As an entrepreneur, finding a work/life balance is not as easy to find compared to working as a 9-5 employee. That's why entrepreneurs often skip past anything mentioning a work/life balance. But these are the exact reasons that as an entrepreneur, you have to force it.
We understand that for you (like most entrepreneurs), you will live your business. It will be the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning and it will be your last thought when you fall asleep at night. Your life is different from those around you; so don't use those around you as reference points when it comes to what balance looks like.
Setting morning and evening routines will help you to start adding meaningful, non-work elements to your already jam-packed life; but you need to be realistic about what is needed and what can be achieved.
Many entrepreneurs try to achieve this balance by implementing and adhering to strict rules. For example, no personal issues from 8am - 5pm and no business calls answered over the weekend or in the evening. This can work for some but is more than likely going cause panic and freak you out. Of course, you can attempt to avoid the business call on a Friday evening, but then you will just end up stressing about it the whole weekend. For your own sake and everyone around you, it's better to just take the call and deal with it.
There is however a different approach to balance; accept that there will be things that you need to deal with and work around them. Take your work calls, within reason, but at the same time, make the effort to drop your kids off at school early on a Monday morning.
Once you have implemented basic rules, such as: not working from home, although in the midst of a pandemic you might want to convert the guest bedroom into your permanent lock up office, or not checking emails after 19:00, just relax and allow those rules to be somewhat malleable; give attention to the few things that will come up and need your attention. These will be rare occasions as most things will be within your control anyway.
You have a huge opportunity as an entrepreneur, an opportunity to live life according to your own terms and rules. Don't ruin that by letting yourself be driven by concrete, inflexible rules that you've given yourself. Your work is your life and often your life is work. Just find a way to allow those two to work together to give yourself a fulfilling life.
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