One of the best and worst parts of owning my business is the freedom to do with time as I like. The best part is that I can structure my time to work around the other demand is my life. I can be there when my family needs me. I can take advantage of a beautiful day and go for a walk. I can schedule the fun things. I can nurture myself in many different ways.
The worst part is that every hour has the potential to be a working hour. If I do take “off” time to do something else I feel guilty that I’m not working. There is a huge pressure to work harder. We all know entrepreneurs who seemly work 24 hours a day. At some point in time I think we all feel that pressure to work harder to achieve results.
Another challenge with time is that it can be easy to fill the hours and be busy doing and still not see the results that I want. I can fill my time with the easy things, the things that keep me going but stop me from taking my business to the next level.
Finding that balance is something I struggle with. This month I need to focus on using my time wisely so that I can launch a new program, support family demands and take care of myself so that I have the energy to do the first two. It can be a tall order some days.
I’d love to know what you do to manage the demands on your time. How do you find the balance? What is your biggest challenge? What is the biggest peak of have the freedom to control your time?
I love to see entrepreneurs follow their passions, serve more people and create the lifestyle of their dreams.
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I totally understand when you said if you do take time off, you feel guilty because you should be working. But then, when I am working and my husband and son are home, I feel guilty because I should be spending time with them. It’s a lose lose battle I guess.
Michelle: It doesn’t have to be lose lose battle, I’m still trying to figure that out. I wonder if we are just to hard on ourselves. I’m still seeking the right balance myself.
Thanks you for sharing.
Hi Heather,
Striking a balance between time as an entrepreneur is a hard thing to do; I never really bothered about this when I was working in the corporate environment, but after switching to my online blog consulting business, I discovered that its one of the toughest challenges to subdue.
I think the solution is to be focused and do what you can do per time.
Thanks for sharing
James: It is definitely had strike that balance, each of has to find a way to do it. The challenge is to do it without feeling guilty.
Thank you for commenting.
It’s totally old-school, but I write out a to do list. Then I set the timer on my phone for 35 minutes and I focus on ONE task. When it goes off, I take a 15 minute “break” and do something else. That’s usually something house-work related. (Again, with a timer.) Then it’s back to the work task for another 35 minute block.
The key is knowing what is income producing, what is needs to be done but doesn’t make me money, and what is just crap!
Kimberly – I love you system, that is great. I like the idea of changing it up. Working on income producing task and important task first is so important. The rest is crap and it is the crap that can consume our time.
Thanks for sharing.
For me I am still working as a teacher until June when my contract expires. I did have 18 days off for Christmas break and I treated those days as if I was working full time from home. I loved the flexibility and knew that my times for being the most productive were from 5:30 AM-10:00 AM and from 7:00PM-11:00 PM. I also loved the feeling of being able to go to Church during the day while I was off as well as get some other important chores done. The downside is making sure that I am doing the right activities that will produce profits – not mistaking activity for accomplishment.
Lisa, you make a great point. Knowing your best and most productive hours and using them for the right activities. I know my slow time is mid afternoon, as a result I often schedule “catch-up” meeting then. Something that gets me out of the office and allows me to be energized by interacting with someone.
Thanks for commenting and sharing.
Time management is really a difficult thing when you are a business owner. And it’s definitely difficult to take a day off because you know that there are so many things you should and like doing.
Bruno – So true and the truth is if we do take that day of and allow ourselves to enjoy it without guilt, the better we are going to be when we are working on our business.
Thanks for commenting.
John Wooden once said “don’t confuse activity with achievement”, and a lot of entrepreneurs (me included) do “stuff” that only serves to spin the wheels.
Taking time off to be with family or friends, to engage in something you enjoy, or sometimes do absolutely nothing can be the best thing one can do for their business. Seeking balance clears the brain and allows us to be at our best when it counts.
Great stuff!
Christian – Absolutely, it is know that counts and figuring out your balance. I’m doing a presentation this evening at a networking event. To balance it out and to clear my head before the presentation I just went out for a hour walk in the snow with my dog. That the gift of being entrepreneur, being able to do that.
I spend a lot of time writing; but that’s because I love it so much!
Sophie that is great, it helps that writing is your passion. I’m sure that when you ideas get stuck that taking a break helps the ideas flow better.
OMGosh, Heather, are you in my head or what?
What works for me is to make sure I schedule time into my calendar for other things that make me stop working. Works like a charm.
Marion – LOL, I’m in the mind of many entrepreneurs. Scheduling is so important. To schedule the big business items so we aren’t spinning our wheels with the little stuff and to schedule all the other aspects of our life.
I struggle with this, too! I really need to take more time away from my work, but I just love it so much! 😛 But, I do need to get a bit more balance in my ‘on’ time and my ‘off’ time.
I have to say, though, that being an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding and exciting and fulfilling things I’ve ever done aside from raising my children. And the biggest perk to being an entrepreneur is being able to raise my children BETTER than I ever did while I was slaving away working four jobs at once in order to support us all.
Carrie: Balance is so important and that is my point. It is finding the combination that works for you. That is the sweet spot where we work on the business we love and have the time support the life we want.