No one can have it all, but these 6 tips can help you to thrive and have balance.
—
Maintaining a work-life balance has more benefits than you think! A balanced professional and personal life not only helps you stay sane and follow a typical work pattern, it also helps you strengthen family ties and better social relationships.
Your startup needs your attention, and so does your child.
|
Of course, maintaining a work-life balance is easier said than done, and when it comes to single parents, the challenges can be daunting. More so for single dad entrepreneurs; they have to take care of two kids – their startup and their child – at the same time!
But being a single dad and a startup owner needn’t be too taxing; if you’re struggling to strike a balance between your professional and personal life, you’ve come to the right place! Here are some tips you could use.
◊♦◊
Determine Your Priorities
Your startup needs your attention, and so does your child. This can make determining priorities difficult and you might end up believing that investing more time in your startup is the right thing to do.
However, you need to realize that if your business fails, you’ll always be able to follow a different path or take up a job. On the other hand, if you neglect your kid, you’ll be doing irreversible damage!
You certainly don’t have to skip every important meeting for all of your kid’s baseball matches or violin recitals; just set your priorities straight and consider how you can devote equal time to both your professional as well as family life.
◊♦◊
Realize That Success Is Subjective
Determining your priorities will help you realize that success doesn’t mean the same to everyone. Being successful doesn’t require you to possess immeasurable wealth; you can call yourself successful even if your child hands you a cheap ‘World’s Best Dad’ trophy!
Since success is subjective, find your own path to it instead of following in the steps of entrepreneurs who have different priorities.
◊♦◊
Be More than Present
Your business and family just don’t require your physical presence- you also have to be mentally present no matter where you are and what you’re doing. For example, if you’re in a meeting and relentlessly worrying about fetching your kid from his activity class or if you’re on a family vacation and glued to your laptop answering e-mails, neither is your business benefiting nor your family.
◊♦◊
Spend Your Time Wisely
Being wise about how you’re spending your time will help you juggle tasks effectively. Let’s say you have to purchase groceries but also have to get home as soon as you can. Instead of heading to a supermarket, head straight home and purchase whatever you need online or order online freebies!
Start with learning to say no to tasks you know you won’t be able to complete or help with.
|
Furthermore, don’t let work suffer just because you’re on a family vacation or chilling at home on weekends. Answering a few calls or a handful of e-mails is okay when your child is asleep or if you limit your work hours.
Most importantly, stick to the time limit you promise- if you say you need 5 minutes, don’t take an hour!
◊♦◊
Delegate Tasks
As a single father and an entrepreneur, there’ll be lots of chores that you’ll have to take care of. The good news is that you don’t have to micro-manage everything!
Start with learning to say no to tasks you know you won’t be able to complete or help with. This may seem selfish at first, but you’ll only be doing yourself and others a favor by not making commitments you can’t keep.
Moreover, having too much on your plate can create unnecessary stress that can easily be done away with by being less controlling. So delegate daily operational responsibilities and tasks that take up a lot of your time to other people. For example, have a friend or a relative pick up your kid from school so you don’t have to make a dash for it every day. Also, hire someone to cook meals or take care of household chores so you don’t come back home to more work.
Note that delegating tasks to people who aren’t competent enough can mean more stress. Apart from finding the right people, you also need to be able to let go- trust people to do their job instead of ceaselessly worrying about getting things done.
◊♦◊
Don’t Neglect Yourself
Forgetting about your health and depriving yourself of things you like doing can be problematic in the long run. You need to take care of yourself first to be able to give your all to your child and your start-up.
Make sure that you’re eating healthy food and staying hydrated throughout the day. Do take some time out to exercise or engage in physical activities like swimming or playing tennis. Lastly, get enough sleep and always spend some ‘me time’ doing things you love to keep going!
◊♦◊
Conclusion
Keeping it all together can be tough, but minimizing chaos and stress isn’t impossible. With the tips given here, you now know that balancing your professional and personal life as a single dad entrepreneur is an achievable goal. So do the right things and welcome a positive change in your life!