The moment you ultimately determined your career goal and created your path to achieve it, there was no chance of stopping you. Driven by sheer passion and hunger for success, you worked around the clock exceeding surrounding expectations, establishing resourceful connections, and defying the odds set against you. With the world at you fingertips and limited distractions to slow you down, you never expected your greatest obstacle-one you face daily-is learning how to balance your work with your family life.
As a CEO myself, I know all too well how easily you can get caught up at work. One brief message can turn into five, five messages can turn into a two hour call, and that call can have you restructuring plans you had spent all day devising.
Before you know it, you feel the effects of missing out on your life.
While there will never be a straight forward solution for everyone in situations similar to yours, there are steps you can follow to compose your personal equilibrium;
Here, we’re going to discuss 5 ways to maintain a healthy work balance life.
Define Your Balance:
There is no “right” way to schedule your time; the false image of high a level CEO working a daily 8 hours followed by family time and 8 hours of sleep attempts to shame those living in reality. Disregard this notion and embrace the fact that your schedule is unique and remains yours to manage. As an entrepreneur, leader, CEO, etc.-especially those in newer businesses- you may find yourself eagerly working up to 60 hours per week. Recognize what your schedule requires, consider those of your family, and adapt as necessary. Appreciate the fact that-at the end of the day-you are human and despite your best efforts, you can’t do everything. Our ultimate goal is to demonstrate that you can maintain your version of a healthy work-family-life balance without it eventually feeling like a façade.
Dedicate Your Personal Time:
To ensure that your capabilities are working to their greatest efficiencies, it is crucial that you designate time in your schedule to focus on yourself. Working as a high level executive, you oversee numerous areas of operation, which increases the likelihood that your attention will be requested at any given point of the day-especially during your personal time. As you may already be aware, new issues and challenges arise on the daily, challenging you to decide the severity of each situation. To avoid any feelings of guilt or uneasiness, make it a point that your personal time will be for you, and make any necessary alternative arrangements to manage potential emergencies.
Participate in Leisure Activities:
Undoubtedly, your position demands a great deal of energy and effort from you, which directly increases unwanted stress in your body. Without a purposeful outlet, this pent up stress has great potential to cause significant impacts on your overall health, increasing blood pressure, suppressing your immune system, increase risk of heart attack or stroke, even age you faster. Make an effort to perform some sort of exercise throughout your weeks to minimize the effects of work related stress and improve your overall health. By supporting a stronger heart and healthier lungs, you’ll be able to better address stressful work related issues and maintain a purposeful composure. Furthermore, consistent exercise can heighten your concentration at work to result in stronger performance.
Get Creative With Your Time:
A quick glance at an executive’s fully booked schedule and daily list of tasks can lead certain individuals to playing the victim card. Avoid the idea that don’t have time for anything else and get creative with your time. Utilize carpools for commuting your kids to school, exercise during your lunchbreaks, take a quick 5 minute refresh after your 2 o’clock meeting. Additionally, never allow the irrational fear of weakness prevent you from reaching out to others for a helping hand. We are all ultimately human, and asking others for help demonstrates your humility.
Learn What Doesn’t Work:
As I mentioned before, there is no “right” way to set up your schedule to balance your work life and family life. In addition, different days bring up different circumstances, but through trial and error, you can find a system that ultimately works for you. For instance, some executives find that they regret not traveling for that work function, while others may regret spending that extra hour at the office. Instead of falling down and calling it a day, view these moments as educational opportunities and adjust from there. Guaranteed, your life will continue changing until you are no longer on this planet, so the sooner you learn how to be flexible, the better you will handle your next significant life event.
The life of a CEO remains notoriously demanding, and learning how to juggle your high level position with your home life may sometimes feel impossible. However, keep in mind that you are not a stranger to hard work, and this unique obstacle can be worked around to your advantage. By remaining flexible and emphasizing your creativity skills, you can frame your ideal work-family-life balance. If, however, you find yourself still struggling-due to a lack of professional resources, we can help in a variety of ways. At MCDA CCG, INC., we offer various services to make the strenuous life of a CEO that much simpler. From entrepreneur advisory, staff placement, employee training, to ERP and CRM implementation, we can assume responsibility-and successfully manage- any area that is taking up too much of your valuable time. With industry leading experts and years of experience navigating others out of their own struggles, our team will exceed your specified business goals. Trust someone that knows exactly what you are experiencing, and contact us today.