Achieving Work/Life Balance as a Small Business Owner

It is all too common for small business owners to wear multiple hats, making work-life balance often difficult to achieve due to many responsibilities. According to a 2023 Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) survey, 54% of small business owners cited work-life balance as a significant source of stress, and 41% expressed the need to better balance their work and family life.

Finding ways to balance work and personal life may take a strategic approach, but it is attainable as a small business owner.

Why a work-life balance is important for small business owners

A work-life balance is important for everyone in the workforce. However, many small business owners in Canada have been experiencing declining mental health. According to the same BDC survey, 45% reported feeling mental health challenges at least once a week, which is a 7% increase from the previous year. Additionally, 67% reported feeling tired or having little to low energy, representing a 7% increase, and 38% said their mental health challenges interfere with their ability to work, marking a 4% increase.

Meanwhile, a 2023 report conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business revealed that the average small business owner works 54 hours a week, which is about an eight-day workweek, citing increasing labour shortages as an underlying reason for the long hours.

With mental health challenges facing this group, on top of working long hours, developing a work-life balance is critical. The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health indicates that achieving this balance can lower feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as reduce feelings of exhaustion.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance will look different for everyone, and it’s not necessarily viewing both aspects as distinct entities. Experts say it’s about creating that equilibrium between both realms so that one doesn’t supersede the other. You likely already know if your work-life balance is not properly aligned, so finding ways to help improve the balance can be key. Keep reading for tips on better juggling your work and personal life.

Schedule multiple breaks throughout the day

Do you often feel like you’re “on” all day? Juggling multiple tasks as a small business owner can often contribute to this feeling. However, staying in this mode for too long can lead to stress and burnout. As you manage your workload, taking breaks can be a simple yet necessary step to benefit your physical and mental health.

Experts say that even just a ten- to 15-minute break every hour or so can help. What you do on that break will be up to you, but what’s important is that you completely disconnect from work. Taking breaks can also help counteract the negative health impact that sitting for long, uninterrupted periods can cause. That’s why incorporating physical activity into these breaks, especially in nature/outdoors, can be beneficial.

When you have a lot of tasks to do in a day, the word “break” may not even come to mind. However, by scheduling them into your day, you can more easily stick to it and plan other tasks around those breaks. Set calendar reminders to help you prioritize these moments.

Work from home? Create a separation

If you run your business from home, the boundaries between working and living can be blurred. If possible, designate a room or specific space in your home just for your work. That way, when you’re done for the day, it can feel like you’re physically removing yourself from that space.

Creating this separation can feel like flipping a switch in your mind that may typically stay on “work mode” even when you’re done working for the day. Assigning rooms in your home as no-work zones can also help create a greater distinction.

Some small business owners, especially those with small teams, may consider a co-working space. Again, this helps create a separation between work and home life and creates a dedicated working space for you and your team to commute to and from each day.

Delegate tasks

As a business owner, you may feel as though you need to take the reins on most, if not all, of daily operations. But if you already have a small team of employees, or you can allocate part of your budget to hiring a seasonal or part-time employee(s) to help lessen the load, do it!

If smaller tasks are eating up time in your day, impacting the number of hours you work, delegating them to another person to complete can help you better manage your workload and potentially allow you to lessen your workday, leaving more time for activities in your personal life. You may even choose to outsource contractors or professional services to help with your workload, such as if you need assistance with finances, marketing/social media, etc. There may also be AI or software solutions that can help you create efficiencies in your daily workload.

Give yourself set hours to work

This may seem like an obvious tip, but you likely already understand how easy it can be to work long hours, leaving little time for your personal life. The act of creating a set schedule for yourself and sticking with it can be extremely beneficial, as you can more easily plan for non-work tasks/events. Of course, what that schedule looks like will depend on your business. However, giving yourself start and stop times can help, as you can tell yourself when to check in and check out.

If you have just launched your business, it is understandable that you want to hit the ground running by putting in as much time and effort as you can. However, if you consider the health risks of working too much, establishing a schedule early on can help lead to greater long-term outcomes.

Small Business Solutions with The UPS Store

At The UPS Store, we understand all it takes to run your small business. That’s why our Small Business Solutions can help lessen the load by providing professional services for your printing, shipping, packing, mailbox rental, and shredding needs.