Entrepreneurs Deserve Work-Life Balance, Too Here are 5 Ways They Can Achieve It

Entrepreneurs Deserve Work-Life Balance, Too Here are 5 Ways They Can Achieve It Busy? Well, isnt that an understatement? If youre like me, mastering work-life balance is no easy feat. Entrepreneurship is a constant juggling act of phone calls, meetings, emails, networking, promotion and strategy thats often flanked by early mornings and late nights. Cue Rihanna work, work, work, work, work, work.But too much work will burn you out and wear you down. Yes, youre working towards a different type of life for yourself. Yes, that demands a lot of you. But trust me when I tell you, youre not your best self if you dont have balance.After spending 13 years as a marketing executive working with companies like LiveStrong and AIG, I decided I wanted to venture out on my own. It didnt take long for me to experience the craziness that comes with being an entrepreneur. Its easy to become obsessed with your brand and with achieving a specific outcome. Although that obsession is necessary for great ness, you need to have some kind of balance. It wont be 50/50, especially not early on, because its true that entrepreneurship requires sacrifice.Do you know what else entrepreneurship requires? Your sanity. With that in mind, here are five things Ive learned and recommend to help you successfully balance work and life.1. Walk it out.There is nothing like walking. I dont mean treadmill walking, which we all know is a good gestalt of exercise. In this case, Im talking about walking more for mindfulness, self-care and relaxation as opposed to exercise. Im talking about outdoor, fresh-air walking. Those walks where you can feel the breeze hitting your skin, see trees and smell flowers. Walking is the ultimate entrepreneur reset. When I added a 30-minute walk to my weekly routine, my mood drastically improved for the better. Theres nothing like it.2. Create a work curfew.I used to push myself to work insane hours (12 to 15 hour days) because I felt like I had so many things I needed to accomplish in one day. But the strain and lack of sleep only made me less productive and more stressed. I implemented an end-point for my days, where regardless of what Ive done, I have to stop because my brain needs to relax and recharge. You cant go nonstop its simply not possible. Give yourself a hard stop, and then actually stop.3. Let business apps do some of the work for you.Apps exist for a reason. Theyre here to help you be more efficient, and efficiency is a key parte of effectively balancing work and life. Think Expensify, My Minutes, Evernote and TripIt, to name a few. Just as business is about optimization, so is your personal time. One of the best ways to save time is to departure using the helpful apps that exist for entrepreneurs like us.4. Read an inspiring book.A good rule for overworked entrepreneurs is to turn off the television and pick up a book. Any book is fine, but a memoir, feel good fiction novel or self-help book is always advantageous for the psyche. Rese rve some time to deliberately take a break and zone out between the pages of a good read. My favorites are Were Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union and You Are a Badass How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero.5. Take a break from social media.Sometimes were too connected. As much as Im a fan of social media, its draining. Sometimes you have to intentionally unplug from it so that you stop scrolling and start resting. Just like your body, your mind needs rest. As much as social media can bring people together, its not the best for work-life balance, especially for entrepreneurs. So, turn the push notifications and alerts off.Work-life balance is possible for entrepreneurs it just requires some deliberate actions. You need to set limitations for your time. You need to take breaks. A quick reset can do a world of difference for your productivity. Ever since Ive made self-care and balance a priority, I sleep better, I dont get those wee kly headaches like I used to and I have a lot more energy. Balance is possible, you just have to it a priority for yourself.