If you’re an entrepreneur who works day and night to bring your awesome idea to market, you might relate to working time merging seamlessly with resting, which can eventually become one enormous batch of work-rest time.
We want to share an experience story with you and hope that it will help bring business success, productivity, emotional balance, and healthier relationships to your life.
When I started a business, I worked from home, and my work computer was on all the time. In the same room, I ate, worked, watched TV, worked, played Playstation, worked, ate dinner, worked, slept, worked, and woke up. At some point, I began to feel a slight burnout from the long working days.
What are you actually doing?
I started to watch my day and write down activities, and I discovered that even though I’m on a 24/7 workflow, I didn’t actually work all that time. My work and rest time were all mixed up. But my brain thought I was working all the time. I decided to define my working hours. I agreed with our business partners that after a certain time, we would no longer call each other about work. I planned a specific time to complete the tasks, and outside working hours, I turned off the computer and made up a rule not to view e-mails on the phone.
Now that I have defined working hours, I feel that my life is more balanced. Here are three positive changes I’ve noticed in my life with the definition of working time:
I’m more productive. The time allotted for the task helps me focus because I have set specific minutes for the task. I don’t organise my desk, sort files, or watch videos on YouTube. I perform my task.
What happens if I do not complete my task within the allotted time? – This is the best bonus with this system. If you didn’t leave your task for the last minute and didn’t have to finish it before midnight, just …… leave it unfinished. In the next work session, you dedicate to this task, it will be easier for you to get going because you have already started. For example, I have experienced that I tend to look forward to being able to start working on it again.
Time spent with loved ones is better. The bell rang, working time became a rest period, and therefore, I have now every right to drop my work-related thoughts and really be with my loved ones. Spending time with friends, family, and other important people will heal your mental health and reduce burnout.
I remember walking in the woods with a girlfriend, but I was on my job with my thoughts. I ruined the mood of my loved one by not listening to her, and I was also wasting my time because even though I was thinking about work, I didn’t really do anything. Now I think about work when the time is right, and I don’t have to bother about another possible quarrel.
I’m more motivated. My work-rest cycle really includes rest, and I can be proud of a productive workday. When I start working again, I already have tasks that are waiting to be resumed, and I get to work right away. It doesn’t take me long to decide what to do now.
As for the article you’re reading right now, I did a 45-minute work spree, followed by a 14-minute break, followed by 45 minutes of writing. I stopped writing in the middle of a sentence, a thought, a word, a syllable, put on my boots, put on my jacket, and went out for a walk. I felt so good, but deep inside, I wanted to go back and write. And then I came back to write and finished this section.
However, I do not go into extremes with following the last point, if you are having a telephone call going with a customer, for example. Believe me – they didn’t understand when I went and lay down halfway through the conversation. That has been my experience. I hope this gives you ideas if you’re in trouble with drawing a line between your work and private life.
