It’s almost guaranteed that if you neglect to plan for and schedule time away from your business, you’re going to suffer from burnout. We’ve already discussed burn out a bit. It affects your joy, your ability to focus and stay productive, and it affects your bottom line. A balanced life is important to the success of your business.
Now, like creating time management systems, there is no one size fits all approach to balance. A balanced life is individual – you have to decide if you’re living a balanced life. No one can decide it for you and no one can tell you what your ideal schedule looks like.

Consider:

* Taking time off each day to spend time on your own health and well being. It can be something as simple as taking a daily walk. You can sign up for a class or meditate. Spend time each day taking care of you. Ten minutes is a bare minimum. Consider taking at least thirty.
* Taking time off each week to spend time with friends and family. Your social life is an important part of your overall happiness. In fact, scientists have learned that laughter and connections with friends and family help you live longer.
* Taking time away from your business monthly/quarterly/annually. You are the boss and that means you get to create your schedule. Yet, if you’re like most, if you don’t schedule it you won’t take it.
Entrepreneurs are notorious for being very driven individuals. So consider scheduling time away from your business regularly. And that doesn’t mean you have to take the standard two week vacation each summer. Do what works for you. If working two weeks a month and taking two weeks off a month is what works for you, then do it.

Action Step!

List the activities or habits that distract you from being productive or get in the way of managing your time wisely – time suckers.

Take a moment and write down a theoretical schedule.

* When would you work during the day or the week?
* How many hours each day/week do you want to spend on business related tasks?
* How many hours do you want to spend on personal activities/interests?

In the introduction we discussed the fact that there is no right or wrong way to manage your time as long as the systems you create support you to be productive, grow your business, and enjoy your life. That being said, we would be remiss if we didn’t share some of the time management tips that experts use and teach around the world.

The final article in this series is simply a nice list of a few expert time management tips. Try them if they sound like they’d support you and your time management style.




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