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It is one of the hardest things to do- maintain a work-life balance, especially for entrepreneurs. Between product innovation, managerial issues, financial management and a million other things, your mind and body will be stretched to its last bit and chances are that your personal life will take a serious down toll. Mind you, it’s a known fact that a startup requires all of your dedication and time, but if you don’t maintain a life outside of your business- chances of a burnout are a lot faster.
Having said that, it’s not an “easy as pie” relationship to form. And even if you do end up forming it, it is terribly difficult to maintain and nine out of ten times, it will backfire on you. Hence, it is easier to look at this equation from the other side of the tunnel – work towards Work-Life Integration instead. Instead of having to juggle the two, why not merge the two and live the millennial generation’s system? Here are 5 ways to get you started on the technological train of Work-Life Integration.
Shake It Up, Ditch The Traditional 9-5
And we don’t mean quit your working hours, just give it a complete shakeup. Have a routine, but don’t be afraid to break it once in a while to attend to some personal business. Wake up early, start infusing those ideas into products and take the afternoons off- works fair! Find your own productivity schedule and make your personal schedule on top. Use personal productivity software and task management apps to straighten out your routine, and you will instantly see improvement.
Work From Home More
Think about this, how much time would you save everyday if you didn’t have to get dressed and drive to work? You get the drift. Working remotely is hugely accepted by many large scale organizations today and you should accept it too. Create a home office and you can always be there for your personal and professional situations. If you are solopreneur, then remote working will end up being cost efficient and flexible too.
Define Your Boundaries
Today, it is completely acceptable to accept work calls at 10 pm, get a constant email buzz and even take home a bit of that PowerPoint every now and then. Yes, in an ideal world- your home should be a complete work free zone! For an entrepreneur, all zones are “always” work zones, there isn’t a demarcation, and that doesn’t necessarily work out well for a family-preneur. So draw your boundaries differently- take work calls only after your kids go to sleep, no email at dinner dates or no staring into a smartphone when friends come over. Define these clearly!
Delegate. Don’t Over Schedule Yourself
Entrepreneurs are visionaries who sometimes have a problem with letting go. Rome wasn’t build in a day nor was it by a single person! The more you delegate, the more time you have to focus on the “real” tasks at hand, and this is where the actual work is. Do not take on more than you can, know your limits and exercise them wisely. Don’t always take your work home, just because you are hell bent of finishing everything yourself.
Don’t Forget Your Health
In the midst of all the craziness that entrepreneurship brings with itself, taking care of your body is definitely the last thing on your mind, we guarantee. Urgently and purposefully, turn that thought around and make sure you fit in an exercise routine in your daily schedule asap. The released endorphins will enable you to think faster on your feet, remain energetic all the time and not fall in the trap of illnesses that could befall you – courtesy your crazy work hours and habits. Even if it means that pushups feature in your life at 2AM, so be it!
We hope these easy changes to your routine will help you get closer to achieving some work-life integration. It’s best to check yourself before you wreck yourself!
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