Loading...
Answers
MenuLots of entrepreneurs work 60 to 80 hours a week. This isn't what I consider a good work/life balance. How would you improve it?
This question has no further details.
Answers
Say "NO." It's a complete sentence.
I think too many people use crazy work schedules as a badge-of-honor, as though it should be praised.
The two solutions I've found to reducing overwork so I can have time with my young family are:
1. Empty Desk Solutions: A good friend suggested the practice of thinking about how to solve any problem with only an empty desk and a phone. When you don't have a computer to suck your life away, you get creative and find others that are capable and eager to do what you need done. To me, that's the type of approach great entrepreneurs take.
2. Prioritize Like Crazy: Tim Ferriss suggested that lack of priorities (which leads to busy-ness) is a result of lazy thinking. By prioritizing the top 2 or 3 items to do each day (I do it the night before), I get more done in less time than if I just sit down to my desk and take whatever the world throws at me. 80/20 thinking ensues and you start cutting out all the non-essential items that don't move the needle, giving you more of your life back.
Helping determine priorities is one of the things my clients thank me for repeatedly, so hit me up if you would like help with that. Here's a link to schedule a free call: https://clarity.fm/joshualong/VIP
Being entrepreneurial is often an 'always on' state but it need not consume all of your thoughts and attention. Consider these solutons
1) Take micro-breaks that involve being mindful and 'in the moment' when you are with others. Carve out time, even 5, 10, 15 minutes while 'working' and do it frequently (every hour) and focus on other important tasks and people.
2) Practice better distribution your time, attention and energy as a way not to avoid your work but to enhance your ability to focus. Reading a report while on the treadmill can be efficient, reading the report while 'watching' your child's soccer time can be draining.
3) Create your own personal app that schedules an 'alarm' once an hour that says 'time out'. Control your own schedule by prioritizing what is important, and that includes you, your healthy, family and your business and bring a little more balance to your work/life.
Cut the crap first, then automate, then optimize, then delegate. And then say NO to everything new that isn't a HELL YES.
Get a job :)
Sometimes when you start a company, working more hours may be a short-term fix. However, if you are really suited to be an entrepreneur you should be thinking "how can I work less and use leverages such as the internet, virtual assistants, and outsourcing to create massive synergies, more profits, and greater results. I wrote about this in my book "The Lazy Man's Work Week" and my other books in this series.
http://www.michaelirvin.net
I shift the focus from balance to satisfaction. There are times when you have to pull off the crazy hours to do what needs to be done. Follow that up with a period of downtime and self-care, and you've got a pretty solid foundation. If however, you're working those hours every week, I'd suggest a good hard look at your values, as something's likely being compromised.
A good work/life balance with a start up can be difficult, but not impossible. But unfortunately it happens in corporate life as well. I believe it is about priorities and setting a schedule to ensure they are met. Too many distractions (emails are a big one) get in the way.
As a company grows the entrepreneur should become an expert at leveraging. They should leverage Time, Relationships etc.
Having a personal growth plan is something I would recommend in order to achieve this balance.
I would enjoy chatting more about this.
Find a way to make your contribution to your startup less about 'hours' and more about 'results.'
Make sure you're putting your time and energy into the highest value tasks, or the ones you truly enjoy the most. It will feel less like work.
Then, hire great people (pay them well) for the rest. Don't micromanage but set laser-focused goals and expectations, with checkpoints daily/weekly/monthly. Hold those people accountable. Fire fast if they don't keep up with the speed of your business.
Most importantly, don't start a company you don't love and don't try to solve a problem you're not truly passionate about.
It may sound a little 'mushy,' but I believe it's ok to use the word love in business. ;)
Organize yourself using methodologies. GTD (google it) is a nice start. Then follow the say NO trend everybody has mentioned.
Better question is do they consider it to be bad? Alor of entrepreneurs are always on and that involves being out at meals, functions, casual meetings etc. due to the mon traditional hrs of biz they can work hard play harder and squeeze way more in than corporate joe..,,ask around they probably love their life more
I have 2 businesses and I can tell you that you need to put the time in it . However I do not think you need to put 60 to 80 hours a week in it. You need to be prepared and organized those 2 things are very important. You need to have a good routine how you do things. On occasion you might need to work those long hours. But if you have a good work routine you should be able to work 40 or 45 hours a week.
