Why work/life balance is so important...

from one business owner to another…

I’ve been there… starting out, doing every job myself from logo design & business cards through to my own IT, to make and save every dollar.

I’ve also been there working all hours with crippling anxiety which replaced my ‘inner child’ with a very mean ‘inner critic’ who was functioning on very little sleep and everything I did took twice as long and was never good enough.

Over COVID, with a tripled workload in the business, hours of professional development so that I could provide my clients with the best possible service and the most up to date information on what was happening in the small business sector, home schooling and lastly my husband in a shoulder splint (aka his robot arm) after a shoulder reconstruction on his right shoulder - it all got too much and ended in burnout.

I started this business to build it around my family life and instead it started taking over my life.  My business was working me rather than me working the business - I was connected to it 24/7.

So, it was time for some changes, to recheck priorities and to remember my boundaries and my reasons why. I sat back & looked at what was no longer serving me and my business - they were off the list immediately. I restructured and I outsourced what I felt weren’t my strong points, simple things like I hired an IT Guy (who would have thought it was that simple!).  I outsourced my website management and redesign. I hired someone to redesign my logo and redo business my cards. I hired someone to help me with the little jobs in the business so I could focus on the big jobs.... and so many beautiful things happened!

I found time to reconnect with my ‘inner child’ and silence that horrible mean ‘inner critic’. I found time to network and to build a team of likeminded businesspeople around me.  I began to not just enjoy my business, but I began to love it again and then… my business grew organically.

I now prioritise down time –

·         my phone is silenced after 5 pm

·         I removed my business emails from my phone so that I was only checking them when in front of my computer (and not at 10pm as I was going

to bed!)

·         My laptop found a new home that wasn't in my lap on the couch for those late-night sessions; and

·         I started to spend quality time with my family again.

Most of us start working in our own business for the flexibility & work life balance of working for ourselves but what happens when you realise none of that is happening? Is it time to reassess your work life balance (or as I prefer to refer to it ‘work/life integration’) and the affect that your business is having on you personally?

It is an important question to ask yourself! Trust me - from someone that has learnt a very valuable lesson and a lot about herself along the way!

Amy x