How do you balance work and life as an entrepreneur?

Here's your superhero secret weapons when setting boundaries: 1?? Have a dedicated "Batcave." Your home office should be your fortress of solitude, free from distractions. 2?? Set your "Operating Hours." Like a superhero, be ready to save the day, but remember Clark Kent needs to catch a break too. 3?? Power down. Even Iron Man had time to tango with Pepper Potts. Disconnect and enjoy your life outside of work. So entrepreneurs, it's time to unmask your "non-work" selves. Life's not all about fighting corporate crimes. Sometimes, it's about enjoying that ice cream on a sunny day. ???? Remember, you can't save the world (or your business) if you can't save yourself. Be a balanced superhero!"

If work and life are not balanced equally, you will never be successful in your business. Everything starts from your own life. For example, if your relationship does not go well, your success at your work will definitely be incomplete. As an entrepreneur, I have never made my own life uneasy. Yes, I have had problems, but when I have a problem, I never care about it. I go to work smiling and leave smiling. This is my greatest discipline in life. It means if you keep these two things together then success will come. Because the human mind is always about how you understand it.

I don't think this bot has ever been an entrepreneur :) Entrepreneurs wake up thinking about their business and go to sleep thinking about their business. Bringing new ideas to life is difficult and requires a lot of time and effort, much more so than most other professions. Aspiring entrepreneurs should be passionate about the underlying problem they are solving. When you have a deeper connection to your work beyond financial gain, you are more willing to let the line between your work and personal life blur.

One way that I have been able to achieve somewhat of some balance over the last 8 months is to dedicate 2 hours every morning to myself before my kids wake up and before the work day starts. I use it for working out, checking my personal email and preparing my family for the week.

My work is almost always online or on LinkedIn and I learned to take a #DigitalDetox. A Bi-weekly, nothing digital, for 6 to 24 hours. When done I come back fresher, more creative and less stressed. Go Grand, Never Bland, Brand to Land & #KeepRockingLinkedIn! Kevin On a Mission to Eliminate Organizational & Personal Blanding?

Focus on 20% of things that solve 80% of the problems is a great tip, but I suggest you organize yourself well. Determine which activities bring in revenue and can be done only by you. Keep them. Every activity that costs you less per hour to outsource than do it yourself, outsource. You need leisure time to create. Don't get yourself to the breaking point with no need. I have done it, and that is why I learned how to do better. Good luck!

There's a reason why the phrase "Quality over Quantity" has stood the test of time. I've made the mistake of taking on too many clients at the same time because I thought I could handle it (and I wanted the extra cash!), but all I ended up doing was spreading myself too thin and doing a mediocre job across the board. As soon as I started being more selective, I produced better quality work, got more referrals and actually felt a lot less stressed. I apply this to every aspect of my life now. I don't try to do too many social commitments either and instead pick a few that I can attend and be fully present. Quality time with loved ones is much better than trying to hang out while having one eye on your phone.

DELEGATE. DELEGATE. DELEGATE. Yes its your baby..but you need a village to bring it up.. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is key for entrepreneurs. Focus on playing 100% to your strengths and delegate for EVERYTHING else. Even on and especially with shoe-string budgets, you need to be doing what you do best and build the rest with others. Know that you can go faster, longer and farther as a collective rather than as an individual.

In 2023, social media changed completely. Gone are the days when you needed to create tons of content. What works is quality, not quantity. That's great news for everyone to have a better work-life balance, because you don't need that much time to showcase your expertise

Working hard and working smart are two different things. There's also a big difference between being busy versus being profitable. Knowing the difference is a sign of maturity. Many entrepreneurs keep themselves so busy, and their schedules so jam-packed they don't have time to think, strategize, or plan. But this frantic pace leaves them in constant "reactive mode." Many use this distraction technique to avoid dealing with the big issues. But success depends on being "proactive" about the big obstacles of one’s career/business. Every day, I write out the Top 5 most important things I must focus on to succeed and carry that list in my pocket. As tempting as it is to work on the 9th, 13th, or 18th priority, I focus on completing the Top 5.

Recognize the signs of burnout, before you get there and rest accordingly. Hustle culture (i.e. working 24/7) is not a badge of honor, and once you recognize this it will shift your perception. Work will ALWAYS be there. You will never run out of to-do's. Manage your stress by continuing to pour into yourself before any task.

Stress may be inevitable for entrepreneurs, but there are ways of minimising it. I think that entrepreneurs expect stress, so they allow stressful situations to occur so regularly that they experience burnout regularly. It doesn't have to be like this... and it shouldn't! I actually created myself a "stress diary". Every time I felt a bit of stress, I noted down what caused the stress. I then went back and evaluated all of those circumstances and found solutions to stop them happening again. It's all well and good looking up solutions for dealing with stress, but I think it's better to go to the source and eliminate the underlying cause.

