Want Your Project to Succeed? Take a Break
Originally published at BostInnovation.com
Human beings are funny creatures.
We carry around with us all these wonderful intentions about how to live, we generally give people good advice, and then very often we go and do the opposite thing.
For example, I’ve been an active entrepreneur for almost three years now. If someone asked me to talk about an ideal work/life balance for an entrepreneur, I’d describe a near-perfect week including a flexible four to six days of work, one or two non-negotiable days off, plenty of rest and exercise, and a healthy dose of socializing with friends. I’d be prepared to work longer hours now and then because I know entrepreneurship requires that I be willing to go that extra mile.
But ask me to tell you what my actual work/life balance has been since becoming an entrepreneur and my answer is quite different. Let’s just say I very rarely go dancing these days and it used to be my favorite thing.
Achieving a reasonable work/life balance is usually cited as being important because it keeps us level-headed, helps us maintain healthy relationships, and prevents us from getting sick. I would argue there are even more significant reasons for achieving such a balance — reasons having to do with the way we hope to live our lives over the long-term and ultimately, the degree of impact we’ll have as innovators and leaders in our fields.
When we choose to work all the time, or deep-down, when we place higher value on work than most everything else, much more is at stake than our general well-being. By giving ourselves rigid, demanding schedules or setting unreasonable expectations, we inadvertently undermine the very thing inside of us that made us an entrepreneur in the first place.
In addition to discipline, entrepreneurship demands creativity, spontaneity, and an ability to constantly adapt and grow. All of these things become very difficult to cultivate and sustain if we aren’t getting enough sleep or don’t take time to find inspiration from friends, family, art, music, and good conversation — all the things people typically enjoy in their downtime.
Certainly not all entrepreneurs have this problem of working too much. But if anything I’ve said resonates for you, here are some things to keep in mind for coming back into balance:
1) You are not your startup (or early stage company). You are not your ability to lead effectively, nor your big ideas for the business. Be thankful for this. Determination to succeed is one thing, but letting your business consume you is another.
2) Remember why you decided to work for yourself. Many of us became entrepreneurs because we had a great idea and we simply wanted to share that idea with the world. Another group of us became entrepreneurs because we had a good idea, yes, but also because we wished to work differently. We wanted more flexibility and fun in our everyday routine. Be careful not to recreate the very environment you’re avoiding by choosing this lifestyle.
3) The more you take care of yourself, the more energy you’ll have to grow your business. Just like relationships get tired over time, so do our startups and passion projects. If we take enough time away from our business, we are far less likely to resent our work when we come back to it.
Entrepreneurship is hard enough as it is. Let’s keep it joyful. And if you can’t get your mind off work, think of it this way: Achieving a smart work/life balance is genuinely good for business.
