TWO EASY STEPS FOR FINDING “ME TIME” AS AN ENTREPRENEUR
The lifestyle of an entrepreneur comes with many perks: flexible schedule, making your own rules, living your passion, the list goes on. However, free time rarely ends up on this list for the busy business owner.
Especially in the early stages of business between long days in the office and sleepless nights, client meetings and family time, there are times “me time” seems to be a thing of the past for many emerging business owners.
So how can you make it a point to get that much needed alone time? Here’s where to start.
PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR
Your business calendar should also allocate time for your personal life. Remember, it’s not work/life balance, it’s integrating the two worlds!
As your business grows, it will become harder and harder to find time for your personal life. Actually blocking off times to spend with your family (family dinner, sporting events) or time for yourself (gym time, annual appointments, clarity breaks) will give you the much needed break from the everyday operations of running a successful business.
If you haven’t already, a joint Google Calendar can be a lifesaver.
AVOID THE THINGS YOU HATE DOING
Completing tasks you do not enjoy, or are not good at, drain energy and time. Have you sat down and prioritized the items that are worth your time? – Think dollars and hours here!
The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) suggests completing a tool called the “Delegate & Elevate” tool. The tool consists of four quadrants, forcing you to list all the tasks to do on a weekly basis and separate them into “Love/Great At Doing,” “Like/Good At Doing,” “Don’t Like/Good At Doing,” and “Don’t Like/Not Good At Doing.” Get started here.
We get it, this sounds like a pipedream! And yes, as the business owner you will likely always have a hand in one or more pieces of business operations that require your attention, especially in the early stages when cash flow isn’t as fluid. But as you grow your business those pain points (be it social media, financials, compliance, etc.) can be a top priority for outsourcing and/or hiring to save you time and dollars.