Being at the head of your business brings a lot of freedom… But also its share of responsibilities! Difficult, then, to rhyme career and family life. Here are our 10 tips to make your daily life easier and flourish in your professional and personal life.
1- Stay the course!
How did you get here? You were on a file and here you are preparing the meal too? By dint of making the personal and the professional coexist, the two spheres of your life have merged, which is not good. To keep your mind on what you are doing, consider dividing your time between your work and household chores. For example, rather than working on a mission whose deadlines leave you some leeway, create a tailor-made schedule with professional time and personal moments. So you can work with peace of mind!
2- Set up a workspace
The first reflex to have, to reconcile professional life and personal life, is to separate these two spheres. If you have premises where you can carry out your activity, it will be child's play. If you work from home, set up an office in a room dedicated solely to your activity. And for freelancers living in a small space, all you need to do is put all your work necessities in a storage box that you will take out when you start your day, before making everything disappear at the end of the afternoon.
3- Establish schedules
So that your work does not encroach on your family life, consider creating work schedules. You can model them on classic office hours or do it according to your rhythm. Take into account family constraints, but also the times when you are most productive to develop a tailor-made schedule:you are the boss, take advantage of it!
4- Take breaks
As in business, avoid the lunch break in front of the computer and take at least 30 minutes for your meal. Blow 10 minutes in the morning and do the same in the afternoon, you will be more effective! Meditate with the 7Mind app, enrich your general culture with Minitopo or do a little baccalaureate on 94 Seconds; Anyway, unzip!
5- Measure your workload well
Running your own business isn't easy, and saying "no" to a project is definitely the hardest thing to do. However, if your schedule is already packed, don't hesitate! Otherwise, the time you wanted to spend with your family will suffer, which can lead to stress and frustration.
The schedule, the key to harmony
74%[1] of business leaders believe that their activity encroaches on their family life. They are also 86% to work on Saturdays, 60% on Sundays and 56% in the evening[2]. The unpredictability of schedules seems to be the main obstacle to harmony between professional and personal life.
6- Take a real vacation
Of course, you can't do without checking your email once in a while, but learn to disconnect while on vacation! Leave your computer aside and give yourself a real relaxing break. Don't forget to have a good time on the weekends too!
7- Get Out!
You have endless options. A short walk to decompress in the afternoon, lunch outside with your collaborators or day in a coworking space:get some fresh air and maintain social relations.
8 – Get into Batch Cooking
A good way to free up your time is to prepare all your meals for the week at once. Store your recipes in the fridge or in the freezer and you will only have to reheat them throughout the week. You can then use these hours saved to spend more time with your children, close a case or simply immerse yourself in a novel. Available on both iPhone and Android, the Bring! will be the perfect assistant for calculating the quantities needed for your recipes and making your shopping lists. Save Eat will help you, for its part, to compose tasty menus according to the contents of your cupboards.
9 – Delegate
This applies to professional life as well as to personnel. Depending on the size of your business, do not hesitate to get help from a professional for your accounting or from the advisers of your complementary insurance company for the management of your health expenses. At home, help can come from outside, but also consider involving your family by posting a board where everyone can find the tasks they need to do.
10 – Think of yourself
When planning your work, don't forget yourself! Of course, you will now give yourself breaks, but consider adding a few moments when you will only take care of yourself, during the week or during the weekend. For an hour of sport, the discovery of an exhibition or a lunch with a friend, take care of your mental well-being to be at the top of your performance!
Reconciling professional and personal life when you are self-employed requires a little organization, but it is possible! With these 10 tips, you should come out on top!
Source:
OpinionWay Study "Entrepreneurs and Family Life"
CEET study "Does independence promote work/family balance?" »
[1] According to the OpinionWay study on Entrepreneurs and Family Life (September 2017).
[2] According to a study by the CEET (Centre for Employment and Labor Studies) published in April 2019.
