Starting a Part-Time business - Things to do one month on...

by Startacus Admin

Work/life balance

Life is about more than just working, and whilst it is only to be expected that setting-up a part time business will put pressures on your time (especially if you are holding down a day job) it is immensely important that you establish and maintain a good work/life balance. In last weeks post we put forward some great ways of managing your time when setting up a part-time business, but equally important is your ability to continuously monitor and evaluate the tasks which are placing the highest demands on your time find ways increasing your efficiency.   Here are a few good tips for helping to build and maintain a good work/life balance:

Create a structured work time - When running a business from home, it is sometimes easy to rest back on your laurels and feel like you have ‘all the time in the world’- which of course isn’t true. Setting yourself strict working hours will instill a sense or urgency in your work and hopefully encourage you to be more productive. Create a working routine that is suited to your needs - whether that means early morning starts before the rest of the household awakens or burning the midnight oil at the end of the day, what's important is that during this time you are able to give your work your full and undivided attention.    

Establish some boundaries - You should try to create an environment where you can establish real divisions between home life and work life.  If you have the space, forge an area that is solely for the purpose of work and doesn’t play any role in your day-to day family/personal life - this will train your brain into accepting that when you are within this space, you are supposed to be working. It’s also a good idea to let people know when you are working and can’t be interrupted... just because you are working from home doesn’t mean that your work is any less important.

Stop working - Starting a business does not mean promising to sacrifice your entire life to its growth...you need some down-time just like every other worker on the face of the earth.  Just as was the case with your work time make sure that when you are supposed to be relaxing you actually are.

Manage your own expectations and those of your clients/customers - You are only human (probably) and there is a limit to the amount of time that you can dedicate to the running and growth of your business.  If you are the sole ‘employee’ of the business it is likely you will feel under pressure to be a 24 hour-a-day 365 days-a-year worker.  Accept that this isnt possible and put in place a framework that will allow you to fully switch off during your ‘down time’.  The specifics will vary from person to person but something as simple as putting an auto-response message on your email explaining when you will be back ‘in the office’ can give you a sense of reassurance.   

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Published on: 27th February 2014