Entrepreneurs lead busy lives. They tend to work long hours, their attention is pulled in numerous different directions at once, and they can often feel as though they hardly get to spend any quality time with their spouses or children.
Indeed, there may be some who are so entrenched in their businesses that they feel woefully out of their depth in domestic situations and find that only while they’re at work do they feel confident, empowered and capable.
This is a great shame, as work/life balance is extraordinarily important, and when entrepreneurs deprive themselves of happiness and relaxation at home, they set themselves inexorably on a course for professional burnout.
If you’re having trouble balancing happiness in business alongside happiness at home, maybe it’s time to apply your business skills to your personal life…
Cash flow is important in the home as well
Are your business’ finances ticking over nicely, yet your household finances seem to be all over the place? When your business occupies so much of your thought processes, it’s often difficult to transfer those same asset management skills to your home life.
Like your business, your household needs careful budgeting and to avoid making money mistakes. It also needs to know what to do when cash flow dries up and bills go unpaid.
That includes knowing where to go when you need quick cash at favorable rates as well as knowing which of your unwanted belongings can be sold for the highest returns.
It can be surprising how easy it is to right the ship when you apply the same logic to your business and household finances.
Treat your friends like your business network
How many of your best friends have you lost touch with? How many friends you’ve been close to since your childhood years have you had no contact with for months or even years?
Would you dream of leaving it that long before making contact with a client or prospect? Probably not. You know that to get the most value out of business relationships, you need to make the effort to make yourself visible to the other party.
Otherwise that professional relationship will deteriorate.And guess what? The exact same thing goes for personal relationships, too!
Time management is as essential at home as it is at work
Be honest with yourself… How much do you think you’d get done at work if you didn’t keep to a rigorous schedule?
Time management is absolutely essential for those who run their own businesses… But these incredibly organized and competent people then make the mistake of not applying the same principle to their personal lives.
Make sure you map out how you will spend your downtime and you won’t waste hours to the TV or mobile games. Time management can help you to lead a much richer and happier personal life filled with a wide range of activities.
Schedule regular meetings
And finally, meetings are an essential component in maintaining effective communications with your team… But what team is more important than your family?
Make sure that you schedule meetings with them regularly and use them to share your experiences and insight.
