photo via flickr user Doug Wheller
As you have probably gathered by this point, I am usually on my soapbox about maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Even if you own your own business it is so, so important to not let work be your whole life. I truly believe you have to have other things that you enjoy to be successful at work.
While it is easy to talk about maintaining friendships when you’re a busy entrepreneur, dating is a whole different story simply because it requires much more time. Before I met my current boyfriend I was iffy about dating. Yes, I wanted to date, but I was always scared it would take away from my work. Life, however, is about sacrifices, so I knew that the extra time taken away from my blog or catching up in the office would turn out to be a good thing.
Now, that I have been in a relationship for a few months there are a lot of things that I have learned when it comes to balancing boys and business:
1) You get more productive
I’ve started to notice that I am all of a sudden more productive during work hours. This is because I’m more protective of my free time at night and on the weekends. While before I had a virtually unlimited amount of time to focus on work, now I find it vital to stick to set hours and accomplish as much as I can to keep my business life out of my date nights.
2) You make time for things that are important to you
When something is important to you it often doesn’t seem like an obligation, but rather something you want and are excited to work on. Before my current relationship I would always prioritize work over dating. Now, I find myself realizing that maintaining my relationship is just as important as maintaining my business.
3) Share your life
One of my biggest fears when it came to dating was that I would never find someone who understood what I do and what I’m trying to accomplish. I recognize now that a large part of this was my fault. I was afraid of getting shut down so instead I shut myself off. Now I know that if the person I want to be with doesn’t understand right away, he needs to be willing to learn and express interest in my work- and I should do the same with his. There are definitely a lot of ups and downs that go along with being an entrepreneur, that’s just part of the job. As business owners we need someone who understands this.
4) Not dating an entrepreneur
Before my current relationship I thought dating another entrepreneur would make for mutual understanding and a stronger connection. In the past few months, however, I’ve realized that might be a “better on paper” situation. The problem, as I see it, comes from the fact that every time I hang out with other entrepreneurs all we end up talking about is work. That’s not healthy and you can’t build a solid relationship from complaining all the time about the stresses that come with being your own boss. I, for one, like being able to turn work off at the end of the day and indulge in other shared interests I have with my boyfriend.
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