These 3 little known ways to own a business and have a life are things you can do… steps you can take… to reach a balance in your life. Planning.  Planning is essential to life.  If you don’t have a plan, it’s easy to wind up missing out on those things that are most important in life.

1. Develop processes, systems, and procedures at work that keep you from having to reinvent the wheel every time a particular issue comes up.
2. Schedule time off.  Put it in your PDA or your calendar and book it… and stick to it.  Regardless of your passion, if you don’t put it in your book, it won’t happen.
3. Schedule specific time throughout each week (again, put it in your calendar) to work on your business. There’s a big difference between working in your business and working on it.  It’s the difference between dealing with the daily low-end, low-value details of your business, and the long-range strategic planning that supports your vision.

There is a bonus… a reward… a gigantic payoff to you when you do this – when you take time off for yourself.

First, you empower your employees.  Your time away establishes and exhibits a trust – from you to them, and vice versa.  And they see this trust as a mandate from you to take action in your absence.  In other words, they learn to make decisions.

Second, you actually improve employee morale.  When you’re happy, they’re happy. Plus, with you away from the shop, they are able to do more.

Third, you get to see how your time off actually improves the overall efficiency of your organization.  And this is undoubtedly the most important of all.  People are not designed to work 80 hours a week without an end in sight. It does take a toll – mentally, physically, and emotionally.