A healthy work/life balance is something I feel most people struggle with, whether they are a small business owners or not. For me, it’s been a constant struggle. Some months I’m winning the battle and other times, I’m ready to throw in the towel and just call it quits. So take this advice not from the perspective of an expert, but from that of someone that is struggling to find the “perfect balance” in her own life too. I’ve tried everything under the sun and from my experience, these are things that have helped me gain some control of my time and allowed me to enjoy life on my own terms.
• Set work hours: In the beginning, I would respond to emails immediately upon receipt taking the attention away from whatever else I was supposed to be doing at the time. The fear was that if I didn’t respond immediately, it would be viewed as bad customer service. The truth is that every business has hours of operation. The important thing is to set expectations and always follow through. I answer emails twice a day: first thing in the morning (7am) and again in the early evening (7pm), unless it’s a time sensitive request. I also set aside about 3 “work nights” a week for editing sessions, uploading client galleries, placing client orders and writing blog posts. I will usually make a to-do list prior and know exactly what I would like to accomplish during that time. The goal is to have a game plan and be as efficient as possible during those work hours.
• Choose a designated work space. Choosing a work space in my home helped me become more efficient during my “work hours” because I can focus better on the tasks in front of me. I also personalized the area to make it fun and inviting since I spend so much time working there. Not everyone has the space to have their own designated office, but even a desk in a quiet nook of your home or apartment will do. Just make sure that it’s tucked away from distractions or high traffic areas to make work time as efficient as possible.
• Schedule your personal days ahead of time. I can’t stress the importance of this point! I’ve learned from personal experience: if you don’t set the time, you won’t make the time. So before the month begins, I try to leave a weekend or two for socializing and/or home improvement projects that I want to tackle. Before I started doing this, work was pretty much taking up all my time, with a little time left over for a social life. I was so disappointed that our home improvement projects had come to a screeching halt. So now I have a DIY day on the calendar. I don’t schedule anything else on those days and leave the entire day free to tackle the project of the month. I no longer feel overwhelmed when it comes to finding time for those “extra” tasks I’d like to accomplish.
• There’s no such thing as perfect balance. I try to remember this whenever I find myself playing the comparison game and feeling like I’m coming up short. Work/life balance varies with each individual. Some people love to socialize and struggle to focus on work, while others are workaholic and have to make the conscious effort to pry themselves away from the computer. We all have different things that make us happy and keep us motivated. Some of these things for me are: a clean and inviting home, traveling, running a successful and profitable business, being challenged artistically, quality time with friends and family. The honest truth: you may never feel completely balanced at any given time. Do the best you can to find time for the things in your life that make you happy, but realize it may never be perfectly balanced. Remember: you can do it all…just not all at once.
• Take care of yourself, first and foremost. There may come a time when these tips just won’t cut it and you’ll feel completely overwhelmed and just ready to call it quits anyways. It’s happened to me most recently when my stepdad was diagnosed with cancer. I took a break from photography, my blog, my house, I even cut down on socializing. The important thing during times where you feel completely burnt out is to tend to your needs. Take a break! Use the time to reflect on why you’re feeling so overwhelmed and really listen to your gut. Are you overwhelmed because you don’t have enough time or are you unhappy with something in particular? Some of these tips I’m sharing here (like putting personal days on the calendar) came after these times of reflections when I felt like things needed to change quickly in order to maintain my sanity! So don’t see these “breaks” as a setback, but as an extended brainstorming session to help you figure out how to tackle things differently (and hopefully, more effectively) for the future.
More “Advice” posts can be found here.
