How to Manage Your Work-Life Balance and Reduce Stress
Work-life balance is a problem for many people. Not just freelancers, either—anyone who works in a job that involves some kind of thinking is tempted to take work home with them. I suppose that maintaining a good balance is one of the benefits to menial shift work.
But freelancers have it worst. Without an employer, our income is more dependent on performance than any corporate employee’s income. And for the vast majority of us, there’s no real distinction between our home life and our work life, because our work life happens at home.
Here’s the thing that we lose sight of: becoming a workaholic does not improve your bottom-line or productivity.
When you work every day, all day, with no time set aside for living life, you just get more stressed. You lose sight of reality. You get out of touch with creativity, which is just as important for producing quality work as it is for innovating in business. You take much longer to do things and you get so exhausted that you sit there looking at the screen for hours.
There are no benefits to living a workaholic lifestyle. Let me emphasize that:
No benefits.
I have struggled with this problem for years. I’ve since solved it and struck a balance I’m happy with, but it plagued my family life and my stress levels for much longer than I’m proud to admit.
As you probably know from experience, it can be a hard problem to solve. You try and try, but keep falling back on old habits and working each day until 2am.
How do you solve it? It comes down to firewalling.
Firewall by Time and Day
The first thing you need to do is determine when you will work, and only work during those hours. If work spills over, you need to have the self-discipline to say, “I can pick this up in the morning.”
The most common objection to this idea is that emergencies are constantly coming up. If emergencies are constantly cropping up, you need to do one of two things:
- Improve your personal productivity and get your act together.
- Manage your clients better—emergencies suddenly crop up less often when they know your boundaries.
The truth is that for most people, the first problem is the real problem. Worse still, most people with the first problem use the excuse that it’s the second problem. Next time you find yourself cursing a client for throwing you into a midnight spin, ask yourself: is this really their fault, or did I manage this poorly?
Firewall by Location
When your home and professional life occur in the same place, it is absolutely essential to firewall by location. You need to keep personal and professional locations totally separate.
If you live in a studio apartment or some other one-room accommodation, this isn’t impossible. You just have to learn to firewall without actual walls: pick a corner, stick your desk there, and refuse to go near it when you’re not working.
Similarly, you need to define areas where work can’t take place, such as the living room and the bedroom. Some people say they work best in the bedroom (no, your dirty buggers, I didn’t mean it like that), and that’s fine—just make sure there is somewhere in your home you can be work-free. Though I’m willing to bet people who say they work best in the bedroom have poor work-life balance!
If you feel the need to get away from your desk, don’t take your laptop over to the couch. Go be a hipster and hang out at the café, or if you don’t need free café wifi, go sit on a bench in the park or at the beach.
Just don’t get sand in your keyboard.
Firewall Your Communication
If you’ve read my work for long elsewhere, you’re probably sick of hearing me talk about this. If you need to get work done, I always say, firewall your incoming communication channels.
Well, I’m not talking about that right now; I’m talking about when you don’t want to get anything done! If you’re not working, you still need to firewall your communication lines in case you end up working when you shouldn’t be.
If you have been clever enough to separate your personal and professional communication lines, just turn the business phone and cell off. Sign out of business email. If they’re combined, you may just have to do some dodging and let the phone ring out. I use the same cell for everything, so it can be difficult to do.
Money Isn’t Everything
I know that my problem with work-life balance ultimately came from the desire to earn more income. I loved the fact I could support my family, but I wanted to go further and be able to take them out for the day without worrying about cash, or buy them a plasma TV. Okay, that wasn’t for them.
I recently made a move that significantly reduced my income. But you know what? I’m happier, and I enjoy the money I do have more. And the things I bought when I was making more money? I’m enjoying them more, too!
Be careful of falling into the trap of sacrificing your life for more money. If you want to make more than you’re making, find a way to do it without making that sacrifice or there’s just no point to having the extra cash to begin with.
What Constitutes Balance?
What is balance? How much time needs to be set aside for work and how much time needs to be reserved for yourself?
It’s really an individual thing and it comes down to a variety of factors. How much do you need to rest to become optimally productive for the week that follows? Personally, I need a day. Some need two. Some need a day every two weeks, but don’t ask me how they do it.
There are other factors—how much time does you family need from you? Can you meld your personal relaxation time in with family time, or do you need to separate them? Do you have a choice anyway?
Decide what you need to recharge your batteries, and be honest. The temptation is to underestimate it. But if you underestimate it, you’re not doing your clients a favor, because you’ll just be sending them worse work.
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Thank you very much for this.
Awesome article. Really, just what I needed right now.
