How to Balance Work with Family, Hobbies, and Life
Advice from Asif Ali Gohar
When you are working hard to grow and develop your business, it can become difficult to balance home with family and to maintain your outside interests as well. In order to do this it can become necessary to set some hard boundaries, limit your time at work, and find ways to step away. With a large and growing business, Asif Ali Gohar has found some ways to create this balance and to maintain all of the things that are most important to him.
Life has many different aspects, and it is important to have time for each of those. As much as work and business are important to bring fulfillment and to financially support yourself and your family, it is also necessary to have time for other things. Setting boundaries on how long you will work for in a day, leaving work at work rather than taking it home, or planning for some time to work after hours then also ensure that there is a limit to that allowing you to have downtime as well. Your family and friends are helpful in supporting your business and supporting your interests, and they need to have that time with you to help maintain that relationship. Limit what hours you can be contacted outside of office hours, as well as what constitutes an emergency that allows them to reach out beyond those hours if necessary. If things are not an emergency or can be managed during business hours it is important to do that, and not let it invade your time away.
Finding ways to step away from work is difficult for many entrepreneurs. It is natural to want to be hands on and to focus on a business idea that you love, but you also need to find people who can do some of the work when you are unable. Everyone has things they are great at and things they are not great at, and by delegating things you aren’t proficient in to people who are, you are better able to walk away from some things. Hire an accountant who is strong in the industry that you work in and allow them to handle accounting matters. This will help to ensure you are complying with all laws and regulations, that payroll is correct, and that you have balanced books each month. Other ways to step away is to find and train assistants that can work other hours and are able to handle many different tasks and concerns without bringing you back to work. It will also create confidence and loyalty in those employees. A good manager, and strong management teams can help build a strong and successful business.
A successful business will go through many different stages and growth. At each stage the owner and managers will see a spike in their time at work and the stress that accompnaies that. However, by maintaining set working hours and boundaries around nonworking hours, delegating to capable people, and spending time doing things that you love, you can counter some of that stress and remain productive and happy.
