4 ways successful people manage their work/life balance

Most people constantly struggle to create a clear separation between work and “life.” (That’s especially true if you’re a small business owner and your business feels like an extension of you.)

You bring work home. You get calls at night. You’re preoccupied.

That’s just how life works.

Until it doesn’t.

Here are some ways to manage your work/life balance while still building a successful career or business:

Don’t think in terms of work/life balance. Just think life.

Artificial work/life boundaries are almost impossible to maintain. You are, at least in part, your profession. Your profession is an inextricable part of your life, just like your family, friends and interests. There is no real separation because all those things make you who you are.

So don’t think in terms of separation. Think of ways to include interests, hobbies, passions and personal values in your daily business life.

That way you won’t just be working; you’ll be living.

Include your family.

Most successful (at least professionally) people feel they don’t get to spend enough time with their families – and their families feel the same way. But if feel you don’t get to spend enough time with your family or if your family resents how your work intrudes, that’s not simply a sign of a work/life imbalance. Your family may feel neglected... but they also feel left out of an incredibly important aspect of your life.

Try including your family instead of excluding them. For example:

Ask them for advice. Asking another person for help implicitly shows respect for his or her knowledge and experience. That’s reason enough to run a work problem by your spouse –or even your kids. While you may not gain a lot of insight from your family’s advice, sometimes talking about a problem is all it takes to help you find answers on your own. (Then later you get to talk about out how things turned out; win-win.)

Discuss your failures. Business is hard. Life is hard. As parents we tend not to talk about our mistakes, but sharing what we did wrong can help our kids feel more comfortable talking about their own mistakes and asking us for advice. Plus, they’ll better understand why you do what you