When you’re an entrepreneur your time is your most valued asset.  It is important to stay focused on BOTH your business and your personal life!

For small-business owners, and entrepreneurs with a growing business work-life balance has become one of their biggest challenges. Many owners love what they do but find themselves caught up in the day-to-day needs of their company with no free time to spend with loved ones, or on personally fulfilling activities like getting enough sleep, eating healthy and exercising, all the necessary elements of a well-rounded life. But there is hope, many successful entrepreneurs have found a way to juggle their ultra-busy professional lives with their personal and social lives to include a healthy work-life balance. Here are some helpful tips that help me get through the day:

Delegate your work:

Many entrepreneurs are working to fulfill their client projects on their own and doing everything themselves to keep their business running. A recent survey estimated that nearly 80 percent of entrepreneurs feel they work too much, and many would prefer to work fewer than 40 hours a week. The biggest reason they’re overworked? They feel there are some tasks that only they can handle, tasks they can’t easily delegate out to others.

Delegating work doesn’t stop with the business, it’s also important to consciously think about how you’re spending your time at home.  After a long day at the office, no one want’s to be spending what little free time they have on housework.  Consider delegating some of the daily chores to your spouse or partner and get the family involved with cooking, cleaning, and running errands.

 Manage your time: 

Managing your schedule is just as important as delegating your projects. Planning for your upcoming week is helpful with staying focused and on track. Take time to sit down one day a week and reflect on the previous week. Develop a work plan for the week ahead that includes work initiatives and goals, time for family and time for yourself.  Include not only work meetings and obligations but activities you enjoy like meeting with friends, sleeping in or exercising.

As an entrepreneur we try to fit as much as we can into every day, scheduling meetings earlier and earlier in the morning so we have more time during the day to focus on getting things done.  I noticed that by the end of the day I was feeling run down, tired and overworked with no energy to do things I enjoy doing in my spare time.  I found that if I start my workday at 9:00 AM it gives me a little extra time in the morning to wake up, do some yoga, and reflect on the day ahead.   Taking that extra hour or two in the morning really makes a difference in my piece of mind and overall well-being.

Being more organized and making time for both business and personal activities is important for my health and well-being.  I’ve decided that for my 2018 New Year’s resolution is to have healthy work-life balance.  What’s your resolution?