15 Tips to Balance Your Work Life

While working from home affords you the luxury of taking longer breaks, creating a unique home life and fulfilling your desires related to every part of your life while running a successful business there are some tips you can apply even when you are not able to work from home.

Your life goal should be to have a prosperous life, and although this generally refers to financial prosperity, it more importantly points to prosperity in all areas of your life that will result in an increase in your enthusiasm for your business.

Strive for balance and creating harmony between work and life. The following tips focus on creating balance in your life that will directly influence your business.

1. Always be learning and growing.

Always have a book on the go and one on deck to follow. Reading is a vital component to self-development, which you should be making time for on a regular basis. This is to enrich both your personal development and your professional development.

Just making time to fit 15 minutes of reading in will benefit you greatly in all areas of your life, which will directly result in better results in your business. While I prefer reading I do know quite a few leaders who rely on audio books so don’t overlook this option.

2. Schedule your time for business matters and don’t let it impose on your personal time.

Don’t let all the work “to dos” get in the way of your personal life. Working from home can end up with some people working all the time, which sort of defeats the purpose of being self-employed. Some jobs on the other hand can also demand more time at the office that take a toll.

Make your schedule for business tasks and work within that schedule. There can be the occasional exceptions of course, but when you find that you’re not sticking to the flexible schedule that you had created, you either need to re-think your time or be more disciplined in your approach to working time.

If necessary, you may need to schedule your personal time also and then balance the two out on a regular basis however, I have a cardinal rule; MY schedule is MY schedule so decisions regarding changes, adaptations and cancelling are mine. With that in mind though, you must also understand the demands of your customers or clients.

3. Don’t aim to please everyone.

Be clear on what your motives and intentions are and don’t let someone else’s opinion sway your informed decision. Always align your motives and intentions with your personal values to ensure a solid foundation. This relates to people in your personal life and in your business.

Whether it’s customers that want more time from you or quicker responses, or a spouse that feels your online pursuits are taking up too much time or doesn’t understand your passion, don’t let the opinions of others change your business process when you know that’s what you want.

Don’t be completely close-minded or dogmatic either. Hear people out and consider their opinion, then stand up for what you feel is right. Hold onto your personal values.

4. Share your work schedule with your family & associates.

Posting a print out of your weekly schedule on the fridge, office door or other visible area will let your family members and associates know when you have planned to work and even what kind of work you’ll be doing.

This helps to avoid someone in your house planning something that requires or requests your involvement during your work hours and allows you to share a bit of your business life with your family.

5. Discuss your business challenges & accomplishments.

Have one or more people that you can regularly talk to about what’s happening with your business. I call this an inner circle. Especially when you’re first starting out, it can be discouraging to feel like you don’t have anyone to share the achievements and the frustrations with.

Even though you can connect with many other people online in the same situation as you (which you should do) it’s much more effective to get to vent and share with someone you already have an established relationship with.

6. Take at least one 15-minute break every 2 hours of work.

When you’re mainly focusing on your computer screen, you can get fatigued much more quickly than if you are moving around. After sitting at your computer for 2 hours, get up and get a drink, have a stretch, take a walk, anything that gets you on your feet and not staring at a screen. You’ll find yourself more focused and refreshed after a short break.

7. If you work from home, use the freedom of this lifestyle to have breaks that take you outside your house.

If you’re working many hours in your home business then take breaks where you can possibly do some personal errands or leave the house for an hour or two to take in some physical activity or meet up with someone. Networking can provide an excellent break where you can get out and meet up with like minded people.

Shifting your focus for a longer length of time and creating a day that is filled with a variety of activities provides a greater feeling of satisfaction with your day, as you’ve could give attention to several areas of your life.

8. Take a reading break.

If you haven’t made the time in any other part of your day to devote to your personal growth through reading then take a reading break. Find yourself a comfortable spot to lounge in, go outside if possible or just locate yourself in a different spot than where you were working. It’s good to get a change of scenery and fit in the always important element of learning.

9. Use your work break to give attention to the other areas of your life.

The most effective kind of break to take is to focus attention to some other areas of your life. Using your time wisely in this way will create a more productive life and not just center on a more productive work life.

As the points above described more specific things you can do with your essential break, it is important to keep in mind that making your work break a short and sweet time to see family or a lengthy outing to experience various other things is an integral aspect to creating a balanced life that will have a direct result on the productivity in your business.

10. Be nutritionally conscious.

Eating right is essential on so many levels, but you will find you are so much more motivated and productive if you’re feeding your body the right kind of fuel. Get educated on what the best diet is for you and eat a variety of foods that are providing your body with the appropriate nutrients that it needs to function at an optimum level.

Try to eat with the focus that food is for the proper functioning of your body and not just for your taste buds. Of course, moderation is the key and having little treats now and then is acceptable, but make the most of meals and snacks about providing your body the right fuel.

11. Engage in fun and rejuvenating physical activity.

Physical activity is a great energizer and provides your whole body with overall feeling of satisfaction. Although any type of exercise is beneficial, it is a bonus when you can get some exercise while having fun and possibly spending some quality time with family or friends.

A few examples of this type of invigorating exercise is biking, brisk walking, playing sports, skipping, jumping on a trampoline and rock climbing — just to name a few of your options. Even if you just take a regular trip to the gym and give your body a workout, you’ll reap the rewards of physical activity.

The overall point here is that exercise can and should be integrated into your life and it doesn’t have to be some rigorous workout in the gym. There’s a whole world of possibilities.

12. Nourish your spiritual side.

You are a spiritual being that needs to regularly nourish that aspect of yourself. If you don’t feel drawn to an organized faith or religion, just be connected to the spiritual nourishment of nature.

Realize that there is more to life than just what you see and think about and take time every day to become aware of your inner spirit through mediation, prayer, or communing with nature.

13. Make time for face-to-face socialization.

Get connected face-to-face with people in all aspects of your life, whether they be family, friends, business associates or casual acquaintances. Try to make brief encounters and lengthy visits a chance to really connect with someone and not just a passing of time. You never know what may come of a conversation where you are truly in the moment and making the most of your time with someone.

14. Schedule in time to nurture the most important relationships.

Just being around your spouse or your children, or any other vital people in your life, isn’t going to be an effective way to value that relationship. You must spend quality time with the people you love and this is easily left out if you’re not aware of the lack of connection you may have. If you find you’re not connecting with those special people in your life on an intimate level then schedule in a weekly ‘date’ where you spend time with one another and get a chance to openly talk.

15. Be an ongoing source of inspiration for others.

Being an encouragement to other people. Empower them to connect and support their own success, be persistent in achieving their goals and be open to new opportunities. Build trust into all your relationships.

This creates a greater sense of ownership in all you are planning to achieve in your business and personal life and builds up others.

Keep the momentum by reaching out to other people that you know personally and that you connect with through online sources as often as possible. When you are constantly inspiring others you will be building a habit of determination and success that will lead you to living your life to its fullest potential and serving others.

Summary

These 15 tips can be powerful tools when used on a regular basis. They can help you grow in all areas of your life by encouraging and empowering better habits. If you would like to discuss how you can incorporate these into your business culture please call me at 630–454–4821 or check out my website at Transformative Leadership Group.