How To Guide: How to achieve balance in business

1. Book a holiday in your diary - nope this is not bonkers. If you don't ring fence a bit of time off at regular intervals, you won't be able to function at full speed. By scheduling it in the dairy, you can plan for it, put things in place for when you're not working and get the help you need. This isn't about lots of exotic holidays, it might just be that you stop working and stay at home. Take a notebook everywhere you go for when your brain starts to get creative as it rests!

2. Work your best hours - many of us who work for ourselves understand that there are parts of the day when we are most productive. Some of us are early birds, others prefer a late night but either way, accept your best hours and work them and take the rest of the time for life! You still need to get exercise, fresh air, meet friends and do the food shop.

3. Fresh air & exercise - yes an old chestnut but it is vital for a clear mind and to let the creativity in. You are now the master of your hours of work so make sure precious time for your favourite activity is ring fenced.

4. Use a time tracking app - when you work for yourself, do you ever get the feeling that all the jobs you need to do seem to take so long or that the days seem so short? Use an app like Zapier, Trello or My Hours to time exactly how long each of your tasks takes. This way you can decide if you need to streamline, automate or perhaps even pass onto an employee or freelancer so that you can make time for what you are good at or what actually grows your business - it will be eye opening!

5. Dare to switch off - this is a scary one for some but in small business, it is accepted that sometimes people have a break. How about making a story out of it by sharing with customs that you are taking a digital break or that you will be offline for a little while to recharge your batteries. You'd be surprised by how many people admire that and it is highly unlikely to send people away from your business. Go on - will you dare? We will be talking work life balance, taking a rest and self care all week over in the Facebook group - join in and share your wisdom!