One of the hardest parts about being and entrepreneur is figuring out how to have a successful business and a life too—especially if your business is growing or changing. It quickly becomes a lot like that plant Seymour from “Little Shop of Horrors”. No matter what you do, or how many hours you work, it’ll always be there saying “feeeeeeed me.” But what it wants is your time and energy (and money of course).
At some point you have to say no or it WILL suck you dry physically and emotionally.
But if you want to be both successful and happy as an entrepreneur, you have to find a way to. To help you achieve a bit of that elusive—but necessary—work/life balance I recently solicited tips from more than 100 experts on productivity, time management, business/life balance, mindset and more. Below are a few more I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!
You don’t have to be in charge of everything.
“As an entrepreneur with a small business it's a natural tendency to want to keep your eyes and ears on every part of your business. However, that doesn't mean you should be in charge of every aspect of your business. Our office stress level reduced dramatically when we took a look at the activities that we hated doing and then outsourced them to qualified professionals. After all, being an entrepreneur is supposed to be about having fun while making money!”
Shari Alexander – Expert Message Group, LLC http://www.expertmessagegroup.com/
Keep one calendar for everything.
“My advice to others is to keep ONE calendar and ONE to-do list that covers all aspects of work and life. Each evening–in preparation for the next day–I look at my to-do list and prioritize it. What are the top things that need to get done tomorrow? Things like volunteering in a child's classroom, going to the gym or taking the car for an oil change may be more important on a particular day than some of the business items on the list.”
Leigh Steere, Co-founder – Managing People Better, LLC www.ManagingPeopleBetter.com
Take a real lunch break even if you work from home.
“As a copywriter and media buyer, not only am I a 'solopreneur', I work from a home office, where the lines between work and life can become very blurred. Much of my time is spent seeing clients in their place of business, but on in-office days, one thing I insist on is taking a real lunch break: up to a full hour away from my desk, when I let telephone calls go to voicemail and do not check email. This gives me a chance to unplug, regroup, and get back to business with a refreshed focus.”
Carole Holden, The Media Fairy – http://www.themediafairy.com/
Eliminate, delegate, outsource and automate (clearly this entrepreneur and I are cut from the same cloth)
“Take inventory of all activities that you do throughout the day, week, & month. Go through a "peel the onion layers" in this order: What can be ELIMINATED? Then DELEGATED/OUTSOURCED? If something can’t be eliminated or delegated, what can be automated?”
Paul Tran, Founder – Point B Capital Corporation http://www.paulttran.com/
Schedule personal time just as you would a business appointment.
“Many entrepreneurs are workaholics, which makes it hard for them to achieve work-life balance. A tip I give to my clients is to schedule personal time just as they would a business appointment. Put it in the calendar, block out the time, and treat that time slot just as if it was an appointment with your top client. We cannot serve our clients if we are burnt out, therefore scheduling time to maintain balance is just as important, if not more so, than any other task or appointment.”
Laura Waage, Business Coach and Consultant – Entrepreneur Success Tools http://www.entrepreneursuccesstools.com/
What do you think about these tips? Got more to add? Please do share by leaving a comment below…
[...] shared my thoughts on being organized & balanced on the Unchained Entrepreneur blog, & wanted to share it with you. [...]