I love my jobs, I have two in total, one of them being The Self-Care Emporium, so I have no problem spending all my time at my laptop tapping away. I can spend hours on Canva working on Witchness magazine or writing endless blogs and emails for you guys. However, I also know that if I allow myself to indulge in this workaholic behaviour, I’ll fall deep down the rabbit hole and plunge into burnout and business fatigue.
I don’t see any reason why, as a solo business owner, you can’t work hard and relax hard (is that an oxymoron?). If I found that I was just as stressed and overworked as I have been in previous full-time office jobs, then what would be the point in me pursuing this self-employed life? I know that in order to make my business and freelance work worth it, I have to have a personal life that is just as fulfilling. Plus, I enjoy my work, even more, when I’m fully rested, recharged and loving life!
Blog recommendation: Finding Moderation as an Entrepreneur
When it comes to practically managing your work and life, things can get a little messy. So, I’ve put together some of the things that I use, as a solo business owner, to help me create a healthy work/life balance.
Podcast walks
I always tell you guys to get out in nature and go for a walk, but I know that some of you might find the idea of just walking around extremely dull. I get it, I do too sometimes. However, this can also be the perfect time to catch up on your favourite podcasts. Recently I’ve been listening to my friend Victoria’s The Manifestation Collective Podcast, Philosophize This! (this did nearly give me an existential crisis in the park though), Duolingo Spanish Podcast (I’m learning Spanish on Duolingo btw) and Spit or Swallow, which I promise is a comedy podcast around wine tasting with comedians and nothing untoward.
The podcasts you choose don’t have to be educational or inspirational, they can just be podcasts that make you laugh or make you feel better about the world. You don’t have to always be learning or improving yourself, but if you wanted to use this time to do just that, go right ahead.
Getting serious with hobbies
Over the course of the pandemic, most of my disposable income has been spent on trying new hobbies, from candle making to painting. I also started to do something I’ve been saying I’ll do for literally years, learn a language. Although I’ve tested out a lot of hobbies, the two that have really stuck with me are painting and learning Spanish. I decided that I may as well commit to them seeing as I had a lot of time to do so. Since starting, I’ve managed to make time every day to sit back and just enjoy messing about on Duolingo or sitting in front of a blank canvas and slapping some paint on it to see what appears.
I’ve found that setting myself some hobby-based challenges has been a great motivator for finding some ‘me time’. I set myself a goal to create five original pieces of artwork before the end of the year, something I’ve already nearly achieved. Even if your hobby is a love of films or reading books, set yourself some goals to aim for and see how easily you’ll find time for it.
If you can get serious about even one hobby, you’re already on your way to creating a much healthier work/life balance. After all, life is about doing what we love as much as it is about loving what we do. Here are a few resources to help you find a brand new hobby you love:
-
Duolingo – A super fun way to learn a new language
-
Centre of Excellence – They have loads of amazing online courses and always do promo codes to get courses for just £29 or less. These guys are great if you’re interested in metaphysical or spiritual woo stuff.
-
Udemy – An online learning platform that offers free and paid courses across loads of subjects, they always have a new student offer on and this was the first place I took a tarot course!
-
YouTube – That little website, you might not have heard of it. I’ve learned so many new skills from YouTube and you can always find someone that has done a free tutorial on the new hobby you want to try.
Blog recommendation: Is your business your life’s purpose?
Official meal times
When I worked in a full-time 9-5 I would very often just sit at my desk and eat breakfast and lunch. When I started working from home though, I decided that if I continued to do that, I would undoubtedly develop cabin fever in my tiny box room office. So, I decided that no matter what, I’d eat breakfast before sitting down at my desk and always go downstairs for lunch. I also make sure to take a full hour or longer for lunch, if I need a bit of extra break time.
This helps to break the monotony and refresh my focus for the rest of the day. It also means that I know when it’s time to work and when it’s time to unplug for a bit and just chill. It sets clear boundaries that are easy to maintain day after day.
Work & life TBR piles
Every year I set myself a reading goal, I never actually reach it but I set it anyway. Usually, I prefer to read fiction, but recently I’ve been getting a lot of business-related non-fiction books and adding them to my already huge TBR pile. I decided, that I would set time aside during my workday to read one of these business books and then as soon as I log off for the day, I read the fiction book of my choice.
I read for escapism primarily, so I prefer not to read books that remind me about work or anything work/real-world related in my down-time. Doing this also helps me to divert my thoughts away from what I’ve been doing during the day. Because I love my job as much as I do, I can easily start planning and strategising when I should be relaxing. Working doesn’t always take place at a desk, sometimes it occurs in the mindset we choose to invite in that moment.
Dream time
How often do you set time aside to just dream about life, plan for the future or think about what you want to get out of your time on this planet? Some people call it a distraction or daydreaming, but I love setting some time aside to just allow myself to think about the big picture. Create a vision board, spend some time on Pinterest planning what destinations to visit, new craft projects to try out. Set yourself some personal goals or bucket list items.
Being able to sit back and visualise the life you want to live doesn’t just help to lift your mood, but it can also help you better understand the direction you want to take your work. This dream time is beneficial for all areas of your life, so give yourself permission to just relax and think about your own life and desires.
Work/life balance doesn’t just come to those who wait, it’s also not a given when you choose to create a solo business. You have to work at it, understand your values and what you need to prioritise. There is a discipline in being a business owner, both in getting yourself to put the hours in and also getting yourself to take a break. Make sure you do something this week to create more of a work/life balance and start enjoying the benefits of self-employed life a little more.
