Work Life Balance

Having been a business owner for over two and a half years, I often find myself thinking about the pros and cons (to be fair, I probably overthink them, but that’s just the way I am!)

?Pros

-???????I am responsible for my own business

-???????I help lots of people

-???????I set my own goals

-???????I choose who I work with

-???????I choose how, when and where I work

-???????Every day is different

Cons

-???????I am responsible for my own business!

-???????I am not always in control – that panicked phone call which throws a grenade into my well-ordered work plan is, to be fair, a common occurrence

-???????I find it difficult to say no

-???????Every day is different!

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So while it is rewarding, sometimes it is difficult to see the wood for the trees! However, I never make the mistake of thinking I am alone in this – it is something every business owner finds along the way, and the way you deal with it can make all the difference in how you create and maintain a proper Work-Life Balance.

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Your business is the thing you created to bring you and your family a sustainable lifestyle and the plan was to deliver your great ideas, products and services to your clients. We all spend a lot of time working – it needs to be something we enjoy and which brings us the satisfaction of a job well done, while also being professionally run and not too stressful! Remember, if you love your job, you will never work a day in your life!

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Here are a few things I have learned along the way – some of them may work for you!

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1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Business Owners?

Guilty! I used to do this all the time and had to make a concerted effort to stop it - comparing yourself to other business owners will drive you insane. Comparison is soul destroying, especially because we tend to focus on our downfalls and shortcomings instead of just how far we have come!

Learn to focus on your own business, your own goals and your own achievements. Stay in your own lane and focus on your journey. It doesn’t matter what everyone else around you is doing. What really matters is just how great you’re doing, how far you’ve come, and how proud you should be of yourself!?

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2. Let Go of The Things You Can’t Control?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a control freak – I can’t help it, I am wired that way! It comes from a good place – I just want to do the best I can, but like that grenade I mentioned earlier, I can’t always be in control and I (kind of!) accept that.

Just remember that life has a way of throwing a spanner in the works and, to be fair, it has always been like that. In the past, you have dealt with what life has thrown at you and you came out the other side, learning along the way. It is how you grow, and what makes you the person you are.

By all means, try and prepare for as much as you can, but be flexible in your approach and go with the flow – so much less stressful.

Like a certain Disney princess once said – Let It Go!

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3. Focus on the Important Tasks?

Your to-do list is like a Never-ending Story! (Tell me you are not singing that in your head!).

However hard you try, you will never completely eliminate it – it ebbs and flows but is always there. So it is important to have a strategy to prioritise your tasks. You could use one of the following:

Eat The Frog – important tasks that are focused on top-level objectives should be tackled first; then you can tackle other tasks which are not so time-sensitive.

Eisenhower Matrix – organise tasks into Important, Urgent, Important and Urgent or Neither. You can decide:

-???????What needs to be done now (Important and Urgent)

-???????What needs to be planned for (Important but not Urgent

-???????What you can delegate (not Important but Urgent)

-???????What you can possibly delete (not Important and not Urgent)

ABCDE method – assign tasks and letter grade based on importance, A being the most important and E being the least important; then just tackle the tasks in the order of priority

Chunking – schedule blocks of time to complete tasks. If you schedule all your tasks into your calendar, you are able to hold yourself accountable and no-one can drop an unexpected meeting into your calendar as it will show as busy. Make sure that you are accurately allocating the time required for each task – you can break it into manageable chunks if that works better for you. And make sure you schedule in breaks – all work and no play etc…

There are certain things in your business that need to get done as a priority, and that’s where your focus should be.?

There will always be some things on your to-do list which you would like to get done - or want to get done - but if they don't impact on your business growth and cause you to flourish, expand or succeed then they might stay there for years, just kicked down the road for a more convenient time (which may never come!). However, if you decide that you really want to complete them, this is where the next point might help…

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4. Know How and When To Delegate?

Delegation and letting go of having to do it all are two things that a lot of business owners struggle with. But learning to delegate can be the difference between your business expanding and thriving, or burnout and poor mental health.?

