Balancing Act

By Daniel LaBroad, Ovation Health & Life Services, Inc.

As entrepreneurs and business owners, we wear a lot of hats including salesman, controller, account manager, human resources, and customer service rep.  We have emails, projects and work to do 24/7, and it never seems to let up. When you add in family, particularly with young kids, life becomes an even more difficult balancing act. How do we give each the proper amount of attention they both need to flourish? It is essential to make decisions based on what you truly want your life to look like and then take the necessary actions to make it so.  It’s not always easy but it can be done.

Commitment and planning are two of the biggest influences on achieving a successful balance for me.   I schedule my kid’s events on my calendar just like any other event or meeting, whether it is picking them up for school, or going to baseball practice. Blocking that time out makes me committed and accountable to them, just as I am with a client meeting or task. The key is not to let one overpower the other. When it is time to work, be present and get it done. When it is family time, do the same.  It can be extremely difficult at times to separate the two, but when you do, life becomes a whole lot less difficult to manage your priorities.

And finally, embrace technology. The flexibility it gives us can make achieving that balance even easier, when managed properly. Smart phones, tablets and cloud servers allow us the freedom to work and communicate anytime and anywhere. Learning to take advantage of what these devices offer will alleviate your workload, make you more productive and efficient, and free up more time to spend with your loved ones.

Here is a great article with a few more tips and ideas on “work-life effectiveness”. Number 5 is my favorite.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lawtonursrey/2013/12/11/work-life-balance-is-over-create-a-work-life-flow/