips to help you enjoy your life while still being a successful entrepreneur.
Encourage a Supportive Environment
Having a positive support system is the key to helping you get through those good and bad days. A supportive environment could mean having a supportive family behind you, friends you can confide in, or business advisors who will help lead you down the right path. Social media can be a valuable tool to access a community of fellow entrepreneurs who can relate and even provide some guidance. For example, you can join BULQs Community Facebook group and connect with resellers for support, advice, and additional reseller resources. A supportive environment also means maintaining a healthy work balance as well. If you’re a business owner with employees, it’s essential to be transparent while establishing trust, reliability, understanding, and respect. You spend tons of time with co-workers when you own a business, so maintaining this balance is critical.
Take Care of Yourself
When running a small business, each day feels like there aren’t enough hours, making it hard to think consciously about your physical health. So at lunchtime, rather than getting a healthy meal, you grab a bag of chips from the vending machine or go to the nearest fast-food joint. Yes. Convenient? Definitely. Healthy? Not. It’s a fact that what you eat impacts your productivity. Fresh fruit and vegetables may not be what you crave for an afternoon snack, but they won’t make you feel groggy or sluggish the way a cheeseburger will. Food isn’t just for your stomach; it’s for your brain.
Some generally helpful tips:
- Pack a healthy lunch. And no, this doesn’t mean you have to eat a salad every day. There are plenty of options to have a healthy, delicious, and filling lunch without breaking the bank.
- Stay active. Try taking a 15-minute walk every day. Mental breaks are just as important as physical ones. Try listening to a podcast or doing a quick 5 or 10-minute meditation.
- Drink water and get plenty of sleep. Your brain and body need it. Sleep is more important than food. Missing small amounts of sleep can affect productivity.
- Remain stress-free. High levels of stress can have catastrophic results on your health and well-being, so keep that in check. Being mindful of your stress and understanding when your body and mind need a break is crucial.
Work Smart
While this may sound painstakingly obvious, it might just be the most challenging step on this list. Working smart means maximizing the time you spend working so that when you get to the office, you’re not wasting time duplicating efforts or on projects that don’t have a significant enough impact on your business. This requires taking a long look at your day-to-day tasks and seeing if anything can be consolidated or removed entirely. Since this is business-specific, this step will vary for each small business owner. However, some best practices remain constant. You can begin by making a to-do list, delegating work when you can, and staying off social media during those core hours. Facebook browsing may seem like an excellent way to take a mental break, but its addictive design can turn a 5-minute break into a half-hour break. If you need a mental break, go for a quick walk, listen to relaxing music, or a podcast. Becoming a more efficient entrepreneur and a worker will benefit your work-life balance, but it will also improve how your business is run. Don’t you love win-win situations?
Take Time Off
It’s so important to take time off to enjoy yourself with your family to remind yourself why you’re working so hard. This is one of those not so easy steps when it comes to creating a lifestyle where you can maintain a proper work-life balance. It can be challenging to plan and ensure that no work falls through the cracks, but striking a work-life balance is worthwhile. For those entrepreneurs who are just starting, it’s even more challenging to take time off. This makes vacation time challenging, but you can optimize your weekend and holiday schedule with planning. Staycations or quick weekend getaways are great ways to decompress.
All of these steps will improve both your personal and professional life. Even if you can’t implement all of these steps, make an effort to try at least a few of them. Remember that your work should not dominate your life or define who you are. If you value having a proper work-life balance, you can act on those motivations. Remember why you work and who you are working for: yourself and your family.
Check out our latest BULQ Breakdown “Achieving work-life balance while running your reselling business”
featuring successful business owner, and super mom Donna Kemp:
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