A huge force of stress on my career as an entrepreneur thus far is how much I thought I had to “obsess” over what I’m building and prioritizing it 110%. I think there’s this myth and toxic underlying understanding that if you don’t give your startup your all all the time, that it will fail. When I let go of this idea that my company was the highest priority, I started engaging in activities that fill my light outside work. And honestly my business has never been better and stress levels???? I see this as infusing a more “entrepreneurial spirit of life” and experimenting as much outside work as you are in the business

Entrepreneurial success often associates with waking up early, and in my experience, there’s truth to that. However, a fulfilling day shouldn’t revolve solely around work. Prioritize personal time each morning before diving into emails and work. Allow yourself moments of introspection and let work not be the first and last thing you engage in each day. Find the right balance between professional pursuits and self-care to optimize your well-being and productivity. Remember, success encompasses holistic fulfillment, not just professional achievements.

You can kill stress at the source with personal development. A morning routine with some of the strategies outlined here (mindfulness, meditation, exercising regularly) are important things to try.

Learning to say no is probably the most powerful thing I've ever done. I always want to help everyone, so I agree to do so many things, including a lot of voluntary work. I also get FOMO and so I used to say yes to every social activity. As a result, my time would be completely depleted and I would be spread so thin. Now, I turn down more opportunities than I accept and I feel so much better for it. It goes back to the quality statement - I now do fewer things, but I do them even better, because I can concentrate more and put more effort into them. I'd write out your main goals for the year and anything that doesn't align with these, just say no to!

You should say more "No" than "Yes" as an entrepreneur. This adds to the focus you need to make the venture successful. You time is something that will never come back so be protective of it and use it wisely on things that matter. As an example, remember, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, they had over 40 products and through strict focus, they picked and killed 90% of the products and see how the company was able to refocus and ultimately become the first Trillion dollar valued company in the world!

I’ve learned that saying no allows me to give my best efforts to the areas and activities that are most important to me. Realizing “no” is a complete answer really helped me with that.

Since we have limited time, each time we say Yes to one thing we are saying No to others by default. I agree that the ability to prioritize and say No to most opportunities so you can focus on top value activities is crucial.

One of my favorite quotes is, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything,” stated by Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors and business magnates in the world. By saying “no” to countless opportunities, you allow yourself to focus on a select few that align with your goals and values. The overlooked power of effectively setting boundaries is prioritizing what truly matters. That inevitably is key when aiming to achieve incredible success.

Build buffer space into your schedules or timelines, because life is gonna life. Things will happen (or not happen), and you must be prepared to pivot as necessary.

In reality there is no equilibrium. Everybody will have their sweet spot on percentages based on the work load. Being an entrepreneur can be stressful. My suggestion would be to find a quality time with your self. We are seldom our friend so being one will help find lots of amazing things to balance.Explore yourself

The biggest challenge with entrepreneurship is the bouts of self doubt that will come from time to time..especially when the going gets tough and you are not making desired progress with building the product or the business. Flexibility, adaptability and "pivoting" quickly is the key to remaining in the race. Remember, entrepreneurship is not a sprint..its a marathon!

Becoming flexible requires identifying your priorities & activities that align with your goals. People don't have a time management problem. They have a priority management problem. First, make sure everything you engage in that moves you closer to your goals & keeps your values in check, is scheduled in your calendar. That also includes self-care time. If you don't have the appointment, you don't have the commitment. Second, plan for the unplanned. If you work a 10 hour day & each day is consumed with about 2 hours of externalities, or things that, unless you had a crystal ball you couldn't see coming but have to be dealt with immediately (Client, personal issue, traffic, internal issue, meeting, etc.) you only have 8 hours you can plan.

Amidst the orchestration of delineated boundaries, calibrated priorities, and structured routines, entrepreneurship demands an inherent capacity for flexibility and adaptability in the face of evolving circumstances. This capacity encompasses responsiveness to unforeseen challenges, serendipitous openings, or unanticipated events, necessitating the recalibration of plans, objectives, or methodologies. Instead of resisting or succumbing to undue stress amid change, the ethos of embracing and extracting insights from change assumes paramount importance. Cultivating a balance between malleability and steadfastness is critical – one must remain open to experimentation, pivot when requisite, and improvise when necessary.

