Work is the gift that keeps on giving. If you’re not careful, you’ll miss out on precious moments with those who matter most. These simple suggestions make it easier for entrepreneurs to achieve work-life balance and create more time for family, friends and loved ones.
Set Boundaries
If you’re looking to do a better job of managing your time, then giving others access to you around the clock is not the way to go. Boundaries are essential to reclaiming your time. Let your standard hours of operation be known to clients, family and friends. Filter non-urgent texts and voice messages. Don’t be afraid to let calls go to voicemail. Prioritize callbacks in order of the most important to least.
If people are in the habit of calling or texting you outside office hours, get ahead of them by sending concise emails. Be proactive and let them know the date and time you will be following up. Avoid unnecessarily going back and forth with long and tedious email threads.
Keep control of the conversation at all costs. Set a time limit for each discussion you have. Instead of taking notes and job details over the phone, get clients in the habit of making requests by email. Emails help to prevent disputes about what was agreed upon and leaves less room for human error. It will also be easier to delegate work to specific members of your team if you copy them on email conversations.
Create Standard Turnaround Times
Allow breathing room for you to respond to clients. Have a standard turnaround time that fits your industry. In most cases, 24 hours or less is a decent benchmark.
You never know when an emergency will come up, and you’ll need to schedule personal time with family or friends. Having a reasonable follow-up window will remove some pressure when you’re trying to improvise. If 24 hours passes and more time is required, provide a status update to give clients peace of mind.
There will always be time-sensitive tasks that take priority, but it’s best to deter clients from submitting last-minute work by charging a higher rate for rushed work or declining the job altogether. A failed rushed project will only reflect poorly on you or result in poor online reviews.
Use the Right Tools
There are many industry tools designed to fit any size business. The best tools integrate well with everyday devices and are easy to access on the go.
Having the flexibility to access documents on Google Drive or Dropbox could save you a trip to the office. There are timesheet tools with geolocation that allow employees to self-manage their schedules and track when they clock in and clock out. Customer relationship management tools like Zoho CRM can manage leads by geolocation, save chat transcripts of sales and support agents, and provide other quantitative performance data through user analytics.
Collecting historical data using software is a convenient way to monitor day-to-day operations even when you’re not physically there. Tracking and collecting accurate data through regular company audits is a big time-saver for quality control, measuring performance, and improving business processes or strategies. Instead of guessing, the data will speak for itself and help you make educated decisions with the aid of professionals who can interpret it.
Scheduling Time
Your loved ones want you to be present in their lives when it counts. The methods you choose are of little concern to them. Even if it means scheduling personal time as you would any other appointment, the most important thing is that you are physically present and ready to give your full attention.
How you treat people says a lot about your character. If you’re not careful in the age of social media, your bad habits or qualities could surface and hurt your image. When making a promise or commitment, try your best to honour them. When strangers attack your character, it will be the same people with who you’ve spent time building a relationship that will come to your defence.
Be creative when scheduling time. Invite a friend to your morning jog, spend time together at the gym with your partner, bring your family along on a business trip, or work from home and convert the saved commute time to personal time. If you think outside the box, you will find more ways to maximize your time and get more done in a day.
Work Smart
Are you working hard or working smart? There are times when asking for extra help is more productive and profitable than doing it yourself. Don’t spend months learning how to build an entire WordPress website for your start-up business. Instead, hire a professional to do the job and learn the basics of updating and maintaining website content.
The quicker a website is up and running, the faster you can make a return on your investment. A company website should make it easier for staff to complete their daily tasks. It should also make it convenient for clients to access their documents, forms, invoices and make payments online.
A temporary intern, freelancer, or short-term contract employee could be the key to reducing your workload and tieing up loose ends. Delegate daily tasks to someone who can execute them more efficiently. It will be easier to reach the finish line without a load of pending projects weighing you down.
Hiring an assistant to lessen the workload is an excellent investment. If a full-time assistant is not in your budget, there is still the option of contracting a third-party virtual assistant to generate leads, make outbound calls or book appointments.
Make your business processes more efficient using automation. Tools exist that convert voicemails to text messages or emails. Streamline incoming texts or emails using forwarding apps and inbox filters. Schedule future social media posts and outgoing texts. There are also auto-attendant services that add phone options that forward customer calls to the best department.
Never use your workload as an excuse to neglect others. No professional should feel guilty for having ambition and drive, but it is also essential to have a balanced lifestyle to avoid burnout. It would be wise to take full advantage of these work-life balance tips for new entrepreneurs so that you can have more time for those who matter most.