With business and entrepreneurship, there is always a temptation to work in seamless ways without clear boundaries between work and social life. A focus on one part may work to the disadvantage of the other and hence produce an unhealthy situation. To lead a successful life, it is important to balance work and family.
Many people don’t know how to work and be part of a family concurrently. The fact is that, a business that is getting started will require a lot of attention to a point where someone feels that it’s not worth having a family at the same time. That perception can be intimidating to those who feel that having a family is a meaningful thing.
So, should an employee forget the issue of family or a parent forgets about work just because they have a family? …Absolutely, not. Here is how entrepreneurs create balance between work and family:
Pick up on priorities.
With well-set priorities, entrepreneurs can easily accomplish their business goals without affecting the affairs of family. It is important to list down items that are of importance. This helps in making decisions concerning the most useful activities. If you don’t have priorities set right, the urgent matters coming up will always interfere with other plans. This leads to frustration after having missed something vital for another that looked urgent but not of equal importance.
Sometimes an overlooked priority is the location you choose to settle with your family. There are great communities around the world, and being an entrepreneur gives you flexibility. Both Northern and Southern California are hotbeds of entrepreneurship, and you have options. (Try socalhomebuyers.com for some local information on Southern California options.).
Have a plan in place.
After the priorities now comes the plan. Know how you will accomplish your biggest priorities and when. There should be clear details of family time, work and meals. Know the exact time when you are supposed to leave work and when to have dinner with the family. This is important especially when you are balancing family life and a home office.
Discipline is Key.
The most difficult part about working out your plan is to observe discipline to help you meet your set goals. There is a high chance that your plan at the office will be challenged in a way or another, even your priorities may be affected. There will be requests for appointments; meetings will be longer than expected alongside other challenges with looming deadlines.
You will meet excuses on the way as a way of making exceptions. Such times will be testing moments for the priorities you have set. With discipline, you can handle all these things without making excuses and exceptions. All you need is to hold on to your plan to balance work and family. Do your best to communicate your intentions right from the start.
Work Hard and Sacrifice a bit.
Your plan can work if you are ready to give it some effort and sacrifice sufficiently to be the leader you want to be. This will most certainly mean doing late nights and early mornings and working through effective work schedules. It also includes sacrificing social engagements with colleagues and friends.
If you want to create time for the family and be swift in building your company have some late-night and early morning sessions. This is the perfect time to work seamlessly without any interruption.
Engage One Aspect at a Time.
There is a mistake of multi-tasking in order to meet the needs of your work and that of your family. You will most likely fail because of that. Consider doing this: when at work, be involved thoroughly and fully. Do whatsoever is possible in the time allocated for work to make your venture successful. Again, do the same when it comes to your personal life, your wife and the kids.
All they need is a bit of your undivided attention. Don’t allow distractions of work-related messages and calls take away this precious time. Your success at these two levels is always measured differently. At work, people will look at the results and know much of success you have had. Don’t look at the amount of time you have put in. However, family will be measured by the amount of time that has been dedicated to how you balance work and family.
The Bottom Line
Success in life is defined by how well we work and how we show concern for those who are part of us as family. Work becomes meaningless when the family is in shambles. However, there is a way to blend these two together without allowing any of them to interfere with each other. It is a deliberate choice that people have to make and set boundaries of time and place on what to do what and how. These are some of the best ways used by entrepreneurs to balance work and family.
