How 4 Women Entrepreneurs Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Employees and entrepreneurs alike have long struggled with finding success in striking the perfect work-life balance. But in our modern world that is constantly mobile and plugged in, achieving work-life balance becomes significantly more difficult.

Gen Y women may have a unique experience in seeking balance, because we’re members of the first demographic to have entered the workforce when the Internet was no longer new or novel. We’re comfortable with technology and we don’t think it’s strange that our smartphones are the last thing we look at before falling asleep and the first thing we check when we wake up the next morning.

In other words, we’re used to being online and connected both in our personal and professional lives – which means it’s extremely easy for the two to run together. The quest for work-life balance then becomes little more challenging.

If you’ve been struggling with this, take a moment to take in the advice and tips from these four women entrepreneurs who know the importance of developing a healthy work-life balance:

Learn to Delegate

Denise Blasevick, CEO of The S3 Agency, has a tip she believes is critical for women trying to achieve work-life balance. “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything,” she says. “Be realistic about what you can (and should) get done.”

She also advices that that we ask ourselves to think about what we can delegate to save time and energy. “Becoming better at A) discerning what’s important to do, and B) delegating is key.”

“For me, the biggest challenge to work-life balance is that I love what I do,” Blasevick explains. “So I want to do it all the time. I love my family even more than my business, so I want to be with them all of the time. I allow each realm to creep into the other — and to a degree, I think that’s fine. However, I set very rigid times where I focus exclusively on one or the other — which lets both thrive.”

Learn to Say No

Shelly Collins, owner of Clutter Contained, talks about the different pulls of important areas of our lives too. “Quite frankly, [the biggest challenge for women wanting to maintain work-life balance] is the many ways in which other people request and demand our time,” she says. “We tend to fall into a trap of thinking of our time as an infinite resource but as entrepreneurs it is the most valuable resource we have. Learning to say no is so important.”

Collins points out that there’s always something that comes up to take our time. Whether it’s volunteering, family, networking, professional opportunities, personal acitivities – it’s important to prioritize and know when it’s time to let go of certain things.“It’s vital for women to evaluate each opportunity and weigh the benefits versus the cost in your most valuable asset: time.”

Learn to Take Care of You

Wanda Sealy, founder of Multi-Task-Her Coaching and Consulting Services, believes it’s difficult for women to find the time to take care of themselves in the hustle and bustle of personal and professional life.

“Many women spend the majority of their day at the office putting out fires and completing projects and their evenings doing the same at home,” she explains. “Sadly, the one person who usually gets overlooked in the equation when trying to do it all is you.”

Sealy has a variety of tips for women on overcoming this challenge and taking care of yourself:

Take Advantage of Small Blocks of Time: “Look for small blocks of time — perhaps five to ten minutes — and use that time to take care of yourself,” she suggests. “For example, spend five minutes reading a good book or doing other inspirational activities when you first get up.”

Celebrate Your Accomplishments: “Busy women’s minds are often focused on what still needs to happen, which can make it feel like you didn’t do anything. Break this bad thinking habit by reviewing your day before you go to bed and congratulating yourself on a job well done,” Sealy says.

Ask for Help: “Don’t try to do everything yourself. Delegate tasks to your coworkers at work and to your partner or kids at home.”

Learn to Embrace Changes

Rohini Shah, owner of Blu Salt, believes women need to understand that work-life balance “is always a moving target.”

Shah says, “Your needs, your family’s needs (particularly children’s) change over time. A child that needs more attention at a point in time might be in a very different stage of development a year later. It is hard to predict what is needed, and consequently, it’s hard to plan for.”

She also believes that women tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to suggeed – at everything. We need to learn that we simply can’t do everything all the time.

“Along with that, I think as women, we condition ourselves to think that we need to accomplish absolutely everything; that’s not true,” Shah explains. “Every choice requires a sacrifice. Running ourselves ragged thinking we can do everything ends up making for a very tired woman.”