Five Tips For Business Leaders To Maintain A Life Outside Of Work
I believe it is important for leaders to have a life outside of work. A life outside of work helps keep a leader grounded and happy. For example, I enjoy snowboarding and having brunch with my wife and daughters on Sunday mornings. These activities help me go into work each day as a generally happy leader.
That being said, finding ways to have a life outside of work as a leader can be challenging. Being a leader of a company takes a lot of one’s time. People constantly rely on you, and it can feel like you are constantly on call. I have compiled a list of tips to help leaders figure out how to create this life outside of work.
1. Establish a routine.
Routines give you a clear idea of what your day will look like: when you will be doing your work, what your work will look like and when you will be off of work. This means you can prioritize what you should be doing at any moment in time because you know, based on your routine, what your priorities are currently. It also makes it easier to set work “curfews.” Additionally, by creating a routine, you can figure out what works best for you. Once you know what works best for you, I’ve found it is much easier to have that life outside of work.
2. Create “hats” for yourself.
Similar to having a routine, creating “hats” for yourself can also be extremely beneficial to ensure you have a life outside of work. The idea of creating hats for yourself is that you have a metaphorical work hat, and then you have hats outside of work that represent other aspects of your life.
When you are wearing your metaphorical work hat, you are immersed in your work and doing the best that you can at your job. By focusing solely on your work at work, you can focus on other aspects of your life outside of work. For example, when you wear your parent “hat,” at that time, your focus is on your children and being the best parent you can be.
3. Delegate to others.
As with so many aspects of leadership, delegation is key. Just as your employees rely on you, you can rely on them. When you create a team, choose people you trust who can make decisions when you are off the clock. While there is obviously a lot you have to do as a leader, remember that if you have a good and cohesive team, there is a lot your team can do without you constantly being present.
4. Model a healthy work-life balance.
It may sound a little odd that you need to model a healthy work-life balance to improve your work-life balance, but I’ve found there is truth to this idea. As leaders, our employees learn from us, and we serve as models for the company culture. At the same time, we are affected by our company culture. When we model a healthy work-life balance, we can help create a culture in our company where having a work-life balance is valued. That value in a work-life balance in the company culture then further enhances our work-life balance.
5. Keep Parkinson’s law in mind.
Parkinson’s law is the idea written about by Cyril Northcote Parkinson that work will expand to the amount of time available to it. There is a certain degree of control over how much time your work will take you. That means that the more time you give to your work, the more of your time it will take. Obviously, as a responsible leader, you must dedicate a fair amount of your time to your work and employees, but specifying how much time you will dedicate can have a large impact on the amount of time it takes.
To be a successful and happy leader, I believe we need time away from work, yet making that happen can be especially difficult for leaders. There are helpful strategies to best create a work-life balance that leaves a leader with a life outside of work. These include having a routine, creating “hats,” delegating to others, modeling a healthy work-life balance and keeping Parkinson’s law in mind.
Article link – https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/03/15/five-tips-for-business-leaders-to-maintain-a-life-outside-of-work/?sh=316ed4345f25