Strategies for achieving a better work-life balance
by Natalie Sisson
If you love what you do, you'll never work another day in your life. Even if that sounds cliché, it’s actually true. The trick is figuring out how to get paid for doing what you love without losing your passion for it. If you live your passion, you’ll be a happier, healthier person with a more meaningful outlook on life.
It’s important to look at what balance means to you. If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, you probably know that complete work-life balance is a myth. Work-life balance means different things to different people. To achieve your own balance you must first decide how you want to allocate your time. Once you make that decision, build a schedule and stick with it.
Build a lifestyle business
A lifestyle business is a business that fits around your lifestyle. So if you have a family and want to for example you will build business that is flexible enough to allow you to do that. While many may think this is impossible, lifestyle businesses are becoming one of the most common ways in which to create and offer products and services that fit in with your lifestyle and responsibilities. That way balance is factored in right from the start. While it may take you a while to create the systems to get that winning ratio, you’ll enjoy re-focusing from longer, complex projects to shorter, simpler ones to suit your lifestyle. You will begin to build everything else around your lifestyle through these systems that allow you to do more with less, in less time and generate the same revenue.
Schedule your day out in blocks of time
When you’re doing what you love it’s all too easy to work on it 24/7. In order to avoid neglecting one project over another, schedule several hours for each project. So that you don’t have friends and family knocking on your door wondering if you’re going to get a life, make sure you schedule in ample time to reconnect with them and play. You’ll actually benefit from that break and downtime and use your time more efficiently during the day. Each block of time -- whether or not it's work-related -- should be considered of equal importance.
Try balancing instead of perfection
The reason people often feel stressed and not in control of their work and time are that they have a warped sense of what balance actually is. Take a moment to close your eyes and stand on one leg and don't move a muscle. Were you successful at being perfectly still or did you fall over within seconds? If you’re off balance, you will know instinctively that your body needs some adjusting and you need to give it more energy. This same lesson applies to work and life.
Learn to say no to the unnecessary
If you’re feeling inundated and stressed out, it’s likely that you are trying to do everything and haven’t learned to say no when needed. You have to focus on your priorities. Cut out every single thing that doesn’t matter like friendly email replies, networking events that won’t bring you business, going to happy hours, and random phone calls. Instead fill your day with only the things that matter to moving you forward. It may seem ruthless but it will certainly make you feel more in control and therefore happier. Replace non-priorities with valuable work, exercising, and spending time with your family and friends and you’ll instantly feel more balanced.
Put yourself first
If you really want to achieve that balance in life you do need to take time to look after yourself. Without a healthy and energetic lifestyle, you may notice that everything else will start to suffer. Hire a personal trainer and see a nutritionist if you must, whatever it takes to keep you in optimum shape and ready to tackle what work and life throws at you. If you are overworked, your health is one of the first things to suffer. So it‘s really important to take care of your body and mental health. Schedule in a workout time each day – preferably in the morning -- and make sure you take a Saturday or Sunday off to recharge.
Treat each day as a gift
Another way to get the most out of lifestyle and business is to treat every single day as its own unique challenge. What do you need to do today to feel balanced? What helps you re-charge at the end of the day? As business owners, we can get so in the zone that we find ourselves working 16 hour days and then we are wiped out. Tuning into what you need on any given day is a skill and one that pays huge dividends. Listen to your body and your mind as to what you feel you can accomplish today and then set your expectations to meet your energy levels.
Get away from it all
Mini-vacations are the perfect tonic to reset your life balance scales again. There’s no need to wait for the perfect time as it will never come. You need to schedule in small breaks such as three-day getaways or a series of 1-2 week vacations where you minimize your work and maximize your fun time, or do no work at all. These breaks are the key to real happiness; they put your life in perspective and make you step back from any bad habits you’re developing. New scenery or a trip to enjoy mother nature can be very invigorating and help you to reclaim any lost passion or creativity for your work.
Natalie Sisson is a Kiwi Entrepreneur and Adventurer dedicated to finding creative ways to help you run your business from anywhere. She focuses on using online tools, social media and outsourcing to create more freedom in business and adventure in life. Her blog The Suitcase Entrepreneur features articles on all aspects of running a virtual business, a wealth of resources, biz and travel tools plus a large dose of inspiration, insight and intelligence.
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