How To Stay Balanced In Business and Life

The internet is full of differing advice when it comes to running a successful

business – it seems everyone has an opinion on how to do it - and it can sometimes feel like a game of Tug ‘O War trying to work out which advice to follow and which isn’t right for your business.

In this month’s blog, I decided to take a look at just some of the conflicting advice offered to business owners and see how they measure up against each other.

Is Failing To Plan, Planning To Fail?

Do you use a to-do list? You should!

Do you organise every part of your working day? Why not??

There are hundreds of articles around suggesting that being organised and planning your work each day will make you the most successful you can be.

But is this really the best way to run a business? Creating a to-do list each morning may mean that you become inflexible to any emergencies that day or may unfairly prioritise tasks that could be delegated or postponed.

Perhaps the key here is to use a little of both. Be flexible and open to change, but set No-Exception Priorities as this article suggests – priorities that will not change no matter what arises, but take a degree of flexibility for other tasks that may arise throughout the day.

The Multitasking Myth

For a long time, multitasking was seen as the holy grail of running a successful business, however recent studies have shown that multitasking is a myth and that it should actually be referred to as ‘task switching’.

A new idea is ‘Batching’ your time' - whereby you set aside time for each task on your list, and then work on a single task at a time. Doing this means you can get much more done and to a greater quality too.

How Much Technology Is ‘Too Much’?

It’s fair to say that technology will always play a large part in running a business. There are apps to manage your time, apps to manage your social media and even apps to handle your customer service queries, all proclaiming to make your life a little bit easier.

But, this recent article from Hubspot argues that too much technology is making us less productive.

“When technology becomes a part of your day-to-day routine, it’s easy to forget you’re using it -- and to notice that it could make your day less efficient.”

And even suggests that you could be losing up to five hours per week managing and operating apps to get jobs done.

In addition to this, the increased use of mobile and smartphone technology means that we are carrying around sensitive and personal data in our pockets every day and the increase in AI technology means that this data has the potential to be accessed by anyone.

Although I am a big fan of technology, I love the idea of a Digital Detox. Cut down on the digital clutter and make sure the apps and programmes you are using work for YOU and are enabling your productivity, not slowing it down.

Routine And Focus Vs Go-With-The-Flow

Do you ‘Hustle’? This seems to be the latest buzzword for entrepreneurs, meaning to work day and night to achieve your goals. And if you’re not doing this, how dedicated are you?

On the other hand, there is an increasing number of experts who believe that Slowing Down May Be Key To Productivity that busyness (staying late, emailing out of office hours) is a cultural phenomenon and “when busyness is rewarded, productivity suffers.”

So what is the answer? I think it is best summed up in the following quote;

"Opinions are made to be changed — or how is truth to be got at? "— Lord Byron

You guessed it, there is no right or wrong answer. We are all individuals who work differently and have different priorities. What works for one person may not work for someone else.

In both business and personal life ''balance” is the key. The best advice I can give is to work out the type of individual you are and how you work to be your most productive self. Use this to shape the kind of structure, routine and balance that works best for you, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

What do you think? Do you have a good balance in your work life, or do you need to readdress your priorities and perform a digital detox?

MoGio VA can help you! Contact me to talk about how I can help you achieve a better balance.