Entrepreneurs rank up there as some of the hardest workers in the business world. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average actual working week for a regular full time employee is 37.3. But one recent survey found that more than half of those who own their own business were working at least 50 hours a week – a quarter were working more than 60. No matter how talented and capable you are, with that kind of commitment there will always come a point at which burnout is a possibility. Avoiding it means learning how to make the most of your time – working smarter, not harder, to achieve a better work-life balance.
Focus on productivity, not time spent
GDP figures show that there is a direct correlation between productivity and longer working weeks – however, it’s not the connection you might think. Countries where the population is working longer hours tend to have lower levels of productivity. Rather than measuring what needs to be done in terms of the time it will take to achieve it, look for ways to make your processes more efficient so that you can do more in fewer hours. Updating IT systems, rethinking workflows or refocusing objectives can all contribute to this.
Learn how to delegate
It always helps to start out doing the work that you later expect to pass on to others. What is not helpful is to then fail to pass on that responsibility. Delegation is what enables businesses to grow and will ensure that you’re not constantly chained to a desk doing everything yourself. As a business develops, if work-life balance is a priority for you, delegation is an art you must master.
Avoid micromanaging
You may have learned to delegate tasks to others but if you’re still micromanaging those tasks to an acute degree you’re wasting everyone’s time, including your own. Employees hate being micromanaged and over-managing everything will seriously eat into the “life” element of your work-life balance. Choose the right people, train them well, delegate and then let them do what they were hired for.
Reconsider multitasking
There is an increasingly dominant school of thought that insists multitasking is the enemy of efficiency and, so, also of a work-life balance. The theory goes that our brains can’t do two things at once – what we’re actually doing is switching rapidly between one task and the other, not really focusing on either. If you’re looking to create more space in your day for balance then try switching to a system of working on just one job at a time and see how much more you get done.
Prioritise the work-life balance
The reality of business is that tough choices will always need to be made and one of those choices may well be whether to stick to work-life balance goals or just allow yourself to get swept back into busy chaos. Instead of hoping that work-life balance will result from your actions, make it a priority. Be firm about goals and targets, as well as when the work stops. Don’t let guilt or results anxiety drag you back into less productive habits.
Working smarter, rather than harder, will free you up to be more productive and get more from life. It’s a good move whatever stage of growth your business is at.
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