Entrepreneurs - Here's the answer to better balance

As entrepreneurs, career professionals and business owners, it's not unusual for us to feel overwhelmed by the many things we must do. There always seems too much to do; our minds feel cluttered and it's an effort to stay focused on the important things.

How I've found better work-life balance

Writing down those things I put up with - what I call my "tolerations" - helps to raise my awareness of where I’m spending too much time or not enough, and where I can take some type of action to improve things. Regularly reviewing this list helps me to decide where I can delegate, ditch, divide up, or resolve these tolerations.

Where you can start - prioritising your health

Make a list of what you're putting up with in different areas of your life: at the office, in your home or in your business. Usually it's the things that keep us awake at night! It might be the lack of business processes and systems, other people's rude behaviour, that pile of "stuff" lurking in the corner, neglected thank-you notes, unhealthy boundaries at work, overdue bills, forgotten invoices and receipts, poor self-care, procrastination and so on!

Today's toleration

Pick one toleration today and decide to take an action. To encourage success, make it a SMART action:

• S = specific - being tidier is not as good as saying: I will tidy up my desk and the shelves.
• M = measure it e.g. I will not look any emails before I get to work at 11am.
• A = attainable - ask yourself: is this action acceptable for the time and effort involved? Usually          it is otherwise it wouldn’t be on the tolerations list in the first place!
• R = realistic: think small steps of success as these will motivate you.
• T = time frame - when will you complete this action?

So, today’s action is _______________________________________________________ .

Work through your list in your own time and celebrate some of your achievements along the way!