Hi Joel,
I agree! Moreover, being a workaholic does not mean being productive or efficient. When I have those days when I work until 2 am, I realize that I do less then when I have something to work on between to non-work related things… So my advice is to stay busy with non-work stuff.
It’s also good to have some kind of reward system. It is different for everyone, but I found that I like to be seen while working, so I go to coffee shops…
My way to balance:
Do I want to do this?
If not, can I not do it?
What is the quickest and easiest to do it (whether I want to do it or not)?
I will keep this in mind when I’m getting stressed!
Under normal circumstances, I would agree “Money isn’t everything.” With the current state of the US economy however, I can’t help but wonder if this particular bit of advice is prudent. I personally have accepted a great deal of work between now and the end of the year, as a bit of protection against what’s to come.
Great article. I felt like it was speaking to me, but I’d have to agree with rotationbias.
Recently I have been going to sleep at before normal hours. I attribute this to working way too hard and then crashing. You lose motivation and your work starts suffering. Getting on a regular schedule is a great thing and balancing out time on and off the computer is key.
I like this daily “firewall” strategy.
Here’s a more long term approach to work-life balance…
Plan an entire year ahead by allocating the months you’ll be working full time (with essentially no play) and the months you’ll take off for doing whatever you want. You can stay more focused this way. And there is light at the end of the tunnel – it’s the reward of having 2 or 4 or even 6 months off. You just have to generate a lot of cash or recurring revenue to ensure you can support your lifestyle without new income during the months off.
—Schwabe
Hi,
my name is Max and I’m a workaholic.
Thanks for the article, it rings very true and i’ll try to apply some of the guidelines. The problem is, i often prefer to work on projects than to be watching TV or doing un-productive chores.
Does anyone know of a good online rehab !!! ?
Awesome article. I understand totally this kind of stress, especially since I work two jobs that have nothing to do with my freelance work, as well as being a student and husband. I need to balance all four! My trouble is that I know that financially I need to gain more money, but my second job only gives me about $130 extra, because I only work Saturdays, but I am working six days straight, going to school five days straight, and only having a day break. I have to do school work at work and at home and on weekends, leaving almost no time for my family and I. I am contemplating quitting the Saturday job, but I don’t know exactly how my family will take it. Any advice for that?
Great post. These tips are probably them most important things to keep the freelancing life a balanced and happy one. I think time of day may be the most important. If your work hours are over, there are very few things that can’t wait until the next morning. It always up to you to decide.
Excellent information. I am currently working to improve my productivity. I sit in my work area for long periods of time and now my productivity is suffering. I am going to try to implement your advice and hopefully produce more in less time and have a life!
Nice article.
I like it especially where it said “becoming a workaholic does not improve your bottom-line or productivity.” But as a beginner I think that doesn’t apply to me, well I think so. But of course I understand that becoming a workaholic never fruitful in long term.
Although its very interesting reading. love it.
http://www.instantshift.com
LOL you said buggers…
When I worked at my yawn job I drew the line at working on weekends or doing a lot of overtime. I try to do the same thing now but find it much much harder now that I enjoy my work!
My only rule on the weekends is if I am going to work, to work on stuff I like. It’s the only time I’m allowed to cherry-pick. I work on my own blog and projects I’ve been meaning to get to for a while rather than things I am being paid to do by other people.
I do leave the phone and e-mail open to my clients so that if they need something, I will be in touch on the weekend. I know this is probably against the tenets of “taking time off” but I view it as an essential part of providing added value for the people that choose to hire me. So far nobody has abused the privilege, but they always know that I am there. Very important.
Thanks for addressing this issue. I also find yoga and meditation help me with keeping my balance, and am currently struggling with breaking away from the cycle of work long enough to get into the relaxation vibe instead… it seems impossible, but I agree, unless we strike the balance it’s just a matter of time before our work starts to suck.
Thanks so much!
Simple Pea (www.simplepea.com)
I realize what you’re saying, people need a balance, but I’m not sure telling people to put off getting a big project done or not working till 2 am so you can “live life” is the best way to go about it. I adamantly disagree about “becoming a workaholic does not improve productivity or your bottom line”. I mean that is probably the most ridiculous statement I’ve read all week. Spending extra hours getting a head start on a project, getting one done early, or working later than normal while you’re in the zone can put that project into the finish line twice as early. Meaning you collect more paychecks, get more business, and become more successful.
I agree you have the balance the two between living life and and getting the job done, but the notion being a workaholic does not bring any benefits to one’s life is just plain ridiculous.
