In this post, we are talking about achieving a good work and life balance. It is important to achieve a work-life balance to obtain the highest degree of happiness and sense of achievement. Not only is it something we all wish we could accomplish and have, it’s something entrepreneurs have even more struggles with!
Self-actualization is the basic need of humans that is at the highest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. To obtain and maintain happiness, the individual should strive to achieve a level of self-actualization. This comes from their work, primarily but it can also come from some other factors, such as family, community, and involvement.
Work-life balance means that you have been able to find time to achieve both success financially as well as within your personal lifestyle so that you feel a high level of self-actualization and success. Much of this is obtained by feeling you are moving toward your goals without feeling pulled back by other factors.
Here are seven great resources for achieving a business and life balance.
B2C.com
B2C publishes a variety of articles that offer tips on how you can achieve your best level of productivity while enjoying a great life balance.
They discuss how to make sure and spend time with family and friends to rejuvenate and relax without making work too much of solitary focus.
Forbes.com
Forbes Magazine has been advising entrepreneurs for years on how to make the most of both your time, money, and lifestyle. They also offer sound economic advice to entrepreneurs on how to plan for growth and change within your business.
Read their full article and bookmark it as a reference. They have some very helpful tips on how to achieve this work and life balance.
Entrepreneur.com
Entrepreneur Magazine is also a highly recognized authority on all matters and topics involving the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Read their article and see what they recommend when you are working on trying to obtain a higher level of self-actualization and reach your goals, while also enjoying your life to a higher degree.
One of their first and most interesting tips states that you should “forget the balance.” In this paragraph, read about how they state that there is no real balance since work “ebbs and flows” as clients and other factors change.
It makes a good point that you should remain flexible to that change and be prepared to guard both your work time and private and family time to not feel enslaved by your work life.
Lifehack.org
Lifehack.org is an excellent resource that allows you to learn what to do to manage your time and keep a work-life balance. One of the main points they make in their article on this topic is to keep a good attitude.
This is sometimes hard to do, but it is essential to keep positive to maintain a work-life balance. If you let yourself get down in your mood, you may let work slide and not tend to the basic duties that you are responsible for. Then you will constantly be scrambling to pick up the pace to make up for the lost time.
It’s best always to stay ahead as much as possible so that you can have some down time when you need it.
WebMD
It’s interesting to note that even WebMD has a resource on creating a positive work-life balance. WebMD is not a business site, but they offer real and practical advice on staying healthy and offer a number of articles on symptoms and how to deal with stress and other physical disorders.
They suggest that one idea is to allow for some “down time.” As we mentioned before, you can’t have the “down time” taking precedence over your work time. It is extremely important to your work-life balance and your overall health to work some down time into your schedule. One idea is to work until you have achieved the desired level of success on a project then take some time off as a reward.
Industryweek.com
Industryweek.com offers some sound tips on how to achieve this work-life balance, including to track your time and determine priorities.
Determining priorities and setting realistic goals that you will be able to realistically achieve are both important to acquiring the level of work-life balance you want. They state that, since the Great Depression and subsequent recessions and other government regulations on taxes and other factors, it is becoming harder for blue collar workers to achieve a work-life balance.
So much of their day is taken up with work, and they seem to be only living from paycheck to paycheck in most cases. So it is important to decide what is most important in your work-life balance. If you want to spend more time with family, you may want to consider taking a job that pays a bit less, then cutting expenses to meet that need.
Business News Daily
Business News Daily offers sound financial and work advice to entrepreneurs, as well as working class people. In this article, they focus on recognizing the role of work and how it fits with the other aspects of your life. Make sure to schedule some time to “unplug” and don’t be afraid to let go of some work that is not essential.
They stress the importance of sticking to a daily routine, while always remaining somewhat open and flexible to change. By creating a regimen but being open to altering your schedule somewhat, you can fit in some other goals and personal time with family and friends that will make it all worthwhile and recharge your batteries.
Conclusions on Creating a Work-Life Balance
There are plenty of ideas on how to achieve a work-life balance. They are all slightly different in their approach. They also echo many of the same sentiments. Steve Jobs was one of the most successful businessmen who ever lived. We all admire his stamina, his determination, and fierce will to succeed. He created one of the most successful technology companies that have ever existed, brought it up to one of the great innovative tech giants, and invented some of the best modern technology known to man.
But he also gave up a lot. When he was at the heart of creating Apple, his daughter, Lisa was born. He hardly had time for her due to his responsibilities at Apple. He went to visit her when she was about four years old, and she didn’t recognize him.
This should serve as a wake-up call to all of us who are obsessed with success. Success, inevitably, is a matter of choice in what you find the most rewarding, fulfilling, and self-actualizing. So think about what is most important to you and plan accordingly.
As for Steve, he named his first computer he created at Apple “Lisa.”
There is such a thing as working too hard.