Making your business work for you: work/life balance

You started your business to have the freedom of being in charge. But are you actually working harder than ever and drowning in admin, meetings and other demands on your time?

Don’t worry, there are ways to get your work/life balance back under control.

In this series, we’ll look at the core ways your business can be structured to deliver on your own personal, family, philanthropic and leisure goals.

A business that’s designed to balance work and downtime

Running a company can be all-consuming. You have a business idea you believe in and a team that’s working hard to bring your product or service to market. It’s easy to let the multiple tasks on your to-do list take over, so you end up working around the clock, with no downtime.

But, ultimately, working this hard is counter-productive. You burn out, have no energy to lead and start to make silly mistakes. So, dialling down the workload is a must.

Here are four key ways to get your work/life balance back on track:

→ Prioritise tasks and block out time

Schedule specific blocks of time for work tasks, personal appointments and downtime to relax and decompress. Be ruthless about prioritising tasks and focus on the 20% that yields 80% of the results. This prevents work from bleeding through into your leisure and family time.

→ Learn to delegate and outsource

Don't try to do everything yourself. Find the tasks that can be delegated to team members or outsourced to freelancers and other contractors. If data entry is your nemesis, hire a bookkeeper. This frees up your time for higher-value activities and reduces your workload.

→ Establish boundaries between work and leisure time

Set clear boundaries between your work and personal life. This might mean turning off work-related notifications after a certain time, or designating specific days or times for family and friends. If you work from home, think about having a home office that you can only use during these agreed working hours – so you create a separation between work and downtime.

→ Schedule regular breaks and downtime

Burnout is a real risk for entrepreneurs. Be sure to take regular breaks throughout the day, even short ones, to recharge. Schedule proper downtime – evenings, weekends and holidays – and stick to it as much as possible. This gives you time to breathe and keeps you fresh. Helping you set and track your personal goals

No company has ever prospered with a tired, burnt-out and frazzled CEO at the helm. If your business is taking over your time, now’s the time to take a new approach to your workload.