Successfully running your business requires the ability to distinguish between two key roles; your work life and home life. Finding a balance between these two is essential to be effective in everyday life. From the constant demands of daily tasks required to operate your business to the monotonous needs of paying bills, it can sometimes seem like you are on a treadmill constantly running but going nowhere. Mental health is everything in finding the line that runs down between the two. Here are some essential suggestions on how to run a successful business while prioritising your mental health.
Establish Your Position
The first thing you need to do is establish your position. No, I am not referring to establishing your position with your hired employees or partners. You need to establish it with yourself first and foremost! Change starts at home in this situation. If you have no clear defining role that you have determined for yourself, then there are no limits to when you will stop.
One way to combat this challenge is to make a list of tasks and priorities. Take more than 60% of your list and find a way to delegate it to someone else. Even if you are a sole proprietor and find yourself occupying a single space alone, you can still consider what tasks may be worth outsourcing to someone else. Hire a part-time virtual assistant or freelancer to beat your list down and make it smaller. Crossing these items off your list will make you immediately feel better and more in control today.
Making it Personal
Just because you are the boss of your company does not mean that taking control and delegating tasks at the office just stops there. Apply these same concepts to your personal life too. When the pressures of life overwhelm you, call a landscaping company to mow the grass or use a laundry service to wash your clothes. You may find that this free time alleviates a lot of daily pressure and allows you to focus on the items that are more important to making your business successful. You need to pace yourself. Establish do-not-disturb hours where you are required to tell yourself ‘No’ from tackling something you are itching to do. Only accomplish your tasks at their designated, scheduled time. Giving yourself a breather allows you to pause for rest. As a business owner, you have to be aware of the many work-life balance issues that occur and can negatively contribute to your mental health.
Times of Uncertainty and Change
Although you have the essentials, there are sometimes those moments of uncertainty and change that strike us unexpectedly. Just as COVID19 took the world by storm, businesses found themselves having to change their traditional model to a whole new set of rules. The bad part is these were rules they didn’t even make or have any control over. The experience with COVID19 can teach you a few valuable lessons about running a successful business while prioritising your mental health.
- Create flexibility in your schedule to tackle unexpected changes.
When a crisis hits, you will find yourself spinning around trying to figure everything out. This can also be a big-time killer. Once that ball starts rolling down the hill, it can seem like it keeps gaining momentum with no end of stopping in sight. If you block schedule your tasks, you can work in bigger chunks and have more flexibility in moving items around to make time available for significant unexpected events and crises. Even if the pressure takes over, you can gain time by working more efficiently in those blocks to make available time to catch up.
- Have a time of rest and reflection.
One way to keep your mental health in check is to find ways not to get so overwhelmed. Having a time of rest and reflection will undoubtedly present you with new opportunities to find new perspectives. Gratitude journaling is another great way to boost your mood and focus on the good. This will make your time of rest more efficient while keeping your focus on what you have achieved and where you are going. This can be done at the beginning of the day if you need a quick motivator or at the end of the day if you want more time to pause for reflection and plan tomorrow’s events.
- Make plans.
If you want to find the right balance for prioritising your mental health, then make a plan. Even if things get tough, you can always refocus on your plan to keep on track. Making a plan will help you achieve milestones and seek greater accomplishments. Until anything is written on paper, it is just talking. Start with a simple daily list and let your plan grow from there.
Taking Care of Your Mental Health is Pivotal to Success
The statistics are against any business owner when it comes to your work-life balance and finding that sweet spot. According to research from the Alternative Board, 30% of small business owners work more than 50 hours per week, and 20% work more than 60 hours per week. Additionally, 80% of respondents feel like they work too much. When you have studies like this, it reassures you that you are not alone in this struggle. Your mental health is pivotal to success.
By establishing your role and being ready for times of uncertainty and change, you will be better prepared for tackling any barrier that positions itself in front of you. The key to long-term success is to respect your boundaries and be consistent. Creating good habits for yourself is a positive way to remain grounded in your professional and personal life. Create a plan that aims to alleviate some of your tasks, reducing stress, and ultimately giving you flexibility in your schedule to tackle unexpected events. Focus on the future and what you have accomplished. Make a plan for where you are going, and you will look back one day when you find yourself there with a big smile on your face.