If you don't love what you do, then you won't produce the results you want to. I believe that passion is the fuel to success. Plus, entrepreneurship is so hard! If you're putting all that effort into everything, you need to really enjoy what you do. Of course, there will be days when it doesn't seem that fun, but those are just the troughs in the entrepreneurial rollercoaster. You need to ride these out and you will get to the peaks. When work is tough, just ensure you do surround yourself with fun things outside of work to help boost your morale and keep your mindset positive for when you do come back to tackle those problems.

Key to having fun in entrepreneurship is Celebrate every milestone ..little or big. Employees need to be celebrated as much as the client wins...their performance as well as their life milestones need to be celebrated. Above all keep the environment light by staying happy and making coworkers happy!

You can access FUN through your passion. What lights you up? What gives you joy? Where you lose all sense of time? Make sure you intentionally block out FUN time in the calendar. Make it as equally important as meeting a client. This is your time to simply relax both the mind and body. Fun almost always goes hand in hand with flow state. Flow state includes: ?? Feeling joy and or pleasure ?? No self consciousness ?? 100% presence in the moment What activities give you flow state? Where you can schedule FUN in? As a 20 year entrepreneur, every Friday is music and songwriting day. I take piano lessons, jam with a fellow musician, and nurture this creative expression. Sometimes I write or do whatever arises.

Some of the ways we have been able to incorporate fun: 1. We make some of our meetings game-like, we are competitive people and anything is a go! 2. We have a joy jar. Whenever there is something good and we don't have a moment to celebrate, we write it down, put it in a little jar and then read them all at the end of the week or the next meeting. 3. Weekly food at meetings, as long as it's not too much for someone. Anyone that wants to bring food to share, builds community and fun. 4. Always have a smile for everyone and good vibes, it builds the capacity to have fun. Going from a dark mood to trying to make people have fun doesn't work. Bringing the mood around with good things is what we find works. You bring the fun!

As a former design leader for a top National furniture retail/design firm, and now as the head of my own firm, I always advocate bringing a lighthearted approach to building a team and fostering a motivating workplace. I use the phrase "this isn't brain surgery" when it comes to design, and it's true. For both my teams and my clients, keep perspective and infuse levity whenever possible. Take a field trip. Nothing brings teams closer, or helps to bring a fun element to a workday, then a trip to a work related destination. For me, it was museums, parks, or just a city stroll to invigorate my coworkers with inspiration and a new perspective. Celebrate every win - big or small. Don't underestimate the power of a goal met together.

My experience—as someone who has founded multiple companies—a couple on the Inc 500/5000 list—and as a divorced father with five daughters from 12-35–is that the most important thing is deciding what you won’t do. Every time I get rid of a job or get out of a business or stop serving on a board that I don’t enjoy, five new opportunities come my way to do things I do enjoy. I always try to keep my weekends and evenings as free from work. I never miss a holiday or birthday. I keep a once a week date night date with my wife—always. There are just certain times you have to keep available for non-work, family activities. A lot of what people consider “necessary” for work isn’t.

There is so much advice available on the importance of attaining a work/life balance that the whole concept is actually creating stress as individuals worry if their life is or is not in "balance". Please remember finding a balance in your life is not a competition. What works for me, likely won't work for you. What is important is to be living the life that's right for you and your family. One that brings enjoyment, and love but also a certain stress which is not necessarily a bad thing. The way to find your balance in my experience is to carve out time every day, sit quietly and ask the question, am I happy? If the answer is yes then I reckon your balance is fine. Even if like me you are writing Linkedin comments at 11pm :)

Empreender sempre foi um dos meus maiores desejos. Mas, acredito que nesse caminho devemos nos manter autênticos e fiéis aos nossos valores. Para mim, por exemplo, n?o existe sucesso nos negócios que justifique o fracasso da família. N?o é simples encontrar esse equilíbrio que é t?o falado, e nem sempre o que funciona pra mim vai funcionar para o outro. Por aqui, busquei investir em ter uma mentora com valores semelhantes, estar próxima de outras mulheres empreendedoras, fazer acordos claros com a família, delegar tarefas para se concentrar na estratégia e no seu negócio principal sem se sobrecarregar.

Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! The key to even be able to relax outside of work is making sure there is someone responsible for each part of your business. Especially when emergencies happen. Imagine you're out with the family and a major client has an issue, if you are the first point of contact then you will never achieve work-life balance. There's gotta be a protocol as to when you can be bothered as the business owner and you have to be the last layer after your team and only be contacted when they can't solve the issue on their own

My unpopular belief is that there is no balance. Time fuels both work and life. So you’re either taking time from work to live a full life or taking time from life (family, friends) to be super successful at work. This is my lived experience. There will always be an imbalance unless life is work and work is life.