Plain and simple, you don’t.

It’s time to debunk the ‘balance’ myth. As an entrepreneur, you tend to feel like you’re being pulled in a million different directions. And typically, you are. However, does maintaining a business and a home life mean you have to sacrifice time with one area to achieve success in another? Not at all.

In achieving balance, the action implies that when one area of your life gains traction, another area wanes. As an entrepreneur, that doesn’t cut it. When you own a business, you need integration – the ability to manage each area of your life simultaneously.

With integration, you are able to engage in activities without distractions. By integrating work and play you send the message to your team, family, friends and clients that when you’re at work, you’re focused, and when you’re spending time away from the office, you need just that. By defining your schedule to those around you, your time becomes more valuable.

Integrating your life is about more than just making everyone happy – it’s about living the life you want.

You’re making it harder than it has to be… Break the habit. Set a schedule. And don’t be afraid to ask for help.

 

Start by scheduling ‘me’ time.

 

Within integration, the normal work day is no longer nine to five. Set time throughout the day to do the activities you need and want to do without interruptions – and stick to it! Make your friends, family and clients aware of how you are spending your time away so you can’t make exceptions in your schedule.

For me, I’ve found that I cannot control my own calendar for that reason – I make exceptions. You may need someone else to manage your calendar, and that’s okay! The goal is to position regularity in your schedule. If each Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. is yoga, put it on the calendar. If each Monday, Wednesday and Friday you want dinner at home with no phone or email access, set up an out of the office email during that time.

The occasional wrench will get thrown into your plans but you need to remain disciplined with your schedule, even when others are not.

Now it’s time to break the bad habits.

 

Learning how to integrate your work and life is the same as developing a habit – learning to eat healthy or even exercise routinely. To the extent you think ‘oh eventually I’ll stop working so much’ it’s not true! You have to form the habits and manage the expectations of other people right from the beginning.

Then, don’t be such a control freak.

To successfully manage each aspect of your life and business you have to get this ‘if you want it done right, then do it yourself’ mentality out of your mind.

As a first generation entrepreneur you may think that running your business means doing it alone – putting your entire self into your business, regardless of the time it takes away from the other important things in your life. The reality is, if you spend time figuring out how to be strategic in your solutions you will actually have the bandwidth to enjoy other aspects of your life simultaneously. By focusing on the things you do extremely well from the beginning and delegating the other tasks to trusted people in your network [like an administrative assistant] you accelerate your ability to do well, avoid making mistakes, and escape burnout.

Integration is happiness. Your home, work, and personal lives aren’t in competition with one another; they support and strengthen each other. Every aspect of your life is interlinked – integrating these links makes it so there is truly no battle for your time.