Related Questions
-
What is the correlation between launching a startup and having health problems? Do you have to sacrifice your health to succeed?
No reason whatsoever. Sacrificing all of your time (consequently trading that in for your health) is a very dangerous and unsustainable approach. I've seen many entrepreneurs burn out quickly because of this. When I'm coaching other entrepreneurs, I always encourage putting yourself first (food, exercise, leisure) to be at your 110% for your startup and family.AM
-
What are some daily rituals and habits that have been effective for you in producing results in your business?
1. Differentiate Between Days to Produce and Days to Create I pre-schedule which days (and time blocks in those days) will be for money making activities (literally those activities that are directly linked to income generation such as being on stage and speaking, in a room with my clients, closing sales, etc) versus those where I'm creating content, generating new business ideas, networking, developing marketing materials, etc. This allows me to focus on both working in it and working on it. 2. Keep a Digital Voice Recorder With Me at All Times (with a spare battery!) Ideas seem to pop up all of the time - and I used to be a "write it down" guy who ended up with a pocket full of scrap papers and post it notes. Now I just talk the idea through and record it. At the end of the week I transfer the audio files to my pc, listen to them (using a media app that lets me play them at 2x speed) and transcribe my notes to a google document. 3. Planned Days Off - No Business Allowed Being an entrepreneur takes energy. So "charging your batteries" is critical. Do things you love outside of working (even if you LOVE to work). Personally I take the day off and go fly fishing 1-2 days per month. It does wonders for clearing my head, relaxing me, and getting me prepped and ready for the week to come! These rituals and habits are things you will benefit from starting to do TODAY. You'll not only be more productive, you'll find greater joy in what you do (and have less stress). For more tips - let's talk.DB
-
How can I identify a unique niche in the personal style/fashion community?
I highly recommend reading the book "Blue Ocean Strategy" that is the best and simplest way to map out the landscape of the marketplace and identify opportunities or methods of differentiation. If you don't have time to read the book I'm sure there videos out there summarizing and explaining the core principles. We walk our clients through the Blue Ocean Strategy mapping and simply follow the process in the book, and it's quite powerful and valuable. I don't know of any other process that VISUALLY REVEALS the opportunity in your market. The other way is to look at your past clients: Is there a majority of clients that you worked with that fall into a niche demographic? Is there a subset of your clients that you enjoyed working with more so than others? Is there an area of your expertise that you're more passionate about that would lead you to dive deeper into a niche? (IE: career transition, executives in healthcare, women in tech startups, Female executives for 7-figure startups, etc.) Hope this info helps!MR
-
What are some tactical ways to achieve focus?
Hi - I run three successful companies of varying sizes. It can be done, but it is not easy to accomplish and it is easy to get sidetracked if you are not intentional about developing focus each and every day. I've written and podcasted a fair bit about this subject (http://wisenapkin.com/tag/focus/) but the key is this: develop a very clear picture of where you're going; develop a top 5 list each and every day of the most important things that you can do that day to work toward your goal, maintain records of your progress, ask for help along the way, get a coach/mentor/forum of your peers, and execute consistently. Make it a great day!GJ
-
What negative effect has your drive for startup success and money had on your life? If you could go back, what would you have done differently?
A few years back, my ambition was the only part of my life that I cared about. I was neglecting my health, relationships, and my happiness — all in the name of "more". I got a rude awakening when my beard turned white and fell out in patches. I was LITERALLY killing myself with the way I was working. At that point, I took a self-destructive stance: I'd focus on my health and happiness more than work, even if it meant I wasn't making as much progress at work. The irony was that I had been overworking before, so my productivity and success IMPROVED when I scaled back and approached work with more balance. I'm currently living in Thailand with my girlfriend, working roughly 30 hours each week and earning twice as much as I did before. I'm also making more progress on my hobby projects than I did when I was only focused on work. I've also lost 40 lbs and generally just enjoy being alive. And my beard grew back. I've worked with some of my clients to bring in more balance, and they've seen similar improvements across the board. I'd be happy to discuss philosophy and strategy behind all of this with you if you'd like. Just remember: we work to create the opportunity to live life on our terms. If work is preventing us from living the life we want, we've lost sight of the purpose of working. Good luck!JL
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.