How to Achieve Work Life Balance | InSite CPA

As busy business owners, we’ve all heard it before - we hear it from our friends, our spouses, and parents - heck, we even hear the nagging voices of ourselves saying the same thing over and over. 

Put the computer away. 

*Opens computer. ...

Okay, but don’t check your email.

*Checks email.

Alright fine, but don’t answer - it’s dinner time.

*Holes up in office for the night, buried in work. 

We all want the same thing and know how important it is, yet it’s somehow just out of reach. Yup, if you’re a business owner, you probably guessed it - the “work life balance.” 

Oh, you haven’t heard of it? It’s that elusive “thing” we’re all supposed to have, you know, finding a healthy balance between running a thriving business and then somehow finding a way to shut off your work brain to - you know - have a life.

As SMB owners, we know you’re wearing all the hats, which means doing tasks like bookkeeping at nights and on the weekends. Without a full-time staff, you have your hands full with more responsibilities than you can count; by trying to keep up with the demands of your business, we know it leaves no time for the things you enjoy outside of work.

Here are our top tips to achieve a better balance:

1. Our good friend Mr. Anonymous said it best: “The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you've lost it.” You have to make a conscious effort to audit your days and take a good honest look at your life - are you pulled in too many directions? Are you pulled to one direction and ignoring all the rest? Are you so lost you don't know which direction you’re going? Okay, take a breath - this is the first step, acknowledging an imbalance. Now it’s time to take action.

2. “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” Dolly Parton. In order to achieve a work-life balance, you have to identify the time sucks in your day. It’s easy to get stuck in habits that ruin your productivity and don’t allow you to pursue things in life that you love. Take an inventory of activities you do and decide if they’re enhancing your life or career. If not? Bye-bye, ciao, sayonara, adios!

Okay, you don’t have to be that cutthroat, but you should make a real effort to minimize those tasks to make room for a better balance. You’ve heard of the word ‘no’ before, right? Get used to it. Get real comfortable saying n-o, because you’re going to learn to use it in much more intentional ways.

3. “You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” Charles Buxton. Oh, how true it is - we all want more of it - heck, we crave more time to get it all done, but folks, that’s not how it works. That’s why we make it our mission to create efficient solutions so busy business owners can get it all done. 

One more time for the people in the back. 

You. Can. Get. It. All. Done. Without feeling like you’re drowning. 

And we can help! Check out our accounting software solutions to work smarter, not harder.

4. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein. Even when you feel like there is no time in the world to exercise, research actually shows that when you’re active, you’re more alert and productive. So even if you don’t have an hour to commit to the gym, try taking a brisk 20 minute walk outside of work. 

Just remember, you are doing something incredible - you’re running a business. And that’s amazing! And sometimes you probably don’t realize that. But life is not work, and work is not life, so it’s time to take a breath and make space for all the things that enrich your life.