Entrepreneurship can offer a lot of freedom and flexibility. The very word might conjure up ideas like a jet-setting lifestyle, working in your sweatpants, and focusing exclusively on passion projects.
And while flexibility and freedom are two major pros of entrepreneurship, the flip side of that coin is that it can also be an all-consuming, always-on endeavor when you don’t proactively seek balance.
Work-life balance doesn’t just magically happen—you need to create it. And to do so, there are three key areas you can focus on.
Mindset
Work-life balance starts with a mindset shift. You need to identify your priorities, both personally and professionally, in order to build a lifestyle that includes all of them.
You’re an entrepreneur, so you’re obviously passionate about your work.
But with that passion comes the tendency to overwork and get caught up in the million and one things to do each day.
So, for an entrepreneur, the most important mindset shift is remembering this: there’s more to life than work.
You’re a person with many interests, talents, relationships, and opportunities.
What else in your life is important to you? Take some time reflecting on these questions:
- Am I happy with how much time I spend at work? Do I sacrifice other important things because of work?
- How are my relationships? Do I prioritize time with people I love?
- Is being an entrepreneur the only part of my identity? How else do I want people to know me?
If you want to achieve work-life balance as an entrepreneur, it has to start from within. Evaluate your starting point and determine what your priorities will be moving forward.
Space
The second key to achieving work-life balance is to set your workspace up for success.
With this, there are two main considerations.
1. Find the best space for you to work in
Given technological improvements and the global pandemic, most people no longer need to work from an office. But working from home can make it hard to separate your work life from your life life.
Here are a few possible solutions:
- Designate a workspace in your home that’s separate from your living space. This allows you to shut the door, physically and mentally, on your work at the end of the day.
- Consider mixing things up and discovering your favorite “third workplace.”
- Opt for a coworking membership to reap the benefits of a dedicated workspace, professional community, and all the services and amenities you might need.
2. Making your workspace work for you
Once you’ve found the right workspace, optimize it for productivity and focus.
After all, the more productive you are during work hours, the easier it is to log off, disconnect, and turn your attention to other things.
Your physical workspace has a lot to do with your productivity and focus. Here are some things to think about:
- Comfort: Avoid aches and pains by investing in a comfortable chair and ergonomic setup (i.e., a sit-stand desk, properly positioned equipment).
- Calm: Certain colors, an organized space, and plants or greenery have all been shown to add a sense of calm and peace to a physical space. How you decorate and organize your workspace can either help or hinder your focus.
- Creativity: When you look around your workspace, what inspires you? Consider how artwork, music, photos of loved ones, or a nice view can boost creativity throughout the day.
But you don’t just have to wing it. Check out these designer tips for how to personalize your office space to learn more.
Your workspace needs to help you do your best work. Once you’re able to focus and be productive during the workday, you can easily shut down and move on to other things in your life.
Schedule
This is the big one.
Why?
Because to really achieve work-life balance, you’re going to need to adjust your schedule.
Some entrepreneurs are so ingrained in their daily schedule that it can feel overwhelming to think about changing things up. If that’s you, approach modifying your schedule in three steps:
1. Evaluate
How’s your schedule serving you right now? What do you even do each week? Take an audit of your weekly tasks, obligations, socialization, and everything else you do. Get as granular as you can and really seek to understand how you spend your time.
2. Simplify
Once you have an overview of everything you do in a week, what easy modifications can you make to free up some time? Perhaps you can outsource some business tasks to a virtual assistant or sign up for virtual office services to help with your business communications. Or, incorporate tools and techniques that help you master time management as an entrepreneur.
3. Prioritize
With everything left in your schedule (plus the things you might want to add in), what’s most important? Be ruthless with your prioritization, identifying those non-negotiable things that you need to make time for. Prioritization is one of the secrets to achieving more during your day.
With work, determine core and non-core tasks, i.e., what’s essential to your business and what’s not.
With your personal life, determine those things that “fill your cup” and make you feel great—it might be going for a walk each day, catching up with friends, or eating dinner as a family.
Once you’ve prioritized your schedule, write it down and stick to it! Don’t make this a thought exercise only, but actually make the changes that you’ve committed to.
Achieving work-life balance as an entrepreneur doesn’t just happen. It needs to be important enough to you that you make changes in your mindset, workspace, and schedule that benefit you as a whole person.
If you’re looking for a fully-appointed workspace that supports your work-life balance, book a tour of The Post and come see what we have to offer.