Do You Struggle with Work-life Balance Too? Learn From These Entrepreneurs How to Nail It Four founders from Asia-Pacific countries reveal how they stay fit and strike work-life balance
By Komal Nathani •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Achieving work-life balance is no small task, especially for an entrepreneur who's working round the clock to build his company and brand.
A September 2018 report by Australia's La Trobe University notes that stress in entrepreneurs goes beyond financial success or failure. Owners of struggling firms are no more likely to experience stress than owners of thriving firms. Rather, says the report, entrepreneurs encounter a "depth and range" of problems on a daily basis. As such, entrepreneurs are likely to report chronic or ongoing stress, it adds.
We asked four founders from the Asia-Pacific countries on how do they stay fit and manage work-life balance. Here's what they had to say:
FacebookDJ Ranidu Lankage, founder Audius
I wake up at 7am and meditate. Later I read while having some fresh Sri Lankan tea. I then try to hit the gym and head to work right after while grabbing a quick breakfast. I am at work most days from 10am-7pm or later. During the day, I have a lot of varying tasks, from meeting with investors and external partners, to product planning meetings and operations reviews.
After I get home around 8pm, I grab a quick dinner and do more email, read some news and at times watch some Netflix and head to bed around 11pm.
FacebookPriya Rajendran, founder, Smore’s Up
It is very hard to have a clear delineation between professional and personal life when you are a startup founder. You find ways to weave your professional and personal life to make it work for you and your family.
It is all about prioritizing what is the most important thing for you every day. I prioritize ruthlessly. I prioritize what is best for me, my daughter, my sanity, my company, my family every single day. There is no place for negative energy, guilt, judgments and pleasing everyone.
This doesn't happen without help from others. I am not shy to ask for help when I need it. With a lot of help from my daughter, my co-founder, my ex-husband, and my friends and family, I am able to find my balance between professional and personal life
Entrepreneur Asia PacificStephanie Yoe, venture capitalist, Fenox Capital
Unfortunately, I haven't figured it out yet. However, due to the traffic in Jakarta, I now try to meditate daily on my way to work in the car to calm the emotions down and process them effectively.
Entrepreneur Asia PacificXiaoyang He, CEO, Lambda
I must be one of the entrepreneurs that have a big say in this topic as I once dithered between two extremes. When starting a business last time, I devoted myself to business 24/7, working from 9am to 9 pm for six days a week, which unfortunately led to severe health problems. There was even a time when I thought about making a living by writing. Now, I choose to follow my heart.
A celebrated German writer wrote a novel called Siddhartha which recounts the story of a Brahmin pursuing enlightenment. Having lived as an aristocratic, Shramana, merchant, gambler and father, Siddhartha finally returned to nature. I contend that the work-life balance is mainly concerned with one's feelings rather than external behaviors.
