Burning the midnight oil and working 80-hour weeks is not uncommon for startup entrepreneurs. However, to keep your sanity — and your family — it’s critical to learn how to separate business from personal time.
– Don’t bring work home every night. Much like sleep, entrepreneurs often view their personal time as some reserve fund they can draw upon when too much work piles up. It defeats the purpose of running your own business if you never get to see your family or, worse, lose them because of it.
– Set firm working hours. A regular schedule will force you to prioritize your time, delegate non-essential tasks and help you to avoid taking on too much at once. North American culture actually breeds workaholics, as if the amount of work hours we consume is a badge of honour. Make downtime a priority and stick to it.
– Work less. Make it your long-term goal to actually work less hours. In reality, the amount of personal time an entrepreneur enjoys is the truest measure of success. If you’re out playing golf three times a week or taking two months of family vacation time each year, it usually means you’ve created a business that runs well without you. Congratulations, you’ve achieved the best measure of success.