I started my entrepreneur journey in 2014, back then I was hustling hard and had no idea how to create a healthy work-life balance. All I knew was that I had just quit my job and needed to make money to pay rent and buy food. I was driven by my need to make an income and so, work took over my life. This resulted in long nights with no breaks, sub-par work and ultimately burning out and getting overwhelmed with anxiety and depression. It was not pretty.

Why Create a Healthy Work-Life Balance

You become an entrepreneur so that you can have more control of your life right? And even if you are still at a 9-5 job, there’s no reason not to set boundaries so that you actually have time to live a life. Nowadays I am so much happier because I have learned the art of creating a healthy work-life balance. I truly believe that every single day should be joyful so that you look back at your life and remember those moments and smile. You don’t want your whole life to go by in a flash and all you remember is late nights, putting out fires at the office and missing out on life’s precious moments. You need balance, that healthy hustle.

Tip #1 — Find Your Purpose

Your purpose is going to be the number one driving force behind your life. It’s your special brand of magic that fuels your day to day, work and life in general. When you are crystal clear on your purpose (your WHY), you will live a life that is full and joyful, even through the struggles. Basically, knowing what kind of life you want to lead and what you want to do with your time on this beautiful planet is going to make it easier to create that balanced life — in fact, you’ll want to have it.

Tip #2 — Work on Your Mindset

It took me a while but I think that I finally grasped that work-life balance when I mastered my mindset. I worked on my inner self first, and then my business — which actually made it grow! Because you can’t really control what’s going on around you until you learn what’s going on inside you. Once I was taking control of my thoughts, I stopped giving into my fears and excuses that there was no way to live a life in the beginning stages of building a business. Spoiler alert — there is always time! You CAN work and still go out with your loved ones. It’s all a matter of perspective, priorities and getting your business mindset in check!

Tip #3 — Set Your Hours

Now that I have covered the inner part of these here tips, I want to move on to more practical tips! This first one being — set your hours! It is so important for you to set your own hours so that you can create a work schedule that gives you time to live a life. I could write a whole post about this but, you are never late to the party! Just because you choose to stop working at 4pm to attend your dear friend’s birthday party or hang out with your kids, doesn’t mean that you have failed as an entrepreneur. You don’t have to hustle 24/7 to be successful. Find a balance that works for your life. Set your hours and then after that period ends, stop thinking about work. Be flexible and know that it’s ok to give yourself breaks!

Tip #4 — Build Better Habits

Adopting new healthy daily habits that you love doing and incorporating small things that bring you joy will help you start having better, happier and brighter days. That will make you more productive and boost your energy to work on your business. I’m not saying you have to plan every single hour of every day to find that perfect work-life balance, but you do have to incorporate some habits in order to make it work. For example, tip #3 which is setting your own hours, adding in a daily meditation practice to relax before work, cooking dinner with your S.O. every night to bond. Anything you enjoy doing, try making it a habit so that you can create a balanced life.

Tip #5 — Create an Inspiring Work Space

It’s all about the environment you are in. In my opinion, a life of balance is one where you are happy wherever you are. Whether you are your own boss or at a 9-5, work will always be work and sometimes it’s hard. I believe that creating a space that is cheerful, will promote that balanced life. It’s so easy to loose focus and start getting anxiety when you’re working out of places that sort of suck your energy… so what would happen if you created a magical workspace that inspired you to work on your dreams? I know I feel so much better in my new office because I specifically designed it to keep me calm and cheerful. Try upgrading your work space with things that bring you joy!

Tip #6 — Manage Your Expectations (+ Goals!)

Do not over schedule yourself! I’m so guilty of this. I jot down impossible goals for one day and then feel frustrated when I didn’t get to draw a little checkmark next to it at the end of the day. Learning to manage expectations and set small achievable goals can go a long way. Instead of overflowing your schedule with daily tasks, try to create a weekly goal planner (you can find one in the freebie hub!). Then grab one task per day from those weekly goals — or whatever works for you! Just keep in mind that part of the reason we often like there is no work/life balance is because we tend to overwhelm ourselves by expecting too much.

Tip #7 — Make Time For Self Care

Self care is so important in life. You need to constantly work on yourself inside and out so that you can truly live a life of balance. So if its after a stressful day at work, or just because you need a little pick-me-up, self care can go a loooong way. It’s a form of resetting yourself and feeling your best. I know I love to get my butt in a bubble bath after a long day of work and emails haha. If you need some ideas, I wrote a whole post on how you can practice self care body, mind and soul!

Tip #8 — Practice Gratitude

Gratitude is one of the easiest things you can do to get out of a funk. It really gives you a fresh perspective on your life and helps tame those fears and anxieties that come up when trying to juggle it all. When you make a conscious effort to list out all the amazing things in your life that you are grateful for, you kind of reset your mindset from negative to joyfully positive! A great side effect to this, is that you start becoming more mindful and present in the moment which is a great thing as it quiets the chatter in your brain! Being grateful is my #1 tool to battle my fears and create balance.

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Do you have any tips to create a work-life balance? Share them with me in the comments 🙂