I donโt believe that business owners have โfree time.โ
No, that doesnโt mean that business owners can never rest. You donโt have to be productive 24/7. What I mean is that you need to have a solid understanding of what youโre doing throughout the day; otherwise, something unplanned could pop up and steal your perceived free time.
Business Owners Need to Schedule Their โFree Timeโ
For example, if you want to have a Saturday off โ you have to plan it! And if youโre bad about sticking to your own schedule, you need to write down that day off and what youโre going to be doing with it.
โWatch Netflix one hour,โ and โwalk the dogs,โ are what youโre planning on doing anyway, so write them down! This isnโt actually free time; itโs a time full of planned self care activities.
Schedule the things you want to do โ you deserve those activities, and having that time solidly blocked off will discourage you from giving that โfree timeโ to whoever shows up needing your help. You are busy; youโre taking care of yourself and your priorities.
Tell your clients youโre booked when you have โfree timeโ scheduled for yourself. Put that free time on your calendar so itโs indisputable โ you have written it into existence. If you donโt, you will burn out; youโll have difficult client interactions, you wonโt enjoy your job anymore, and it could result in you losing your business entirely. If you arenโt motivated to market, bring revenue, and increase your audience reach, then your business will come to a standstill.
DONโT Work During Your โFree Time!โ
Donโt guilt yourself into doing things just because you donโt know what to do with time off. Youโre allowed to block off 45 minutes for yourself to sit in silence and do nothing else.
As long as you take these breaks for yourself with purpose, thatโs all that matters. Otherwise, you give that time away to others and end up with none for yourself.
Your time is worth at least as much as what a client would pay for it. If you as a business owner are focused on those money-making tasks that generate income and clients, then your time is worth a lot more than you believe it is. When you look at the potential income from each client, the possible referrals, those numbers add up quickly.
You have to be cognizant of how youโre spending time and how youโre giving it away. You need to allow yourself to rest and get refreshed, or you wonโt be happy heading back to work in the morning. Ultimately, that leads to burnout. You get tired, annoyed, you have worse client experiences, and it goes downhill from there.
Positive Procrastination is Your Best Friend
The reality is there are only so many hours in the day, and even more scarce than time is energy. Now, hear me outโฆ
On many occasions, procrastination is actually good.
Positive procrastination allows you to prioritize things that are more urgent and demanding of your attention. Focus on tasks that are going to generate revenue; anything that doesnโt immediately drive those results can be procrastinated on until the time feels right. Donโt feel obligated to do things just because others are doing them โ if those tasks donโt affect your income in the short term, write them down and plan them for later.
You Are Worthy of Rest and Leisure
Give yourself permission to have time to yourself. Juggling your business, family, friends, pets, and other obligations doesnโt leave you a lot of time to rest and recharge. Sometimes, it leaves you feeling like you arenโt allowed to take time to yourself because there are so many people depending on your presence and time.
But feeling guilty in the moments where you allow yourself to nap, take a walk, or watch a funny show on Netflix is pointless, because you already have minimal time to use for your own personal benefit. If you need to, consider this me giving you permission to take that time for yourself, even if itโs just 15 minutes to get some fresh air.
However, you need to learn to give yourself permission to rest as well. Youโre the business owner, and youโre the only one who can really give yourself those orders. You need to learn to prioritize your health and happiness and do something for yourself. The Do Not Disturb feature on your phone exists to benefit you!
Try This Exercise to Start Prioritizing Your Time
Get out a piece of paper and on the top write down โNEVER AGAIN.โ Underneath it, start jotting down anything you donโt want to ever do again.
Whether thatโs volunteering somewhere, hosting Thanksgiving, offering a specific service, or something else entirely โ write down anything you never want to do again because the outcome wasnโt worth your time or energy.
Consider keeping this list around and adding to it every year. It might help you keep track of things that are and arenโt working for your business, your social life, and more. No one wants to keep repeating the same mistakes; this could help improve your life overall!
As a business owner, a lot of people depend on your being your happiest, best self. Donโt forget that being that person means taking the time you need to rest, recharge, and care for yourself and your family.
What other ways do you ensure you have time for yourself throughout the week? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to sign up for our latest blog posts by subscribing below.
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