No-one can do it all alone. Many business owners try, and may be able to juggle it all for a while, but eventually reach a point in their business where it starts to take a toll on health, lifestyle and relationships.?

As business owners, we tend to think we are the best at running our business, but the truth is that often specialists are much more skilled than we are.?It is a matter of recognising that you need help and learning to trust that other people can help you, and that they can do the task well — and sometimes even better than you can.

Delegating to specialists such as Pink Spaghetti Virtual Assistants will help you to free up time, knowing that whatever aspects of your business that you choose is taken care of by someone else. This frees up your time to focus on the important things that only you can do, the things you're good at and that you enjoy doing.?

For example, perhaps you need to make video content for your marketing strategy. No one else can do that because you’re the face of the brand. You can, however, hire Pink Spaghetti to take care of the social media posts and scheduling your content. There are many things behind the scenes of your marketing strategy that you can pass over to a virtual assistant. And because a virtual assistant who specialises in digital marketing will have spent an entire career honing their skills, they’re highly likely to be way better at it than you.?

What can you let go of to create more space for the things you need to do, and the things you love doing??

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5. Set Clear Boundaries and Learn to Say No?

It’s important to learn how to set boundaries in business, both in what you take on and your availability. You don’t benefit anyone by being the ‘yes man/woman’.

I will absolutely admit that I have been guilty of this – saying yes to everything, even when it is not something I enjoy or would choose to do, and then regretting it later. I don’t like to let people down – when they say they need my help, my immediate response is ‘Sure – what do you need?’ And sometimes, when they tell me what they need, I get a sinking feeling because it is not what I want or like to do, but that is what they need so I go with it…

It’s vital to learn how to say no to things that don’t benefit you or your business or that just that don’t quite feel right. Listen to your intuition and gut feeling and go with what that says – if it feels wrong, it probably is. You don’t have to jump at every opportunity, sometimes saying no is the smarter option.?

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7. Save Time by Time-Blocking?

Keep all the similar tasks together in one group. This helps to save time because you’re not stopping and starting different tasks which take much longer than staying within one type of task.?

For example, you might want to set aside Mondays for client acquisition, Tuesdays for creating social media content, and Wednesdays for sourcing new products. Whatever tasks you need to do for your business, try and logically bunch them together in a time-structure that works, to prevent yourself hopping between tasks.?

That extra time you save then becomes your personal time. This is time you can take off to enjoy doing something you love, or time with your family.?

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8. Make Sure You Prioritise Time Off for a Balanced Life?

This is probably the most vital thing – to ?help you maintain a good work life balance, make sure you take time off and set a clear working day.

It is very easy for your business to take over your life. You don’t have clock-on and clock-off working hours, especially if you work from home and don’t have a ‘commute’. Before you know what’s happening your business starts to dominate and you find yourself catching up on emails in bed and answering customer texts at the dinner table in front of your kids when you should be present with your family.?

It is also important to be clear with clients when you are available and when you are not. If a client suddenly decides that they want something at the weekend, or they did not plan for something which they now deem to be urgent, it does not mean you are responsible for making that happen for them, unless that is how you work with them. And if it is, is that the best way for you to run your business?

Having clear working hours means that you can destress and do things you love on your time off, whether that’s hobbies and taking care of your health and wellness, or spending time with your family. In terms of your business, having time off is just as important as your working hours because during your time off you recalibrate, which makes you a better business owner and more functional during your work hours. Maintaining a balanced lifestyle is an integral part of being a good business owner.?

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So there you have it!?

A whistle-stop tour of some ways of ensuring you can get some time back!

Remember, you don’t have to do it all alone. That’s why businesses like Pink Spaghetti exist – to help you to achieve a healthy work life balance whilst smashing your business goals too!?

If there are tasks which think would be better outsourced to a Virtual Assistant, just get in contact.

Or, if you don't know what a Virtual Assistant can do and want to find out more, I am always happy to have a chat about what you need.

Remember: Mary Pelling, Pink Spaghetti PA Services - your 25th Hour and One Stop Shop For All Things Administration!