Creating and maintaining a healthy work-life balance is a common challenge for many small-business owners.
We asked 12 small-business owners who feel they’ve achieved this elusive equilibrium to share the key actions that helped them get there. Here are their insights.
Clever scheduling
Many of the entrepreneurs said that effective scheduling helped them balance their business with their personal life.
Robyn Simpson, Choose the ‘Tude: “I use Google Calendars and have a calendar for Private, Business, TBC, Admin, School commitments… I even schedule drive time so as not to be left short.”
Shona Gates, Team Sexy Selfish: “My Google calendar syncs everything, from work appointments to kids’ therapy sessions. It emails me a daily schedule, and since it’s shared with my husband, we can update or adjust plans in real-time.”
Roxy Sinclair, Sinclair Communications: “Through the day I oscillate between household tasks, work, and exercise. To make up for the lost work hours I will often do a few hours on weekends…. I take my laptop on holidays if needed and work when there is ‘dead time’ on the plane or when the kids are napping.”
Edward Bassingthwaighte, The Healing Vet: “I take great care to make sure that I have time for work, time for rest, time for my beloved, time with my animals, time for relaxation, time for recreation, and time for adequate sleep (at least 7-9 hours a night). This takes work – if I have to rebuild my schedule, it’ll take about 2 months to create, test, adjust, and embed the new schedule into my life.”
Rachel Lake, Rachel Beth Jewellery: “One of my key strategies is taking a half-day every Friday…I also prioritise regular date nights with my husband, which helps strengthen our connection and gives me a break from the pressures of running a business.”
One small-business owner changed her business model to free up her time.
“I reduced 50% of my face-to-face workshops and training, and replaced these with online workshops and programs,” said growth mindset coach Sharné Lategan.
Lifestyle changes
Many of the small-business owners that talked to us said that lifestyle changes, like prioritising exercise and family, helped them feel happier and create a sense of balance with their work life.
Yvette Salvaris, Ethical Training Solutions: “To maintain balance, I ensure that self-care is a non-negotiable part of my routine…I’ve learned that short, regular breaks during the workday keep me focused and energised.”
Jane Kilkenny, Fitness Energy: “Get outside and have a walking coffee meeting, rather than sitting in the office. You will benefit from the extra movement and fresh air.”
Barry Lehrer, Working Elements: “We often get so caught up in running our businesses that there is much more to life out there in the big wide world. Volunteering became a way for me, even from a young age, to create a more meaningful life.”
Mukti, Mukti Organics: “Creating a structured morning routine can help to foster a positive mindset for the rest of the day.”
Penny Locaso, Hacking Happy: “I have a little mantra I use to signal to my brain that the work for the day is done. I say to myself: ‘that is enough and I am enough’.”
Rethinking work-life balance
Interestingly, many of the strategies we heard about were less about reducing the time spent working and more about prioritising meaningful time outside of it. The small-business owners that ISB spoke to cited exercising, volunteering, and enjoying time with family as steps that made them feel more in control of their lives.
We typically think of work-life balance in terms of working on a 9-5 schedule and shutting off from work on weekends and in evenings. This popular understanding affects legislation: The recent ‘right to disconnect’ gives employees the right to refuse work contact after working hours, overlooking the reality of many small-business schedules.
The truth is that work-life balance often looks different for small-business owners. For instance, many have found that it’s still possible to create work-life balance without time-specific boundaries.
Perhaps it’s time to widen our definition of what work-life balance can look like. One small-business owner that ISB spoke to, Rowena Morais, offered a different perspective on the matter.
“I focus more on work-life integration rather than work-life balance, as the latter can feel like there is a specific ratio to follow,” said the entrepreneur and founder of Digital Confluence. “I am purposeful about how I allocate my time and recognise that circumstances can shift and new developments may occur, so I try to anticipate these changes and allow room for flexibility.”
Food for thought in a world where work is changing so rapidly.
