How to achieve a good work-life balance

Having a small business can be very stressful because it’s hard to find moments to disconnect or relax. But your business will do much better if you achieve a good work-life balance. In this guide you’ll find ideas to achieve it.

When you have a small business you tend to become a workaholic. Working hard is the path to success and we’re not going to deny that this is true, at least to a certain extent.

Demanding yes, but under control

Unfortunately, too much hard work can also end up finishing you off, literally. Excessive stress can result in sky-high blood pressure, heart problems, cholesterol, poor health and an endless list of other possible diseases.

Moreover, demanding too much of yourself is not only bad for your health and for the health of your team members, it’s also terribly inefficient because it seriously damages motivation and creativity.

A good work-life balance is essential if you want to make the most of your skills. In this guide you’ll find some ideas to achieve a correct balance between your life and your work, while maintaining optimal functioning of your business.

Find your ideal balance

Working hard is inevitable if you want to build a business, but this doesn’t mean you should work 24 hours 7 days a week.

When your business asks for extra hours and efforts, give them. But don’t forget to count what you do extra so you can compensate for it at another time. After some weeks of intense effort, for example, you can treat yourself to a long weekend to recharge your body and mind.

Think of the hours you dedicate to relaxing as if they were an energy bank. So then you can use this accumulated energy to face the extra efforts that your business will ask of you.

What does science say?

There are multiple studies in the field of psychology and science about how our brain works. If you want to achieve a good work-life balance, these tips can be very helpful:

Nap time…

Studies show that the 2 hours immediately after lunch are very bad for doing intensive intellectual work. Unfortunately not all of us are lucky enough to be able to take a nap, so the most sensible thing is to dedicate these hours to administrative tasks that don’t require much concentration.

Let creativity flow

The most creative parts of our brain fire up when we’re distracted with other things, and especially when we’re tired or relaxed. This is why the most brilliant ideas usually appear at night.

The best way to unleash creativity is to think about something for a while and then forget it and relax.

Day or night person

There are people who work better at night and others who work better first thing in the morning. You can’t do much to change your nature, so the smartest thing is to ask yourself if you’re more productive at night or in the morning. When you have it clear, save the hours when your brain is most active to work on tasks that require more concentration.

Yes to stress, but in moderation

Small amounts of stress are useful for keeping our brain in optimal working conditions. Without stress our brain tends to get comfortable. Still, you have to avoid long periods of stress because they can cause premature aging of our body.

4 practical tricks

Now that you’re clear about why you should find a good work-life balance, you’ll be wondering where to start. These are 4 tricks that can work wonders for you:

1- Take all your vacations

And encourage your entire team to do exactly the same. Without vacations your life can become a routine and this is not the best way to run a business. Take breaks when you can and take advantage to charge your batteries to the maximum.

2- Learn to delegate

The best entrepreneurs are those who manage to delegate the right things to the right people, and then let them work in peace. If you find it hard to delegate, try to learn. Your business has more chances of success if you learn to do it and you’ll feel much better by reducing the pressure a bit.

3- Disconnect

Learn to disconnect properly at the end of the day and on your weekend. Resist the temptation to check your work email or your billing data outside of hours. Relax and completely disconnect from your “work mode”.

Resist the temptation to check your work email or log into your billing program outside of hours.

4- Stay healthy

Eat in moderation, avoid stimulants, exercise and sleep. Keeping your body healthy will be a great help for your mind. And it doesn’t hurt to have a medical checkup from time to time, entrepreneurs tend to underestimate the symptoms of stress.

Remember why you have your own business

Look back from time to time and remember why you started it. It might have been to have more independence, more money, new challenges, or more time to dedicate to your family or hobbies. Or maybe a bit of everything.

Keep your objectives in mind or write them down to always have them present. This way it will be much easier to prevent your business from becoming an end in itself. Taking perspective is important.

Nobody dies wishing they had spent more time at work.

Your work-life balance directly affects the success of your business. Dedicating your entire life to the business will have dire consequences for your own health and also for its success.

Working to achieve a good balance between both things is the path to achieving a good business and the health and time to enjoy it.

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