Being an entrepreneur can be hard, lonely, and frustrating work. We consulted with some successful businessmen and women to learn their tips for staying sane (and productive ).
1. Save it
“Google calendars are really incredible, we block hours to free ourselves and give ourselves the time we need to think. From ‘Wednesday nights with no plans’ to a daily meal schedule and specific blocks to work, we use organization to balance. Also, did you know that Slack has a snooze feature? Highly recommended between midnight and 6am! – Jordana Kier, co-founder of Lola .
2. Announce it
“I tell the people who work for me that I need a break to recharge my batteries. I only disconnect when I gave the rest of my team context, so it’s never unexpected. I take time to be with my family, to eat, to watch movies and not talk about work. When 99 percent of my conversations revolve around work, just not talking about it gives me a lot of perspective. ” – Matt Scanlan, co-founder and CEO of Naadam .
3. Don’t do it!
“If you are an entrepreneur and do what you like, there is no balance between work and personal life. Rather, it is an integration between work and life. Before this sounds sad to you, sociologists have done research and discovered that people who have an integration between work and their personal life are happier, because it means that they love what they do. I am lucky enough to work on something so satisfying, and I like to do it all the time. It is part of who I am. ” – Sophie Kahn, co-founder of Aurate .
4. Ask for it
“My husband and I travel a lot, both for business and pleasure. On a recent trip to Tulum, we asked our team to give us a question-free day. I turned off my email notifications and didn’t check it all damn day . It was incredible. And it’s no wonder our team survived without us. ” – Candi Ramirez, Founder and CEO of Chillhouse .
5. Invest
“I am a firm believer that we all deserve to live a fulfilling and exciting life. But the question is how? And the answer is inspired adventures. Find a version of this by choosing something that interests you, something you can get lost in, be it mapping, climbing, gardening. Find a passion that allows you to escape your work mentality ”. – Tim Sharp, CEO of Best Made Co.
6. Share it
“As part of a husband and wife team of founders, I’m not going to say it’s easy. At first, we tried to find pauses by saying ‘On Friday night we are going to take off our founders hats and put on husband and wife hats.’ This never worked. We had to learn to accept that we would always be wearing both hats at the same time, and we love what we do, so why not discuss our passion over dinner? It helped us find a better rest and a better space in a more holistic way ”. – Dave Cho, Co-Founder and CEO of Soko Glam .
