Listen up business owners! 5 Tips to keep the work-life balance on point

As a business owner, you are a firm believer that time is money. Every minute of every day has the potential to meet your standards or fall short in a drastic way. There’s an element of urgency that pushes all entrepreneurs to push that little bit harder to hit targets and keep clients happy.

There’s a catch here, and it’s a trap that many fall into the bad habit of when starting a new business or even for those bright thinkers who implement changes in their business strategy – where burning the midnight oil is a metaphorical and literal personification of their life. Not good.

Typing away into the late hours of the night is sometimes necessary, missing out on social events to get a design completed for a massive project happens sometimes – but if these situations are regulars on your agenda, then something is wrong. Here are 5 tips to help business owners maximise their time and make the most of their work-life priorities:

Start time tracking

This one might sound mundane and maybe even time consuming in itself – but really it’s not. In fact this is something that we’ve tried, tested and can absolutely recommend, hand on heart. Timestead is a time tracking tool that allows you to gauge where you spend most of your time on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. The perks of time tracking include awareness and even efficiency as a result of your reactions to your past performance.

Learn to outsource

Keeping everything in-house seems like the greatest asset, but the truth is that no matter how well-oiled your team may be; there’s always room for a spare set of hands. Reduce the stress of a new in-office recruit and contract a few freelancers to join your team remotely. Always choose experts who are able to follow instructions with minimal margin for error and true chops for the job.

Reduce meetings

It’s great to catch up with your team, clients and partners; but do you really need to have a morning meeting every day? What a waste of time, energy and, at the end of the day; money. Before every meeting; be sure to ask yourself what the purpose and value the meeting holds. More often than not a meeting could be carried out over the phone, by email or over Skype. Quick, easy and a total time saver.

Increase focus

This is probably the hardest one to master. It’s not easy to ‘increase your focus’ just like that. It takes time, training and even a few revisions in your strategy to find the perfect solution. If you’re a door’s-always-open kind of worker, there’s more chance for people to pop in and out of your office; whether it’s to give you an update, ask a question or share a funny office joke; but when the pressure is on; you have to be ready to shut that door and get to work.

Avoid distractions

Much like finding your rhythm at work, avoiding distractions is a tough nut to crack. If you’re working out of the office; pack headphones, avoid the cafés that your friends head to, make sure your phone’s on silent and face down on your desk and that you have enough coffee and water on hand to get your work out of the way.

Finding a way to slowly, but surely implement these 5 tips into your life will keep your employees, your clients, your friends, your family and most importantly you happy. Make this your target for 2020.