Tackling Work-Life Balance

By: Carmen Gigar

by ActionCOACH PJ Weiland, Greater Chicago

As a business owner or entrepreneur, you may have the freedom to control your work schedule, but that doesn’t make it easier to achieve work-life balance. In fact, a study conducted by Melissa Milkie and her colleagues at the University of Toronto found that people who set their own working hours and work over 50 hours a week tend to have more, not fewer, work-life conflicts.

If it seems the work will never end, making changes in how you work can reduce your workload, free up time for your non-work life, and prevent burnout. Here are three ways to better manage your work hours.

Delegate

If you’re just starting out, you may not be in a position yet to delegate a lot of what you’re doing to get your business off the ground. But experts say that three years in, you shouldn’t still be putting in 70 hours a week. Hiring right, and training well, will keep you from doing the job of two people.

Be Productive

There are so many distractions to draw us away from the task at hand, and I don’t mean the obvious ones like social media. You can get sidetracked from pursuing your most important goals by day-to-day emails and calls. If you’re not achieving what you set out to do each week, take a close look at how you are spending your time at work and consider trying a different time management system.

Segment Smarter

Achieving work-life balance doesn’t mean sticking to traditional working hours of Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, and not working the rest of the week. You might find mixing work and non-work segments throughout your week is more effective for your schedule and workflow. For example, managing email in the evening when there are fewer distractions might help you get through your inbox faster, and work more efficiently the following day, opening up time for a non-work activity.

For some people, stress and stress-related health issues are signs that their work-life balance is off. Focusing on how you spend your nonworking hours can help you get the most benefit from the time away work. In a previous blog post I recommended three ways to make changes in your personal life that help can help improve your health and mindset.

Coach Weiland is a frequent contributor to the ActionCOACH blog. To learn more about how she can help your business see her website https://www.business-prophet.com/

Reason #1: Different styles and methods of business coaching don't work for everyone

It's important to be honest with yourself and conduct a realistic assessment when it comes to business coaching. Though business coaching can have many benefits, it might not work for everyone.

Every individual brings their own experiences and values to the coaching dynamic, so results will vary. Additionally, some individuals might need more than just a coach. They might also need specialised knowledge or communication strategies specific to their industry or target audience. Below are a few key factors to consider:

Reason #2: There is no clear focus or vision (talk about time dedication here too)

cIt's important to be honest with yourself and conduct a realistic assessment when it comes to business coaching. Though business coaching can have many benefits, it might not work for everyone.

Business coaching is an effective tool for developing a clearer focus and vision for growing your business. A good coach will help you to take a comprehensive look at your strengths, weaknesses, and available resources that can be used to reach those goals. They will also help you draw up action plans with step-by-step instructions to get there.

By providing honest feedback and being patient throughout the process, a business coach can make sure that you’re on the right track. This will enable you to set realistic milestones and tasks.

These tasks may need dedicated time outside of coaching sessions. For example, a coach might help a client develop a marketing strategy or implement new systems for managing employees. However, if the client does not have enough time to devote to these tasks outside of coaching sessions, progress will likely stall.

Both the coach and the client must have enough time available to reflect on past experiences, brainstorm new solutions, and test out different strategies. If either party is rushed or distracted during coaching sessions due to other commitments or obligations, they may struggle to fully engage in this process.

Effective business coaching also requires a commitment to regular meetings and ongoing communication. If either the coach or the client does not have enough time to dedicate to these meetings, progress may be slow or nonexistent.

It's important to recognise that business coaching is an ongoing process that takes time to yield results. While some clients may see improvements after just a few sessions with their coach. Others may need months or even years of consistent effort before they begin seeing real changes in their businesses.

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