⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Simplifying Work-Life Balance With These 4 Steps Entrepreneurs often struggle with the work-life balance conundrum and feel guilt when they don't meet every obligation. While these steps aren't the end-all, be-all, they do provide a great starting point.

By Kristen Horler

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

As business owners, we have many roles and responsibilities to fulfill – everything from company duties to family time and socializing with friends. Yet, breaking down all these roles and responsibilities can be daunting, and often entrepreneurs feel guilty they aren't meeting all their obligations. It doesn't have to be that way.

As the founder of Baby Boot Camp & Karma Fitness, a national fitness and nutrition franchise for women, I feel your pain. But I have found that when I approach the work-life issue as if it was a business matter, it makes it much easier.

Here is are a few lessons and tips on what I have learned.

Get your priorities straight. Before you begin trying to solve this conundrum, you need to figure out what is important to you.

Start by drawing a large circle on a piece of paper. Create "slices of pie" to represent how many hours each week you would like to devote to each role. My circle includes time with my spouse and with my children; for each of my three businesses; for my personal fitness; and for my personal leadership development.

Related: 7 Essential Habits of a Healthy Entrepreneur

Have a solid structure in place. Use a day planner, smartphone app or calendar program to plan your week. Include personal appointments, workouts and social events, alongside business priorities like client meetings, training and time for planning. I use CalenGoo, an app that is compatible with your Google calendar. It allows me to color code my personal appointments as well as assign a different color for each of my businesses. This allows me to work efficiently in time blocks so that I'm not jumping from one mindset to another every 30 to 60 minutes. Once you have created this structure, follow it. Check in at least a few times daily to ensure you're staying on schedule.

Get control of situations. The emotional high we get from doing a lot at once can result in mistakes or missing subtle cues. So when multi-tasking, take control of distractions. Turn off your social media alerts, email notification and mobile devices so that you can focus on your task at hand (even if it's just for 30 minutes).

Always connected after hours? Start small by turning off your phone for 30 minutes and being fully present with your family. This can be challenging with a busy schedules and high demands of our time but protecting your time can help you achieve balance and improve your relationships.

Related: Startup Life Driving You Crazy? Here Are 3 Ways to Recharge.

Have your ducks lined up. Procrastination is the act of replacing high-priority tasks with lower priorities. Putting things off until the last possible minute produces a similar emotional high to multitasking, so take control of your schedule and prevent procrastination by ranking your daily tasks.

Create a list of up to 10 tasks that you need to complete that day. Rank your tasks from one to 10, with one being the most important. Limit your big, non-negotiable tasks to one per day. By completing your big task first, you will have your other, less time-consuming responsibilities as a reward to look forward to. Cross tasks off your list as you complete them in order of priority.

If I find that I am unusually overwhelmed, I will create separate lists for each of my businesses with a maximum of five tasks on each list. I then determine what I can delegate to relieve some pressure. This allows me to focus my time better.

Achieving balance is not something you obtain and then simply maintain -- it is an ongoing process that involves effort on a daily basis.

Related: 12 Steps to Help Manage Your Work-Life Balance on the Go

Kristen Horler

CEO and founder of Baby BootCamp and Karna Fitness

Kristen Horler is CEO and founder of Baby BootCamp and Karma Fitness, a national fitness and nutrition franchise for women.  She is also an ACE continuing education provider and 2012 IDEA Program Director of the Year Finalist.  Both Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness made Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list in 2013 and 2014. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Business News

Costco CFO Reveals Uncertain Fate of $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo

CFO Richard Galanti reveals that the price will stay the same — but only "for a while."

Business News

The Most Unexpectedly Popular Side Hustle of the Decade Has Low Startup Costs and High Markups

A new report shows that vending machines are a popular investment — and the industry is set to grow up to $3 billion by 2031.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.