Every entrepreneur and almost every person in general struggles to balance home and work life. Achieving a balance between home and work life is very difficult. Actually it is impossible, yes...impossible.However, there are some things you can try to help everything run smoother.
Defining the Balance
We hear the idea of work-life balance tossed around a lot. But, let’s face it – the definition is a disaster from the get-go! After all, how the heck do you even define work-life balance? Is it working 40 hours per week and being home with the family the rest of the time? Or how about putting in 40 hours per week and then giving an even split of the remaining time to personal stuff and family time?
Furthermore, why does it always have to be defined as being centered around 40 hours of work per week? Maybe a work-life balance is 10 hours a week at work – or no, maybe it’s 60 hours. See the problem here? We can’t even all agree upon what a work-life balance looks like, so how can we give generic advice on how to accomplish it?
Individual Balance
The thing is, work-life balance is your choice. It is your choice to say whether you are happy or not. Regardless of what you do, it is simply saying that you are content with it. And if you are cranking away at work and neglecting the family, that is your choice. You don’t feel bad, you feel guilty.
This is the exact situation I am in. I love my work! Yes, I complain just as much as the next person but, deep down inside, I love it. In fact, I wouldn’t have a problem working more, if it wasn’t for my bad (read that as ‘feeling guilty’) work-life balance. I don’t spend as much time as I should with my wife and kids. But just reducing the amount of work is like putting a knife into my gut and turning it. (In other words, that option doesn’t work for me.)
The Balance Solution
The good news here is that, nevertheless, I have managed to find a work-life balance solution…and it is not a work-life balance at all (surprise!). It is work-life integration! When you look for ways in every aspect of your life to have your family be part of your business, and vice versa, you will find that the balance comes. For example, I consult with my wife on my projects, and I bring in my kids to work alongside me in our pick and pack department. My daughter even does data entry at the shop.
Don’t get me wrong, I still go to the soccer games, and I still play with my kids, and I still spend “us” time with my wife. But I have been able to get more time by not seeking balance, and instead focusing on integration.
Bridging the Gap
Granted, this is not a perfect solution, but I am not honestly convinced that there is one. And when it comes to my son’s soccer game, I am one of the few dads there who is not on their PDA. Without a doubt, those are the dads who are focusing on the work-life balance thing, and it doesn’t seem to be going so well.
If by ‘balance’ you mean having the best of both worlds (your family time and your career), then you can do it. Just focus on bringing the two of them together more often, rather than trying to keep them separate but equal. When you focus on the former, you will find that everything else seems to feel right and just falls into place!
By Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
