Is it Possible to Have Work/Life Balance?

There has always been a lot of controversy on this topic.  If we were to define “work/life balance”, we would probably say that in order to truly, TRULY enjoy your life, you should only have to wear your “work hat” between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and having the ability to forget about your business/career outside of those hours. But as an entrepreneur I can attest that this is not the case.

There are plenty of entrepreneurs out there busting their butts to the ultimate limit wondering … Is balance even possible? Well, I’m here to happily announce that the answer is YES! But this also means that we must work hard at creating and preserving a space in our lives for the things that matter the most.

As Vanessa Loder, Contributor at Forbes, likes to call this, “creating whole life alignment”. If you think about it, balance just doesn’t happen. We need to work on it and be intentional about establishing those margins within our daily lives. We must become courageous and aware to recover balance.

Wondering how you can get on board with this thing called “balance” that you’ve never yet found in your life? Wondering how you can somehow find more time to do the things you love?

Well, here’s how:

• Before you agree to something don’t just see if you have space in your calendar for it, also check your goals and only say “yes” if out of pure genuine interest.
  
  
• Be open about your needs and communicate them. Whatever you do, do not hide them and do not expect other to guess what makes you feel balance and fulfilled.
  
  
• Defend and respect your boundaries by having clarity around your core priorities and goals. There will always be another email to reply to or a problem to take care of, but you need to personally respect your own boundaries because if you don’t, how do you expect other to respect them.
  
  
• The perfect 50/50 split is possible … wrong. First off there is no such thing as perfect. Sorry to burst your bubble. Your goal here should be a holistic view when it comes to your commitments at both work and home. There will of course be spillage in either direction but the key to having any real type of equilibrium truly depends on your ability to accept that fact that flow is required and sometimes a bit of sacrifice.
  
  
• In most entrepreneur’s workspaces, there seems to be a trend of only having one speed … and that’s lightening fast. Dial things down a bit by having several gears in order to be mindful, which in all reality can only lead to better decisions and healthier choices.
  
  
• Energy is the main component to high performance. Make sure to set clear boundaries between the early morning eager beaver and the “can’t wait to get home” mode in your mind.
  
  
• Making good progress always makes one happy but in order to be consistent with our daily tasks, goals and projects one must also take care of oneself.
  
  
• Stop doing things that just keep adding stress and start making some time for yourself to learn new things. Another way to reduce stress is by writing lists to prevent less important tasks (e.g. picking up milk, washing the fridge, etc.) from taking over important brain space.
  
  
• Find ways to “break free” in order to stay grounded. Some good examples to take into consideration are reading, yoga, meditation, journaling, exercising and listening to mindful podcasts. Doing these types of activities will help you get in touch with your core values and what matters most in your life.

To become truly successful at finding that perfect mixture, you will have to set realistic goals and expectations for what an actual career as an entrepreneur looks like. So, stop trying to completely separate your work week from your weekend. The goal here should be to integrate your two worlds with the intent to accomplish your professional goals in a way that works most comfortably for you. Of course, this is a work in progress, so cut yourself some slack and course correct when you need to.