As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our work. We juggle dozens of tasks at one time, which often means spending a lot of time in the office or in the field. However, it’s important to remember that life exists outside of your business. While it often feels as though your company needs your constant attention, setting aside time for your personal life is essential for long-term business success. Here are some key tips for maintaining that ever-so-difficult work-life balance:
Prioritize Your Tasks
To successfully balance your time, you must have a clear idea of what needs to be accomplished. Before you begin each day, create a list of tasks ranked by level of importance. What is most pressing? While it may feel productive to tackle a bunch of smaller, low-priority items upfront, in the long run this practice can hinder your ability to check off the larger boxes, which will ultimately help you get out the door faster and back to your family. Knock out the big items first for more stress-free personal time later on.
Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
After prioritizing your tasks, it is important to be realistic with what you choose to take on. If you already have a heavy workload (which you most likely do), don’t be afraid to delegate to your team. While you may feel a sense of obligation to complete everything presented to you and manage all of it yourself, staying at the office until the wee hours of the night to finish everything doesn’t help anyone in the long run if it leads to you burning out. Know your limits and effectively communicate this with your team to see who has time to take on additional tasks. Trust in your team and maintain a realistic to-do list so you can have more time to do the things you love.
Schedule A Little “Me” Time
Set aside a consistent block of time in your schedule that’s just for you. Whether this means taking a jog during your lunch hour, listening to music or reading a book, allocate some time each day to relax. Forcing yourself to step away from your work – even if it’s just for 15 minutes – will do wonders for your mental health.
Leave Work at Work
To achieve a healthy work-life balance, separating your work life from your home life is essential. We cannot stress enough how important it is to unplug each day. Though it may seem impossible, set up a firm time for yourself at which every night you turn off your email and work phone unless it’s absolutely necessary to check. By eliminating work distractions outside of the office, you will be able to devote 100% of yourself to family and friends, which, at the end of the day, is what’s most important.
At Far West Capital, we believe maintaining a work-life balance is essential when unleashing business potential. Got any tips to add to our list? Leave us a comment below.