To those of you in the US who’ve brought up the economic situation: that’s probably a good exception to the rule of “Money isn’t everything,” though my point is not to work ridiculous hours for more than you need, since that time would be better spent finding other ways to improve your bottom line. Working ridiculous hours isn’t really a long-term business model so that level of income wouldn’t be sustainable.
However, in an economic situation like this one, you’re right, sometimes you have to work insane hours just to make ends meet. I’m in Australia, so it doesn’t really factor into my own thinking (yet!).
Adrian: I have been in exactly that position before, and trust me, I know how difficult it is. Do you need the extra $130 each week? Can you survive and pay the bills without it? If you can, quit the job and explain to your family why you needed to. They’ll understand.
Brian: Working from 9am all the way until 2am is fine if you’re trying to finish a big project once in a while—rarely. If you work like this every day, it’s not fine. You say you agree that you need to balance work and life; being a workaholic means that you don’t, and often that you can’t. I think you’re talking about working hard as opposed to becoming a workaholic because if you’d experienced it, you’d know it kills you, your family and your career slowly. Your examples reference things like “working later than normal while you’re in the zone” and those things are totally fine as long as you have some boundaries; getting up at 9am and working until you can’t keep your eyes open anymore 7 days a week is not, and that’s what it means to be a workaholic.
@Max.
Lol. There’s no online rehab. Balancing your life simply means close your eyes and rest your brain, go away from your money-making machine (computer). Talk to any human
“Becoming a workaholic does not improve your bottom-line or productivity” is absolutely true if you want more out of life than just $ in your pocket.
Setting boundaries is critical. Sure everyone has a project from time to time that requires breaking personal rules. If you budget your time properly and set realistic client expectations, rush jobs should be the exception, not the rule. If you find yourself needing to do too many jobs to make a living then you seriously have to consider charging more. If you can’t charge more, either you have a failed sales plan ( not enough confidence in your work) or your work is not good enough, in which case, freelancing may not be the best solution for you. I also received excellent advice from a business coach – for my marketing agency and golf store- to outsource anything bookkeeping. It’s not a core competency for artists- and he was right.
yeah i totally agree with some of your point
Ive been really stressed out and refused to take days off or weekends and the result was major decrease in my productivity
and spending 10x more time in front of job that should be easier
Uff, balance is really difficult, thanks for the tips, i will try to follow them.
Yeah, this is a subject you hear and read about a lot. The downside of loving my job is doing it too much and it makes unplugging that much harder. Then again, taking a break from it all lets me recharge and I really look forward to getting back to it. Good article, thank you.
Thats way i do web. Nothing is life threatening and if there is a typo you fix it. What we do is if there is a rush we charge more. $25 more.
What a great timely article. I’ve just quit my super stressful job, so now I have a bit of time to assess why my workdays happened the way they did. Now that I’m going back into the swing of things, I’m making it a priority to balance work and play, among a few other new changes. Thanks!
Agreed on this is such a hard thing to accomplish. I know I have been running in “must work mode” for more then 2 years and though my need for income is so very real I hate taking this time away from my family.
Great inspiring article.
W
Great article.
I’ve just recently started finding a good balance, and started picking things up in the morning, and productivity has probably improved.
I’m less tired and so I work better and smarter.
And my family life is starting to be awesome once again.
thanks for the tips
Thankx very much, greet work! I have many freind who are realy workoholic. I will send this link to him ..
I feel like someone finally understands me. Too many people think I’m lazy or weird because I don’t aspire to have a 200K job, but I don’t see the money as a good thing, I see it as too much sacrifice on my life to obtain it. During uni, when I wasn’t studying (til 4am) I was working 2 jobs, 7 days a week. I don’t want to ever have to do that again. I lost my passion, it fried my brain and my work turned into s**t. Don’t do it to yourself people, that job CAN wait til tomorrow morning!
I am a partner in a New Media company, and this article is priceless to us. I believe in this concept, and am a fan of Timothy Ferris, who also believes less work is more.
What I say is, how do you actually take the step of believing in yourself to work less if you already are barely pay the bills working all day. That is probably the toughest hurdle of all.
I believe the idea of switching your focus from money to your quality of life is a great way to start. Sometimes, the quality of life thing gets disregarded once intriguing profit numbers are being tossed about. This can be a trap, one that I have fallen in more than once. I’m working on changing this and this article is going to be a huge help.
I am trying hard to get out of my habit of over-exerting myself at work & am sure that some tips from this would certainly help me. Over-indulgence is something I need to take care of & it certainly is correct that you are not doing anyone a justice by exerting yourself as you tend to be less productive under stress & your ability to think diminishes.
I really take advices of life…….