Business women are well known for being some of the busiest people.
Whether it’s with a home business to run or one away from home, combined with responsibilities at home for the family or alone, there is always something that takes too much time. In fact, some women start a home-based business in an effort to spend more time with their family while earning an income. While it’s never easy to be a businesswoman who works full-time outside the home, it can be just as, if not more, difficult to be a businesswoman who works full-time from home.
Learning how to strike a balance in a business life can already be a challenge for any businesswoman. Here are some secrets to achieving life balance for busy businesswomen, whether you are a single businesswoman or one with a demanding family.
1. A home based business can be a great thing, but for the busy woman it can also add another dimension of obligations. If you are alone during the day to do her work, staying focused can be a problem. If you have the discipline to stay focused, you should also know how to take a break from time to time so you don’t burn yourself out.
2. If you have family at home during the day, you have another problem. The family may automatically feel that you are at their service. Even more so if the children are at home during the day. The day might look like this: One child may need a ride, another child wants you to find something he’s looking for, and your spouse wants you to go to the store and buy something for dinner. On top of all that, you have clients who also expect you to complete various projects for them.
3. Going from busy to balanced is what you need to consider when looking at your work situation. Gaining the understanding of a support group is a first step toward that goal. The support you need most starts at home. If your family doesn’t quite understand your workday, you might consider having a family meeting to explain how important it is for you to have time set aside for your business. It doesn’t matter if you leave the house and work from an office, or if you work from the kitchen table, work is work. Your family would not come to an office away from home and ask you to do all those miscellaneous tasks; working from home should be no different.
4. You’ll want to set aside time for your family, just as you would with your clients. Working from home will allow you to have a flexible schedule and that gives you the opportunity to attend school functions and other activities. If you’re used to taking a lunch break to work outside the home, think about it inside the home with your family. You can take your child to lunch or prepare lunch together at home. But after that you have to go back to work.
5. While it can be easy to procrastinate and not get your work done as a businesswoman, it can be just as easy to schedule too much and spend too much time working. Include quality family time in your schedule, and it will be easier to ask the family to set aside time for your work.
6. Never underestimate the drain of starting a new home business. It adds stress and tension to your life as you spend time trying to determine the direction you want to take with your business while juggling your additional responsibilities. If you’re transitioning from working outside the home to running your own business, added stress can include worrying about generating an income to cover the bills as your business grows. All of this will be made easier with a support group that is there to help you get through the difficult initial stages of working for yourself.
7. Ask for help with your busy life wherever you can find it. If you’re single, you may want to outsource your housework more. Find a service to deep clean your home every few weeks. Know where to buy healthy meals to take home that aren’t high-fat fast food.
8. If you have a family, ask your family to help you with the housework. Set up a schedule where everyone pitches in on various tasks. Depending on the age of your children, they may be able to help with things like emptying the trash, vacuuming, doing laundry, making their own lunches for school, or even making dinner for the family. If you have a spouse, make sure they are involved as well.
9. If you must work at home with younger children or children who come home early from school, consider hiring a neighborhood teenager to come and “entertain” your children while you work a few extra hours. A younger teen without much previous childcare experience will earn less than an older teen. Since you will be at home, you can take over in an emergency. Your young babysitter can play with the children, read them stories or do other activities. This could give you an additional three to four hours of uninterrupted work time.
10. Remember to take care of yourself as the main person in your business. Running a business is exciting, but it can also stress you out in unexpected ways. Don’t let stress catch you. Instead, plan ahead to give yourself a day off. Some business women take the weekend off, just like in the normal workplace. This allows time for balance in your life. You rejuvenate yourself and are ready to work hard again starting the new week.
Being a busy business woman is the norm. But you can use these 10 steps to go from being busy to being a balanced woman in business. Balancing work and life will never be easy, but with the practice of these tips, it can be done.
