Oh the horror!
We try so hard to create this balance. It's like a mythical creature. Is it really there? Does it really exist?
Why bother, really?
Take me for example. My office is in the middle of my living room. Ok, to the edge of my living room, but still, it's smack-dab in the midst of my living space.
You can look at it two ways I suppose: 1. There is no balance whatsoever because the "office" is right there, so you're always working.
2. Exactly the opposite. There's great balance because the office is right there and so you always have the opportunity to get more work done.
When I started my business I said, "Ok, I'll work 9-5 then shut off the computer." I was still in the "employee" mindset. Starting your own business and then working your own business, well, we all know it's not a 9-5 job. It's a whatever-it-takes-to-get-it-done job. And that's the joy of it. That's probably why we're small business owners. That entrepreneurial spirit. We didn't' start on this path because we wanted the safety and security of a 9-5'er, that's for sure. We started on this path because there simply was no other choice. It's in our blood! It's who we are! We're entrepreneurs! We can't help it!
And so, as much as we may try to keep work work and personal personal, our work goals align with our personal goals. As an entrepreneur, they should. Take a close look at how they can compliment each other. "I'm going to work on X so Y can thrive." That's pretty much goal writing right there, and so it is in this instance too, the only difference is, you're not writing this goal to enhance the bottom line for "the man", but to enhance the bottom line for YOU! For something in your personal life. How rewarding!
It can be summed up in one sentence: I started my own business to enhance my personal life.
You can try to deny it all you want, but really, there's a very, very fine - almost invisible - line between work life and home life in this biz. Yes, you can shut down the business brain when your spouse or kids get home, or friends come over, but let's face it, in the middle of the night when an exciting idea hits, you'll get out of bed and run to your computer to jot everything down and perhaps even start researching right then and there! Or at least you'll wake up your spouse turning on bedside lamps and frantically writing everything down in that notebook you keep by the bed for just these moments!
I actually had to give myself permission to allow work life to bleed into personal life (working through the evenings when my husband wants to rent a flick or friends want to pop in) and vice versa (the gardening at lunch for example).
"It's ok," I said to myself, "this is exactly why you started your own business!"
So to you I say, enjoy those moments, embrace the lack of balance, and remember just why you started your own business.
Learn more about the author, Stephanie Lee.
Agreed. Trying to apply the 9-5 template to SMB owners just doesn't work. Its a mindset that after 2 years I'm finally adjusting to.
Sure, Friday at 2:00 I might shutdown Outlook and take the dogs to the park or visit a local wine bar, but then Saturday at 06:00am I'm invoicing and checking reports...it all evens out in the long run...
I like the term energetic complement or compromise rather than "balance." Balance in work and life connotes equality of hours, something solid, or measurable--something that could be weighed. Whereas, work and life aren't separate to me; there's no "office" away from the home. For some of us, there's no particular room we regularly "work." In fact, the common denominator for the majority might be a laptop and telephone.
In a way, work-life is a one-word concept, not separate entities with hardness to them in and of themselves. They come together as one thing, like water. A large part of most of our solopreneur lives' is work, it's who we are.
Thanks so much for making me think about this myth: just a story that explains the seemingly unexplainable.
Jenn
What works best for one person may not be for you. You need to find a way to work in harmony with who you are.
I find I am incredibly creative late at night. I use two different "offices" in my home, one for writing and one for everything else.
If I am uninspired I take off and do something else. If I do get that flash of inspiration I can get right to it at any time.
The best thing I've learned is to be flexible and go with the flow... like Jenn said above, like water.
Thanks Stephanie
Even jus the phrase "work/life balance" can be triggering as we've tried so hard and for so long to reach that place - in the corporate world.
In the entrepreneurial world, however, the words "harmony" and "flow" are much much more suitable. And not triggering! It's passionate work we do!
Thanks for your comments, you've inspired a blog post. Will keep you in the loop!
As you imply, work/life can set off the wrong connotations. Don't I have a life at work? Can't I be holistic?
I used to admire the balance achieved by someone who worked for me at Intel, and wanted to emulate it. But when I started a consulting practice with him and a couple of other ex-coworkers, I realized that his approach to balance wasn't consistent with either me or the demands of the startup phase we were in. Ultimately, I ended up buying him out; he was able to maintain the balance the way that worked for him. And I was no longer frustrated that he wasn't working as hard as me.
A lesson in choosing partners - for sure. But also in not trying to achieve something that wasn't a good fit.
Thanks Mike
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