Running a business will take up most of your time – especially when you’re driven to success. You know what we’re talking about.
Kayod lang nang kayod, diba?
But while it’s important to devote your time to hustling for profitability, you also need to take just as much time off to balance work and personal life.
10 tips for entrepreneurs to achieve work-life balance
As a business owner in the Philippines, achieving work-life balance can be particularly challenging, especially since every business is unique in one way or another.
But how do you balance work and personal life? Here are some tips that can help you strike a healthy balance as an entrepreneur:
1. Leverage digital tools
Use digital tools to automate and streamline your business processes. This can free up time for you to focus on your personal life.
For instance, you can use project management tools, online invoicing, and accounting software to manage your business more efficiently. Here’s a list of the 12 best apps for your online business.
2. Create a schedule
Create a daily, weekly, and monthly schedule that includes your work and personal activities. This will help prioritize your tasks and allocate your time more effectively. It helps to always be communicative about your schedule to your employees, clients and family members, so they know when you’re available.
3. Take breaks
Taking regular breaks can help you recharge and stay productive. You can take a short walk, practice meditation, or simply step away from your desk for a few minutes.
Success is often defined as a process of building the right healthy habits everyday. Be sure to schedule breaks into your day and stick to them.
4. Learn to delegate
For you to take on greater business goals, you need to find the time to do them first. Passing off tasks to others can help reduce your workload, so you can focus on the most impactful aspects of your business.
Hire employees or outsource tasks to contractors when possible to take some of the low-impact yet time-consuming workload, like computing your employees’ 13th month pay, off your plate.
5. Set realistic goals
Setting realistic goals can help avoid overworking and achieve better work-life balance. Be sure to prioritize tasks and focus on the most important ones first.
When coming up with goals, don’t set yourself up for failure. Select challenging but achievable objectives and break them down into smaller, manageable tasks.
6. Set boundaries
The importance of work-life balance can be felt in setting clear boundaries between your work and personal life. For instance, you can avoid checking your emails or taking work calls during your personal time.
Entrepreneurs with home-based businesses should also avoid setting up their workstation and personal spaces in the same room.
7. Learn to say “No”
Learning to say no to projects or commitments that don’t align with your goals and priorities will avoid overcommitment and burnout. Be selective about the opportunities you take on, and only say yes when it aligns with your business objectives and personal values.
8. Make time for self-care
This means making time for exercise, eating well and getting enough sleep. You can also practice mindfulness or engage in activities that help you relax and recharge.
Find a passion that excites you outside work, whether it’s playing sports, creating art, traveling, learning an instrument, watching movies or reading books. The happy hormones produced in your body from doing the things you enjoy help keep your mind right.
9. Seek support
Running a business can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. You can find support and discover new insights from fellow entrepreneurs, mentors or business coaches who can provide guidance, advice and encouragement.
You can also join business groups or attend networking events to connect with like-minded individuals.
10. Prioritize family time
There is more to life! Make time for your family and loved ones, spend weekends together, and prioritize developing deep and personal bonds that bring you joy and fulfillment outside of the hustle.
Why is work-life balance important for business owners?
“Another day, another peso.”
Cliche, but it’s true – every second of your time that passes could have been spent making more money and reaching your business goals.
For entrepreneurs, this mindset can only make it challenging to achieve true work-life balance. After all, the meaning of work-life balance is not about completely separating work from life but rather finding a healthy integration of both.
To gauge if you need to make any changes to your work-life balance, here are three questions that you need to ask yourself:
- Do you still have a life outside your business?
- How many hours a day do you need to get things done for your business to work?
- When was the last time that you had a full day without doing anything work-related?
Business owners should also stop feeling a sense of guilt for resting. Easy ka lang, boss.
and personal life.
Here are some benefits to managing your work-life balance:
It helps improve your well-being. Stress and burnout can take a toll on your mental and physical health. Achieving work-life balance will help you manage both mental and physical strain, prevent your mind and body from breaking down and rejuvenate your spirit for the long haul.
It helps increase productivity. When you take breaks and prioritize self-care, you’re more likely to be productive and focused when you return to work. Rest on your weekends when possible, or as the boss of your own business, create a work schedule that allocates your 40-hour weeks accordingly.
It enables better decision-making. “When emotions are high, intelligence is low” means that when you’re overworked and stressed, it can be difficult to make sound decisions. Managing the stress and pressure of work can help you maintain the necessary perspective to keep your mind clear, enabling you to make better business decisions.
It helps spark creativity. Taking time off and engaging in activities outside of work can also help inspire your creative side and bring fresh, innovative ideas to your products or services. This allows your business to stay competitive while also allowing you to experience what other businesses are doing.
It helps build healthy relationships. Ultimately, maintaining a healthy work-life balance can help you build and enjoy stable, empowering and lasting relationships with your friends and loved ones. This also impacts your overall well-being and helps you feel a sense of fulfillment in life outside the four corners of your office.
Taking care of yourself is taking care of your business
and continue the next day.
Business owners and entrepreneurs, particularly those who are MSME owners, face numerous challenges in balancing their work and personal life; from managing finances, marketing their product or service, and dealing with daily operations.
However, like a domino effect, neglecting personal time and relationships can lead to negative impacts on their business in the long run. Remember, taking care of yourself is taking care of your business. So, make sure to give yourself the time and space to rest and recharge.
Ninja Van is here to help hard working entrepreneurs like you. While you focus on growing your business, we’ll take care of safely moving your products for shipping and hassle-free delivery. Ninja Van will create solutions for your business needs, so you can better optimize your time.
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Here are more tips to help your online hustle:
7 Online Business Ideas You Can Start with PH100K
Take Note of These Tax Exemptions for MSMEs
4 Online Selling Tips to Increase Your Sales
