Work life balance is a hot topic at the moment and people are starting to ask questions about the amount of time they spend working compared with their downtime. It’s an issue for everybody but it’s particularly hard to maintain a good work life balance if you’re the boss. Being a boss comes with a lot of benefits but it does have its downsides. It’s often difficult for you to take time off because you’ll be constantly worried about what’s going on with the company. That fear of missing something important often leads to spending hours in the office and never taking any time off. The problem with that is, you’ll burn yourself out and end up more likely to miss important things than you would be if you took a day off every now and again. If you want your business to be a success, you need to address your work life balance. Here are some great tips to help you manage your time.

 

Trust Your Staff

This is the most important thing to remember; your staff have been trained to do their jobs and they know them inside out. They’re doing this stuff every day so they know it better than you. If you can’t learn to trust them to keep things running while you’re out of the office, you’ll never be able to pull yourself away. Try taking a backseat when you are in the office and just let people get on without micromanaging. That’s a good first step and it’ll help you to realize that they’re perfectly capable of running the business without you for a few days. Learning not to worry while you’re out of the office is key to maintaining a good work life balance.

Outsource

One of the reasons you might be struggling with work life balance is that there is simply too much work to do. If you don’t have enough staff to cover all of the duties, you’ll end up taking on too much yourself. By outsourcing some of those tasks, you can take the pressure off and give yourself more downtime. Look into marketing firms that can handle things like social media for you. By outsourcing some of the duties, you’ll free up more time for you and your staff so all of you can find a healthier work life balance.

Think About Your Expectations

When you’re at work, there are certain expectations you have about yourself. By asking too much for yourself, you put unnecessary strain on your schedule. If you’ve drawn up sales targets that are completely unrealistic, you’ll end up working long hours trying to reach an impossible goal. You have to remember that you’re not failing just because you aren’t meeting all of your targets. Stop being so hard on yourself and reexamine your expectations. It’s important that you do the same for your employees as well because if they feel like they’re being presented with impossible targets, it can cause a lot of unnecessary stress which impacts on their work.   

Plan Your Days Properly

The less efficient you are, the longer hours you’ll work. A lot of the time people are working a lot more than they actually need to, just because they aren’t working effectively. If you aren’t planning your days, you can easily end up wasting time here and there. All of those wasted 5 minutes will soon add up and over a couple of months, you’ll be working a load of extra hours. Make sure that you plan every minute of your day so you’re not wasting any time. The quicker you get everything done, the quicker you can get home and relax.

Don’t Take Work Home With You

The internet has made business a lot easier because you can get in touch with people at any time of day, wherever they are. Unfortunately, all of that extra connectivity comes with a downside. Before the days of email, leaving the office meant leaving work but that’s not the case anymore. A lot of people think they have a good work life balance because they’re leaving the office at 5 o’clock every day but if you then spend hours at home answering emails, you’re still overworking yourself. You need to be strict with yourself and leave your work behind when you leave the office. That means leaving your work laptop behind and not answering any emails while you’re at home. You need to communicate this to your employees clearly as well so they know not to bother you after work hours are over.

Use All Of Your Holiday Days

The idea of taking extended periods off work is daunting when you’re the boss. It might feel like everything will fall apart without you and the business will fold while you’re away. The truth is, that’s not going to happen. Your employees are more than capable of dealing with the day to day running of the company and as long as you make sure you haven’t got any important meetings scheduled that week, they’ll be fine without you. A vacation is the perfect opportunity to recharge your batteries and return to work with a fresh face and some great ideas. If you never take any time off, your work will suffer.

Work Flexible Hours

Working 9 to 5 every day isn’t always the most efficient way to work. A lot of research into working practices is now saying that some people work a lot more effectively if they have more flexible hours. If you think that you’d work more effectively starting earlier or finishing later, try that. If you can work more flexible hours then you can usually get everything done in less time, which gives you more time for relaxing. Try some different working hours and find a schedule that works best for you. However, remember that this isn’t an excuse to start working longer hours than you should be.

Maintaining a good work life balance is important for any boss because if you don’t, your work will suffer and you’ll start making mistakes.