5 Tips To Keep Life & Business Goals From Colliding

Apart from financial gain, the desire to have more time for themselves and/or family is among the top reasons many give for starting their own business. Yet, those of us who have ventured out know – family time is the first to get sacrificed. We want to fulfill a lifelong goal, but we don’t get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We want to make our family happy. Instead, they think our business is a poisonous fruit. Ironic isn’t it?

Will you finally have time to live your life this year? The answer is (and should be) Yes! Like everything else, it takes some work but your family is worth it. Here are five strategies you can put into action without sacrificing either your business or life goals.

Get Help

Releasing control of your work, and spending your hard earned money to hire someone is a challenging. It’s very hard to see, particularly in the beginning, how spending can result in more returns and profits. After all, it’s been drilled into us since we were kids. Save your money. As a kid, I remember saving quite a bit of money, then my mom would take me to the bank to deposit it into my own account, and that’s it. I’m not discouraging saving money. It’s a good habit, but at the end of the day, I still left home with $0 in the account. It’s a long story, but if only I’d been taught to invest that money into something that will bring in more money, I’d have started life off on a better foot.

If your business is not in a position to hire yet, it’s OK. Keep working at it. Do save your profits, but as soon as you are able to afford assistance without sacrificing too much profits, then it is time to invest. In help, in people. Extra help frees you up for bigger tasks and you’ll also be able to knock off of work early.

Realize It Takes Time

You’ve heard of the saying Rome wasn’t built in a day. Few things are. Even a seed takes time to germinate and grow into a plant. It takes even more time for that plant to grow into a strong, formidable tree. There will always be something you have to do. Even if you completed everything on your list today, tomorrow, you’ll find new things that need attention. Create work hours. You may find yourself getting more productive when you only have a few limited hours to get down to business.

Communicate Each Others’ Plans

Your family knows that what you do is important to you and for their sake. If you have a project that is of particular importance e.g. Winning a high profile client, let them know that you will be working more for a while. Be sure to schedule in extra time for them after.

Similarly, ask them to keep you informed ahead of time as much as possible of the events going on in your life that they want you to be present. If there are conflicts – it’s up to you to decide which is more important. Sometimes, a big contract negotiation with a client does take precedence over being taxi driver for music class. However, if it is a concert your child has been working hard for, it would probably be worth a shot to re-schedule the meeting time with your client.

Schedule Everything

While everyone’s schedule is different, it makes a lot of sense to keep weekends off-limits to work, or at least to client work and demands. This is especially true when you have school age children. Most schools have their year planned out way ahead of time. Grab the school calendar and plan out your holidays and long weekends to coincide with theirs. Block them off early in the year so you’re not scrambling to find time later.

Treat family activities like an appointment to be kept. Put them on your calendar. In your task list. Schedule it or you’ll forget it.

Make It A Point To Enjoy Life

If you’re unhappy, you’re not going to be happy at work or at home no matter how hard you try. If your business is no longer a source of joy for you. It’s time for some serious re-thinking. If the situation at home is driving you to stay longer at work, then that needs taking care of too. Sometimes the decisions are painful, but life is too short to stay unhappy and you only have one chance. Be intentional about making changes that lead to fulfillment and success.