Many people don’t like the rigidity of the 9 – 5 job. That’s why so many people choose to start their own businesses to control the number of hours to work. However, becoming an entrepreneur takes hard work, and you might find yourself working for long hours. Entrepreneurship is a sizeable time commitment, and most of the time, we usually don’t have set work hours. People may believe that setting work hours may feel like the 9 – 5 regular job and that you will be working the same times every day. Well, that’s not true. By setting working hours, you will have more control over your daily life, and you will become even more flexible.
You will create time for your fitness classes, time for yourself, and your family. Setting working hours makes you more able to work your day around your life to never miss important things such as time with family.
Some entrepreneurs don’t even realize that they are working on their businesses all the time. That’s not what you wanted when you decided to give into entrepreneurship. You could be missing out on things that matter, such as family time, adequate sleep, and even time for yourself.
Here are ways entrepreneurs can benefit by setting work hours.
You will create a schedule that you will stick to; being organized is an entrepreneur’s essential traits, and having a plan that you follow makes you organized. When you set your work hours, you will find it easier to create a schedule that you will strictly follow. You will handle all the tasks than need to be done within specific timelines in an organized manner rather than doing tasks without allotting particular times. For example, if you work between 6 am and 9 am on Mondays and then get back to work again from 11 am through until 3 pm, you can easily schedule your tasks. If you’re more active in the morning, you can use the morning session to do the tasks that need a lot of concentration.
Having your own schedule helps you take advantage of the times that you’re most active to handle more challenging tasks. A schedule also helps give your business some structure. It becomes easier to get things done when you have an agenda.
Clients will know when to expect to hear from you.
As an entrepreneur, you receive many emails from your clients, which you must respond to. Some clients or prospects expect to be answered immediately. This can be difficult, especially if you’re working across different time zones. But how can you solve that? By only making yourself more predictable through setting yourself work hours. You must communicate to your clients when they should expect your responses.
Outlining response times to your clients takes the burden of responding to every email immediately away from you. You won’t have to keep checking your inbox often, and your clients will know when they can expect your responses.
Always communicate with your new clients the times that you’re available to address their needs so that they can decide whether they fit into that or not. Remember, you don’t want to work your life around your clients. You need time for yourself and your family, so don’t sacrifice your own needs.
You will have family time.
Family is essential in this life. Many people start a business to have more time with their families, and at the same time, have more money to spend with their families. Like I mentioned earlier, entrepreneurship is a sizeable time commitment. Thus if you don’t set your work hours, you might deny yourself the ability to spend more time with your family.
Running a business takes a great deal of effort and time, making it impossible to spend all day with your family every day. However, setting work hours makes it easier to set aside adequate time for your family. You will become better at managing your time, and your family will be grateful you finally have time for them. You will be happy as well.
You will become more productive during work hours.
Productivity will take you a long way when it comes to running a successful business. Are you productive or just busy? Many people might be working extra hours on their companies to get the same amount of actual work done. This is just being busy. Using blocks of time makes you more productive.
By setting yourself work hours, you’re merely setting a timeframe within which you should work. It’s essential to break down your work hours into blocks of specific timeframes, such as two hours. This can make you more productive rather than just being busy. Identify the time of the day you’re most fertile and allocate that time for more demanding tasks requiring maximum concentration and zero distraction.
You will have time for yourself.
Having time for yourself is very important as it helps you recharge. Work on your business every day for long hours without taking some time for yourself. You will experience burnouts, which will affect your productivity significantly. Remember, you’re the most crucial asset for your business. Thus, if you can deliver well, then you’re going to feel. Take time to recharge to keep running your business smoothly.
Taking time for yourself can be as simple a taking a day off work, binge-watching, or catching up with some friends.
You won’t feel guilty for the times you’re not working.
We spend so many hours trying to grow the businesses we feel guilty when we’re not working. This guilt, most of the time, happens because you don’t have set work hours. With defined work hours, you won’t feel guilty when you’re away from work. You will feel comfortable playing with your dogs, taking a fitness class, or just lounging on your couch.
Enhance your creativity.
By taking some time away from your business, you can become more creative. Taking some time away from your business means that you’re not worried over your to-do list, the emails in your inbox, or what you need to do next.
When you’re done with work for the day, you can comfortably switch from your business, allowing your analytical and logical side of your brain to rest and let your creative side take charge. Just sit, draw, write, or watch birds flying in your compound.
It will be easier to explore new ideas.
Slowing down and allowing your creative side to take charge makes it easier for your mind to explore new ideas that can be very useful for growing your business. Stepping away from your business is right for you and your business.
You will become more organized.
Setting work hours makes you more organized because you will set goals and specific timeframes to accomplish them. If you’re dealing with an unusually large task, break it into smaller bits and allocate shorter timeframes to finish them. This will make your day more organized, and better yet, you will not feel overwhelmed by larger tasks. Everything will just flow smoothly.
Setting a specific timeframe for a task makes you more likely to do the job than if you don’t have a specified timeframe. Allotting your tasks keeps you on top of your workload. It is, in a real sense, more efficient than trying to do bits and pieces of different work without an outlined timeframe or a plan to follow throughout the day.
Time to socialize
Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you should only have business-focused conversations. You need to set your work hours to schedule in time to socialize. You can catch up with friends or family and have just everyday conversations. Planning in some time to date is healthy because it allows you to recharge and step away from your business for some time.
While trying to grow your business requires a lot of time and effort, remember, you need friends and family to have conversations with.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship is very rewarding. While it takes a significant time commitment, you need to ensure that you don’t harm your personal life, health, and productivity. No matter the types of business you’re running, setting your work hours will avoid unmanageable stress. You will become more organized, have time for your family and yourself, and stay productive.
