This time in the third KLIK CHAT episode we are talking about the struggle that every entrepreneur is familiar with – finding the best work-life balance. Nowadays it’s very common to seek a better career while forgetting how to spend the quality time with people around you. That’s why we are here today to have some tips on how to find a healthy balance and enjoy your life.
Our guests Paulina Masson, the founder of Shopkeeper and Amazon seller, Tobias Fischer, the founder of Sermondo, Kristina Mertens, the business development manager at Sermondo, and Augustas Kligys, the founder of Orange Klik.
Being successful depends on how you manage your time, not money
Many beginner entrepreneurs tend to think that making lots of money it’s the main goal. As a result, most of them forget to spend time with the closest ones and lose touch with the world around.
Paulina says the feeling of guilt helps her stay aware if she spends too much time working. Over time, she managed to follow a steady schedule where she spends every evening and weekends with her family. For her knowing that she will dedicate her whole weekend for the family makes her feel she keeps a healthy balance during the working days.
When it comes to spending quality time with family, Augustas finds it hard to keep a structured schedule. He says co-working spaces might help a bit to be more productive than working at home – so if you are contemplating if it’s worth spending extra time to commute to such workplace or just spend this time sitting at home working, you should go with the first option. It’s likely you’ll be more productive and focused where are no distractions around. For example, Paulina says she could also work from home but instead she rents a place where she can fully dedicate herself to work without being distracted.
However, it takes extra time to commute as well as extra money to pay for the office space outside your home so it can be a dilemma – should you stay and work at home even though you are not likely to be productive or to spend extra resources to work at co-working spaces, says Kristina.
Tobias has been working most of the time during the last 5 years. He always struggled with understanding the difference between private life and working at first so he ended up working 24/7 as a result. The time when you’re sitting at your desk working is not the only time you’re working – you don’t realize you are thinking about work most of the time and it’s really hard to get out of it.
It’s very important to have a routine, be disciplined and set the exact hours when it’s time to rest. Tobias thinks this problem is the reason why practicing meditation became so popular in entrepreneurial space – people feel the urge to relax. And Tobias personally also struggles with it.
However, if you are overworking, your body will eventually let you know about the consequences the hard way. Burning out affects both your mental and physical state so be sure your body will decide when you inevitably need to take time off.
Of course, here can be as many different opinions as possible but Tobias defines successful people as those who can live a healthy and happy life while performing well in their business. You can’t call yourself successful if you struggle with your personal relationship or your own well-being.
It’s important to make healthy choices
Healthy diet, activities and emotional state are inseparable parts of a good work-life balance. When you sit down in front of your computer all day, it’s easy to forget to move your body or to have a proper lunch. Does anyone have time for such things, you ask? Well, if you raise this question, you definitely need to reschedule your day.
Of course, all of our guests understand the importance of making healthy choices and try to implement as many as possible to their daily routine, starting from swimming activities with children and avoiding processed foods.
Making healthy choices for yourself also means taking care of your emotional well-being. And when it comes to mental health, it’s very important to choose what you truly want to do in your life and feel support from people around you. Our guests share similar stories about quitting old jobs to start entrepreneurship journey although not everyone’s family was happy about it at first. But in order to get your family on board with you, thoroughly explain to them what are you doing, why you made such decision, what risks are you facing and clearly let them know how you benefit from it.
Some quick tips to get your work-life balance in control:
- Have a disciplined routine. Clearly separate working and resting hours.
- Try co-working spaces to increase your productivity instead of working at home – there are just too many distractions. You’ll probably be more productive, get your work done faster and have more time for yourself.
- Stop working 24/7 – this one is the most obvious one but really, working all the time will do more harm than good.
- Practice meditation or yoga so you can learn how to unattached yourself from thinking about work all the time.
- Take proper care of yourself, meaning nurture your body with healthy food and do sports activities.
- Always prioritize spending quality time with your family. It’s really the foundation of everything.
- Make sure your closest ones understand what you are doing. It helps a lot to keep balance if people around you understands and supports you. To get them on board, be transparent and explain what you are doing and, most importantly, why you made such a decision.
Find Paulina on LinkedIn. And be sure to visit Shopkeeper’s website for more! You can also take a look at the DEMO of Shopkeeper on our website here.
To reach Tobias and Kristina to find out more about Sermondo, email at kristina@sermondo.com, or use a contact form you can find on https://sermondo.com/
Klik Chat series #2
This is the #2 episode of the Klik Chat series where together with our guests we discuss trendy topics, reveal lots of tips and tricks, and share effective personal strategies on how to grow your online business.
