Enterprise

How you can strike work-life balance

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It is very common to find entrepreneurs who are unable to make time for their families, hobbies or even their health because they are trapped in the culture of overwork and chasing after money. FILE PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH

Many people who start their own business have two major expectations in mind – economic freedom to afford good life and time freedom to do whatever they like without much restrictions.

However, quite a number of entrepreneurs never achieve these objectives. It is not unusual to find entrepreneurs who are unable to get out of the debt trap and struggles with managing finances. It is very common to find entrepreneurs who are unable to make time for their families, hobbies or even their health because they are trapped in the culture of overwork and chasing after money.

The true success of any entrepreneur is entirely dependent on creating a balance between work and life.

Work-life balance is the state of equilibrium where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one’s career or business and the demands of one’s personal life. Simply put it is a situation where your business does not suffer because of your lifestyle and your life does not suffer because of business demands.

The fruits of a healthy work-life balance are low stress and burnout, high productivity and a great sense of wellbeing and satisfaction. Your business exists primarily to enable you to have a good life and not to be a source of stress and family conflict.

Creating a healthy work-life balance is something that does not occur without intentional and planning. There is no point in spending the bigger portion of life trying to achieve something that will not benefit you and your family.

The first step in achieving work-life is to believe it is possible to balance the demands of business and life. You don’t have to do everything to be successful. Some people think their enterprises cannot operate without them. This is a myth.

With proper planning and the right people, your business can thrive without you being physically present all the time. You only need to get the right people and empower them.

You don’t have to work fifteen hours for your business to thrive. You can work six hours and achieve the same or even more.

Set holistic goals in life. Your success perception should not be limited to economic achievement only. Just like a human body needs vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, you need several elements to be truly successful and happy.

People who achieve a lot of economic success and in the process lose their family and social life can attest to the vanity of winning only on one facet.

If economic success were the key to a good life, then celebrities and billionaire entrepreneurs would be the happiest lot.

Therefore, identify and prioritise things that matter in making you lead a happy and fulfilling life. Don’t let the never-ending cycle of chasing after money and overwork take a toll on your life.

It is said that health is wealth. So prioritise your health and everything else will fall into place. If you are physically, emotionally and mentally healthy you will achieve much regardless of the speed of accumulating wealth.

Overworking yourself prevents you from relaxing to recharge and foster creativity, reduces your performance and exposes you to a myriad of health and social problems.

Mr Kiunga is a business trainer and the author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’