Many people, especially women, set up their own businesses when they have young children, as a way of getting off the corporate treadmill, and being home for bath and bedtime. Running your own business can transform your life - and it can also become a monster. When people start their business, they are often in honeymoon mode - they are happy to spend all day, every day with it, nurturing it and lavishing attention and resources on to it.
That can't last forever though, and if you try, it's the route to burnout and exhaustion. The key is to set some clear boundaries between work and home time. Here are my top tips - some passed on from my clients, others the product of my own blood, sweat and tears as I struggled with this issue myself.
Keep the computer in another room.
You will find it easier to switch off if the computer isn't sitting switched on in the living room or kitchen, where it will tempt you to check it all the time. If you use the same computer for work and business, then create a business user ID, which you close down at the end of the working day.
Limit the amount of time you spend on social media
Only open your email client and social media up a few times a day, and then shut them down again. They may be a key part of your marketing plan, but unless you are disciplined, work time will trickle away, and you will end up having to work 'overtime' to catch up.
Automate and systematise as much as possible
It may take a couple of hours to set up an autoresponder sequence in your email management system, but then you can forget it. Set up stay-in-touch systems with clients and prospects, and use tools to bulk schedule your social media.
Have working hours and as far as possible stick to them.
Yes, your working hours may be in the evening when the kids are in bed, in which case don't get drawn into work in the afternoons.We've probably all done the 'just let mummy finish this email' line to our kids - while occasionally its essential, if it's a pattern then we end up short changing ourselves, our business, and our families, as nothing ever gets total focus.
Learn to delegate.
It's not an extravagance, it's essential. Think about how much your hourly rate is when you bring in new business and service your clients and customers. Does it make sense to be paying yourself that rate to be doing your own admin, or your own cleaning? Focus on spending your time doing the things in your business that only you can do.
Spend time doing non-work things with people who aren't involved in your business.
You don't have to spend every minute of the day developing yourself. Sometimes you can just have fun!
Joyce Campbell is the creator of The Get More Clients System and TheGetMoreClientsSystem.com She works with service-based solopreneurs to help them get more clients, make more profit and reach more people. Visit the website to get her free e-course, Six Steps to Ramp Up Your Online Presence. She is also an NLP trainer and author of How to Get Off Your Backside and Live Your Life.
By Joyce Campbell
That can't last forever though, and if you try, it's the route to burnout and exhaustion. The key is to set some clear boundaries between work and home time. Here are my top tips - some passed on from my clients, others the product of my own blood, sweat and tears as I struggled with this issue myself.
Keep the computer in another room.
You will find it easier to switch off if the computer isn't sitting switched on in the living room or kitchen, where it will tempt you to check it all the time. If you use the same computer for work and business, then create a business user ID, which you close down at the end of the working day.
Limit the amount of time you spend on social media
Only open your email client and social media up a few times a day, and then shut them down again. They may be a key part of your marketing plan, but unless you are disciplined, work time will trickle away, and you will end up having to work 'overtime' to catch up.
Automate and systematise as much as possible
It may take a couple of hours to set up an autoresponder sequence in your email management system, but then you can forget it. Set up stay-in-touch systems with clients and prospects, and use tools to bulk schedule your social media.
Have working hours and as far as possible stick to them.
Yes, your working hours may be in the evening when the kids are in bed, in which case don't get drawn into work in the afternoons.We've probably all done the 'just let mummy finish this email' line to our kids - while occasionally its essential, if it's a pattern then we end up short changing ourselves, our business, and our families, as nothing ever gets total focus.
Learn to delegate.
It's not an extravagance, it's essential. Think about how much your hourly rate is when you bring in new business and service your clients and customers. Does it make sense to be paying yourself that rate to be doing your own admin, or your own cleaning? Focus on spending your time doing the things in your business that only you can do.
Spend time doing non-work things with people who aren't involved in your business.
You don't have to spend every minute of the day developing yourself. Sometimes you can just have fun!
Joyce Campbell is the creator of The Get More Clients System and TheGetMoreClientsSystem.com She works with service-based solopreneurs to help them get more clients, make more profit and reach more people. Visit the website to get her free e-course, Six Steps to Ramp Up Your Online Presence. She is also an NLP trainer and author of How to Get Off Your Backside and Live Your Life.
By Joyce Campbell
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