When you are first starting to develop your business and refine your ideas, it can be
difficult to balance what you are doing with regards to building up your business
with all of the other things that make up your life. Evidently, starting a business is a
lot of work, and will take up a lot of time, but if you are really not happy and feel like
your life has become dedicated to working more than it is to living, perhaps it is time
to take a step back and re-evaluate what you want and how you can feasibly get it.
One way to do this is to work out what means the most to you and to make a
“priority list”.A “priority list” is a list of all of the things that are important to you and that you want to get out of life. This can be made up of anything that you feel passionate about or that you find important for you to enjoy your life. For example, if you feel passionate about learning new things outside of your business then that should be on the list, and likewise if it is important to you to be able to spend more time with family. Once you have created this list of as many things as you can think of, it is essential to decide what the three most important things on your list are.
Once you have decided on the three most important areas, try to find ways that you can incorporate them into the life that you are already living. Going back to the example of wanting to spend more time with family, if you analyse it, you may have opportunities to spend time with them already, but are getting distracted with work emails or you continue your work through dinner. Something as simple as turning off your phone past a certain time at night, and eating dinner together as a family can make a real difference in helping you feel like you are taking control of your life, and can also give you what you want and need. If you really feel like it is not possible to incorporate these three things into the life you lead already, then perhaps it is time to make some changes.
Change is often scary, but if you are not happy doing what you are already, then it is inevitable. Making the decision to change the things that are not working with new ideas helps you to feel like you are in charge of your life, and will often teach you invaluable skills that you can apply in your business. There is a well known quote taken from Lori Greiner that “entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week”, but if you aren’t getting enough out of life now, you may need to weigh up your options and try to find the balance that suits you.
Posted by: One Planet Ventures
