The Quest for a Work/Life Balance

By David Nilssen, CEO & Co-founder of Guidant Financial

The work/life balance topic is always a hot one with entrepreneurs–especially today when Smartphones keep us connected at all times. Now more than ever, professionals are faced with the impossible challenge of cultivating a healthy personal life while striving to reach their entrepreneurial goals.

So, how can you balance your personal life and your professional life?

In my opinion, you can’t. While there are always exceptions, a work/life balance is really a unicorn: it doesn’t exist.

Much as we’d like to pretend to separate the two, that’s an unreasonable feat to overcome. Put simply: If you are an entrepreneur, work is personal and personal is work.

That said, there are plenty of ways to make your life work:

• Love what you do. When you own and/or run a business that reflects your passion, responding to necessary tasks shouldn’t feel like a burden.
• Love the ones you’re with. If you hire employees that are not only high performing workers, but also people you’d like to hang out with, blending your two lives will be a pleasure.
• Love new technology. There’s an app for just about everything these days; from calendars to eating reminders, you should take advantage of any technology that will organize or simplify your world.
• Love your freedom. When you’re the boss, you get to make the choices. If you need to postpone personal errands to meet with an important client, that’s up to you; on the flip side, if you need a break to re-charge your batteries, your vacation can take priority. One of the best things about entrepreneurship is the freedom it affords you.

A great example of how to multitask in this way is to think outside of the “time” box—instead of limiting yourself to 9 – 5 with a traditional lunch break, let yourself take time in the afternoon when you need it. If your child has a special day at school, go and be a part of it; you can always make up the work later on that night after you’ve put them to bed.

Just remember that you don’t have to be everything to everyone: only to yourself.

David Nilssen is the CEO & Co-Founder of Guidant Financial. Read more tips about becoming a successful entrepreneur in his book, Making the Jump into Small Business Ownership. He can be found on Twitter at @DavidNilssen.