Embracing technology, eating well and getting regular exercise can all help with the perpetual juggling act of parenting, work, and your own wellbeing.
Running your own business or being a parent can be extremely difficult and stressful; combining the two can easily becoming overwhelming. Both require 100% effort and enthusiasm but also need completely different approaches and mindsets.
It truly is a juggling act, and maintaining the energy necessary for each is a lot easier said than done. With the correct approach, however, being self-employed can often free up more time than you would often have in a ‘normal’ 9 to 5 job.
We take a look at how this is possible and what some of the world’s most famous businessmen & women have to say on the matter.
Fuel the machine
Please consult a doctor before making any changes to your diet or activity levels. Running your own business and taking care of your family requires a lot of hard work and energy. Energy is often the bottleneck; the limiting factor to your productivity – plus a lack of it can have a dramatic impact upon your mood, wellbeing and how you interact with your family.
If you are eating low-quality, processed food, not exercising and not finding ways to relax during your daily routine; energy levels will be low even before you begin your day.
Diet is crucial for a range of physical and mental processes. Everything from cognitive-functioning, the state of your immune system, to your ability to cope with stress – all relate to diet and the health of your gut.
Finding time at the weekend to prepare food in batches is a common way to overcome issues related to eating on the go, or on the road. This is the most efficient way to prepare meals in terms of utilizing your time. Make room in the freezer, make sure you have all the right containers, plan your meals and of course buy the ingredients. You can find more information on the meal ‘prepping’ in this article.
If you don’t have time to meal prep, and/or you spend days or weeks at a time away from home, you can also turn to some specific supplements or prepared foods. Whole food diets are always optimal for health, but not always practical. Greens powders for example, often include nutritionally dense foods such as dried berries, algae such as spirulina and probiotics for gut health.
If you don’t want to change what you eat, you can always look to change when you eat. Intermittent fasting has become very popular in recent years, possibly because it is cheap and easy to do, and can even free up some extra time. There are several protocols, but the most popular way to intermittent fast is to eat only between the hours of 12 pm and 8 pm. This contradicts your parent’s advice that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” but it is backed up by a huge amount of research; it may also be reassuring to know that Elon Musk normally skips breakfast too.
Skipping breakfast does free up extra time in the mornings and fasting can also help to increase concentration. A word of warning, however, be careful and build up to a 16 hour daily fast. If your body is not used to working with relatively low blood sugar, it can be a bit of a shock.
Another way of increasing your consumption of key nutrients is to add organic herbal teas such as chamomile, ginger or something a bit more exotic such as matcha green tea or gynostemma pentaphyllum into your diet. Many herbs and teas are known as ‘adaptogens’, thanks to their ability to help the body and mind cope with stress. Holy Basil, turmeric and Rhodiola Rosea are great examples of adaptogens that may be worth adding to your repertoire of herbal drinks.
Exercise – Even 4 minutes per day is highly beneficial
Once your food/fuel is taken care of, it is also important to incorporate some exercise into your daily routine. As we are all well aware, it is important to exercise for an array of health-related reasons. It is also very important in terms of mental health and wellbeing – with ‘green exercise’ (exercise in the outdoors) having the most beneficial impact upon mood.
You don’t have to go to the gym to exercise; participating in (home-based) high-intensity exercise for just 10 minutes per week can result in substantial health benefits. A daily brisk walk outdoors for 20 minutes can also glean amazing benefits for both body and mind.
Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, said on a recent podcast that he uses the Seven apps, which creates and dictates a 7-minute workout which he uses every day. There are other exercise protocols that take less than 5 minutes, such as Tabata intervals. The important take-home message about exercise here is that it doesn’t have to take very long at all. Substantial health benefits can be obtained from shorts bursts of high-intensity exercise, performed at home.
Take advantage of technology
If energy is a limiting factor in terms of productivity, a lack of time is another common complaint voiced by nearly every parent; especially those that run their own business.
Help is at hand, however. We live in an amazing time, with the almost exponential developments in technology. Entrepreneurs are wise to embrace the latest business apps and tools in order to make their lives easier. For example, many business websites are now utilizing AI chatbots to take care of common customer queries on their business websites, whilst digital project and task management software can dramatically cut down on paperwork and help you stay organized.
Online marketing can take up a lot of valuable time but there are tools to help with that too. It is possible to schedule social media marketing for the upcoming weeks or even months with tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite. If you have the budget you can also outsource some of your marketing tasks via freelancers that can be found on Upwork and PeoplePerHour – often for a very reasonable price.
If you are chasing sign-off on a project or from a client, you can even obtain signatures via the internet these days with tools such as HelloSign. You can also cut down on your time answering emails using a tool such as Boomerang. Set aside a time during the day to answer all your (non-urgent) emails, then schedule them to be sent at the end of the day – this prevents the endless back and to of responding to emails.
There is an array of helpful, potentially life-changing business apps available for every smartphone too. A few examples include;
- Dropbox, which allows you to easily share documents, photos, and videos with clients and coworkers
- Skype, where you can attend conferences on the go
- Toggle, a handy alternative to timesheets which makes it extremely easy to invoice clients
Create a boundary between work and family life
If you are self-employed, it can be very difficult to switch off psychologically, even after your working day has supposedly finished. Emails and telephone calls, unexpected problems, can all cause interruptions and your mind can easily wander as you start to think about the issues you will have to tackle in the morning.
There are a few tricks that can help alleviate some of these problems. For example, if you work from home, at the end of your working day, get out of the house and go for a 20-minute walk. This can help create a psychological boundary that will help separate your work life, from your home life. Set your intention as you walk through to the door to switch to ‘family mode’ and to switch off from work.
A tip from Sharran Srivatsaa is to pull over and park somewhere relatively close to home (and safe) on the commute home from the office. Finish any emails and phone calls you need to in the car. He even suggests meditating to help switch from work mode to father mode before arriving home.
A great tip from Tim Ferris’ bestselling book, The 4 Hour Work Week, is to outsource admin tasks and even call answering. If you know that your telephone calls and emails are being dealt with, it can help you be more present with your family as you are able to switch off and relax at the end of your working day.
Finally, if you have space at home, keep a specific area for business. Be it the study or the spare bedroom, try and use it only for work. This helps you create the appropriate state of mind each time you enter the room.
Eliminate distractions
Whilst outsourcing call answering and scheduling can help eliminate distractions during family time, it can be important to commit 100% and eliminate all distractions during work time. If you have any trouble focusing, then consider using a Pomodoro timer or app to help get started. You can use the Google Chrome Extension, News Feed Eradicator, to prevent you from wasting time scrolling through Facebook, whilst still giving you access to Messenger on your desktop or laptop computer. Putting your cellphone on flight mode is also another trick to prevent you from wasting any time on your cell.
Embrace the benefits of being an entrepreneur
Whilst it is important to create a boundary between work and family life, there are times when it can be helpful to integrate the two. Showing your son or daughter the ropes of the business for example, can be an interesting experience for everyone involved; whilst participating in volunteer and outdoor activities with your children are seen by some entrepreneurs as networking opportunities.
It’s even possible to give your children responsibilities for certain tasks. Obviously, this might not be possible if your children are preschool age, but older children can learn about money management, project management, build communication skills and learn the basics of marketing.
Being self-employed can also give you additional flexibility that can help you work around family life. If you work from home, escaping the costs and stresses relating to commuting can also be a huge psychological and financial bonus.
The organization, planning and being proactive, appear to be the keys to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Embracing technology, eating well and getting regular exercise can all help with the perpetual juggling act of parenting, work, and your own wellbeing.
