3 Tips to Better Work at Home Balance as an Entrepreneur
As busy entrepreneurs, we are constantly trying to live a BALANCED life.
But, what exactly is a balanced life? Most people believe there is NO such thing as balance... And that may be true from the way you're looking at it.
I believe a balanced life is where you have balance in both your business AND your home life — whatever type of balance that may be!
Maybe you have a team that you can delegate some tasks to and you have boundaries in place to protect your time when it comes to your business. THAT WAY, you can spend MORE time with your family and focus on your self-care.
When we take a look at the actual definition of balance, it is defined as a way to enable someone or something to remain upright and steady.
And the truth here, is that BOTH your business and your home are UPRIGHT and STEADY.
Maybe, NOT what your standard of steady is, but it IS steady.
So, how do you manage your schedule to have better BALANCE through the CHAOS!?
BY FOCUSING ON THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS IN YOUR BUSINESS.
I'm not a fan of the "Top 3" rule... In fact, I hate it. I remember starting this rule when I first started my business and I would only focus on 3 tasks that day for my clients... until I realized that some tasks would take me 3 hours and other tasks would take me only 10 minutes.
It just didn't make sense!
Now, I look at my workload and estimate how long each task will take and base that time on the amount of hours I am willing to work that day.
For example, if I have a setup that I know will take me a full workday, I won't add any other tasks to my schedule for the day so I can focus on that setup, and that setup alone!
Next, let's talk about balancing your home life. Work at home moms — I'm speaking to you!
HAVE SET CHORE DAYS.
I don't know about you, but I'm not at the point in my life, where I can hire a house cleaner and for someone to do my laundry. (Though, that is a goal of mine one day!)
That being said, I need to manage the chore list myself, WHILE working from home and keeping focus on my needy pug and cancer-survivor husband. It's not always easy, as I'm sure you ALL can relate!
But, one way I keep the house clean and organized, so that if anyone shows up unannounced, is by setting CHORES DAYS.
Chore days are days where you focus on ONE PART of your house and ONE load of laundry for the day (as needed, of course!).
My chore days look a bit like this:
MONDAYS
Clean the Living and Dining Rooms
Wash a Load of Darks
TUESDAYS
Clean the Bedrooms and Office
Wash a Load of Towels/Blankets (as needed)
WEDNESDAYS
Clean the Kitchen
Wash a Load of Whites
THURSDAYS
Clean the Basement
Wash a Load of Sheets (as needed)
FRIDAYS
Clean the Bathrooms
Catch Up on Excess Laundry
SATURDAYS and SUNDAYS are meant to spend time with family, friends and considered days of REST!
I have found that if you spread out your chores and your laundry, keeping up with the house doesn't seem so daunting... and I take that same concept into managing my client's tasks!
You're probably wondering... "Heather, all of this sounds great! But, how do I squeeze allllll of this into my days!?"
And I hear you and I get it!
THAT'S WHERE TIME-BLOCKING COMES IN.
Those of you who HATE routines, are about to hate me. But, I'm here to tell you that routines are what makes you successful (as long as you're able to pivot at any time).
Each week, whether it be on Sunday evening after the kids go to bed, or Monday mornings when you get time to sit down to work, plan out your week.
I LOVE using Notion or Google Calendar to do this using DIFFERENT calendars.
I start by taking note of appointments, client calls and important events going on that week. Once, I have those down, I make sure I give myself buffer time in my day to decompress from those events or give myself travel time, if I'm having to drive to and from.
Next, I figure out the amount of hours I CAN work each day and how I can squeeze those hours into my schedule. Do your kids have regular nap times? Do you have any doctor appointments that day? How many hours can you work after the kids go to bed? Be realistic and smart when you're planning out your hours.
Then, I figure out a realistic time that I'll wake up in the morning and figure out a regular morning or evening routine that includes both time to read, workout, meditate and catch up on those pesky daily chores!
Coming at you with some honesty... It's not always easy and you MIGHT go off the tracks every once in a while, but all of that is normal and the more realistic you are with your time and how you spend your time, the better BALANCED your life will feel!
For more tips like this, follow me at @hqvirtualsolutions or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/42155416/admin/
