How Business Owners Can Find Time To Relax | JillAlexa.com
Running a business is definitely demanding, often more so than a lot of business owners realize, and between meetings, emails, deadlines, and plenty of unforeseen challenges, you also have to still actually run the business itself – it’s easy to get caught up in everything and work all the hours you possibly can to get things done. You might even think that’s the right thing to do.
However, it’s actually hugely important to find time for yourself so you can relax – if you don’t do this, you run the risk of burning out, which would mean you couldn’t work anyway. It’s far better to take a little time off here and there rather than a lot of time at a later date because you kept working when you should have been resting.
With that in mind, read on for some useful tips about how to find time to relax, even if it seems difficult.
How Business Owners Can Find Time To Relax
Prioritize Self-Care
In the middle of all your business responsibilities, it’s all too common for business owners to not even stop to think about their own self-care and wellbeing, but that’s actually something that should be non-negotiable. After all, without self-care, you’re sure to get sick, and your business will suffer.
Start by actually setting aside time in your day to practice self-care rituals (put it in the diary, in other words), and do whatever it is that works best for you. That might be practicing mindfulness, going for a walk, enjoying a hobby, learning something new about golf club lofts, or something else you’re especially interested in, or anything else. The point is that you need to make self-care more of a priority as you’ll be able to recharge your batteries, and your business can grow when you’re working more efficiently.
Delegate
For business owners who are looking for a more permanent means to step back and enjoy a little more work-life balance, there is also the possibility of taking on a partner who can play a role in running the business with them. This is common practice within the law industry, for instance, where teams like Wegman Partners can help owners find partners to run their firms alongside. Of course, it does mean that the decision-making power and gains are also split, but that might be worth it for some.
One of the issues when it comes to finding time to relax is just that – finding the time. With so much to do, it can often feel as though it’s just impossible to add anything else to the mix, and that includes self-care and relaxation.
This is why you need to learn to delegate. If you have a team of employers, you can pass jobs to them that you would otherwise have to do, and that instantly frees up some of your time to do the activities we mentioned above – or anything else. There will need to be some work done first, including making sure you have good processes and systems in place and that your team is well-trained, but the upside is that, as well as gaining time, you’re making your workers feel more appreciated, and that tends to lead to more loyalty.
If you don’t have a team to delegate to, don’t worry – you can find experts to outsource to instead. It’s true you’ll need to spend some extra money on this, but it could be an excellent investment, as you’ll have the time you need to relax and stay healthy, and the work will be done to a high standard.
Time Management Techniques
If you can master the art (and science) of time management, finding the time to relax becomes a lot easier, and you’ll benefit as a result, as will your business. You can put techniques in place like the Pomodoro technique, which involves working in focused bursts of time followed by taking a break. You can also use time-blocking to allocate specific time slots to different tasks.
These strategies can help you make the most out of the time you have to work, and even reduce it but still ensure you get enough done, so you can use any ‘spare’ time to read a book, listen to music, have a massage, write poetry, or do anything else you want to do that helps you relax and feel good.
Set Boundaries
One issue with the modern way of working is that we’re always accessible. Thanks to the same technology we need to do the work in the first place, we can be contacted any time of the day or night via phone, text, email, social media, and so on. And if you work from home, it becomes even more difficult to just leave work at work and enjoy your free time without thinking about it.
This is why setting boundaries is such a vital part of finding the time to relax. It’s not always easy, but if you have a designated workspace and set yourself specific hours to work and then don’t contact anyone after that time, you’ll find the whole world opens up to you. This is generally something that takes practice, but don’t worry – it can be done, and it’s worth it.
