I used to suck at work life balance. For a long time, I struggled with balancing my business with my family, friends, me time, and other responsibilities. I was always feeling like I was running on empty, and I was never giving anyone, or anything, my all. Relationships suffered, I began to resent my business, and I felt like I was constantly failing. A few years ago, I decided enough was enough and said goodbye to overwhelm and hello to living a balanced life filled with lots of quality time with the people I love and ample free time to spend getting facials and curling up with a book. In an effort to ditch overwhelm, I made a lot of changes, got professional help to give myself a jumpstart, and found that achieving balance starts with making one simple change: setting strict business hours.
One of the biggest struggles for many business owners is being able to separate their business from the rest of their lives. A business is like a baby in many ways, so taking away that emotion can be rough.
My businesses have always been home based, which makes things even harder. My computer is always nearby, calling my name, and it is far too easy to wake up at 3 AM with an idea and rush to my desk to start brainstorming.
But, by giving in to all those ‘just go work really quick’ whims, you’re setting yourself up for burnout, and are likely going to get on the nerves of the people that constantly feel like they’re fighting for your attention.
The answer? Setting business hours. Yep, close the computer and go live your life!
Seems easy enough, almost too good to be true. But I assure you, it’s the key to finding work-life balance. Granted, it’s not the only change that one should make, but it’s a fantastic start!
For some, setting hours and sticking to them is difficult, but with a little practice, you’ll notice yourself feeling more at ease. Not sure where to start? Here are some of my favorite tricks:
1. Starting Simple- Set Your Hours
My daughter is gone Monday through Friday from 8:15 until 3:10, so I do my best not to work past 4 PM during the week. For the most part, I don’t work weekends.
At first, it was hard. I felt like I instantly had to reply to every email, and spent my weekends tinkering with my website and marketing instead of going to the zoo and playing Pictionary. I felt like I owed it to my clients to be accessible 24/7.
So, while I had business hours set, writing them down on a piece of paper certainly wasn’t bringing my work life balance. That’s where the rest of the tips come in, but you’ve got to start somewhere!
Think about the undivided time you’re able to put into your business, and write down those hours. Maybe you still have little ones at home and have to work in random one-hour spurts, or at 10 PM when everyone goes to sleep. Sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do! Write down the hours, and commit to them.
2. Tell Your Clients, and Your Family, What Your Hours Are
Your clients should know when they can reach you, and how long they will be waiting if they try to contact you during your off hours. Similarly, your family should know (and respect) when you’re working and are essentially unavailable to them.
When I ran my photography business, I did this by changing my cell phone number, and only giving that number to clients the day before sessions, making it clear that it was only to be used in case they needed me the day of their session. Otherwise, they were given a land line phone number. I turned that ringer off at 4 PM, and mentioned my business hours on my voice mail. I let people know that if they called past 4 PM, I would get back to them the following morning. I do get my emails on my phone, so I let them know if there was something urgent they needed to contact me for, that they could email me. However, I only answered emails if they were critical (someone emailing asking if they should wear blue or green next week wasn’t urgent in my book!).
Now, I let my clients know up front what my hours are, and that I typically will not respond to emails in the evening or on weekends, though I do see them and answer things if they are time sensitive. Starting this weekend, I will be setting up an auto-responder on weekends letting people know I am out of the office and will get back to them on Monday, since people that email me and are not clients, don’t know about my schedule!
If you expect anyone to respect the boundaries you set, you need to respect them! So, don’t change your schedule so you can do lunch with a friend, or answer a non-emergency email from a client while at a wedding on a Saturday night.
3. Develop a Routine
By creating a routine, it will be easier to stay on track. Being strategic with your time is the key to having more time to focus on the things you love! Set time aside for posting to social media so that you’re not getting sucked in all day. Answer emails at set times in the morning, afternoon, and before you close up shop for the day.
I promise, making the decision to set strict business hours will bring you one step closer to finding work-life balance, whatever that may mean to you! If you’re ready to get serious about living a life that feels more relaxed and less hectic, sign up in the box below to become one of my Super Fly vips! You’ll gain instant access to my favorite business related time-saving tools, plus score a free business blueprint, designed to help you ditch the stress and find your groove!
If you’ve tried setting business hours but just can’t seem to make it work, shoot an email to kim@kimberlyhaydn.com and let’s chat about it; I’m here to help!
Latest posts by Kimberly Haydn (see all)
- Holiday Hacks + How to Have a Good Enough Christmas (and LOVE it) - December 5, 2018
- Increase Summer Sales with These Marketing Ideas! - July 4, 2018
- Seasons of Change: Navigating Building a Business while Raising Your Children - September 24, 2017