If you run your own company, then you understand how hard it is to organise your business but also put equal effort into your family and yourself. In an ideal world, every element would get a third of our time. However, the brutal reality of business is that most of our time is spent emailing, dealing with customers, managing finances. Or just general anxiety around the future of our business. We then have just enough time to squeeze in an hour with the kids, partner or friends. Although our mind is probably on something back at the office. Your dedicated ‘me’ time is perhaps taken when you are asleep!
Nothing is more critical to the success of your business than your health. So if your home life is suffering and there are arguments at home, your self care and your your mental health will be suffering too. This means your productivity at work will start to reduce and could have consequences for the future of the company. Perhaps you have managed to keep your family happy, but you don’t remember the last time you did anything for yourself. This could lead you to burn out, which could impact your physical health. This may leave you with problems in the business and at home.
Get Organised
Get to grips with some primary organisation within the structure of your business to help reduce your stress levels and free up a little more of your time. There are several ways you can do this.
Invest in Proper Equipment
Good equipment is essential for effective organization because it directly influences efficiency, productivity, and overall workflow. High-quality tools and resources — whether they be advanced software for project management, ergonomic office furniture, or the latest technology in communication — facilitate smoother operations and reduce time spent on mundane tasks. When employees are equipped with the right tools, they can complete work more efficiently, minimizing frustration and distractions. For example, the people working for FPMailing.co.uk can explain how franking machines significantly reduce time spent on preparing mail, allowing you to focus more on other pressing tasks. Furthermore, well-organized equipment reduces clutter, allowing for a more focused work environment where individuals can prioritise their tasks effectively. This careful selection of equipment not only streamlines processes but also contributes significantly to a healthier work-life balance by enabling better time management.
Create a separation
Set some boundaries. This may mean you don’t check emails before 8am or after 8pm. Whatever it is WILL wait a few more hours to be dealt with. Or you might limit your use of social media for you business to a certain amount of minutes per day. If your company is home-based, then you could use a mailing address that will allow you to access your work post when you are ready. It will stop you being distracted at home by work-related mail turning up at the house when you are in the middle of relaxing. A PO Box can be tricky as many couriers won’t send to a PO Box. Instead, you could look at using a physical address. This is managed by a team who will organise and sort your mail for you.
Hire a VA
Hiring a virtual assistant is an excellent way of freeing up a vast amount of your time. A VA will have access to all of your communications and will be able to set up your email inboxes to help make sure you aren’t dealing with incoming mail that doesn’t really need your time. They work with you to create template responses to individual mailboxes. This can help you bring in more work while freeing up a little more of your time.
Be more productive
Finally, you could start to use a productivity app which uses the time block method. This way of working allocates you hours in the day to do set tasks. You have to stick with them and don’t allow yourself to miss any deadlines. It can be a great way of dividing your family time and work time. It is also more productive than a to-do list. So, you will achieve more in your working day and might find you can increase your workload without extending your hours.
There are so many more ways to balance work with life but the above is a starting point. Also, check out these ways to relieve workplace stress.