When I saw an article titled, “If You Want To Be A Successful Entrepreneur, There Is No Such Thing As Work-Life Balance” on the Forbes blog, I wanted to weigh in on the topic.
It’s widely expected that entrepreneurs will spend 24/7 on their business, and the reason they’re in business is because they have the passion for building something that is aligned with this passion.
Clearly technology has made a huge difference in this regard, with the constant barrage of opportunities for interaction via social media and email, and a flow of information that’s been equated to drinking from a fire hose.
You see it all the time, dinner companions, each with their smart phones out, reading, texting, typing, anything but talking. Sometimes they’re even texting each other! It’s easy enough to spot this behavior in others, but how is it showing up in your life?
We may be multi-tasking, and consequently make errors on the work task and offend or irritate whoever we’re with. Or we affect our health by staying up too late checking that last email that came through.
Technology is bound to affect our interactions in the here-and-now, and our time to pursue and support personal goals. The real question is, what do we do about it?
One key is to establish clear expectations for yourself, and then express those boundaries to the people in your life. Recognize that when you have a passion for what you’re doing, and you’re doing what you love, it doesn’t feel like work and therefore isn’t out of balance at all.
On a final note, make sure that as you’re working on your passion, you leave time and energy for the things that will pass you by – like your kids’ childhoods. Many wise people have pointed out that when they reach the end of their life, no one ever wishes they had spent more time working. But many of us regret not pursuing a dream. That is what entrepreneurs are pursuing, their dreams.
