CRA Leadership & Business Explored
By Tom Martin
Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is critical to both the long-term success of your business and a happy and fulfilling personal life.
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On most mornings, you can find me at the neighborhood Big Four Cross Fit when they open their doors. Standing on a balance ball as part of my morning workout, I think about how to achieve the optimum work/life equilibrium.
My wife and I will often hit the road with the family in our RV for a little rest and relaxation.
You always hear the “experts” say you have to make time for yourself and your family to succeed at work, but when you’re the business owner and just starting out, everyone depends on you to put work first. Growing and nurturing a business requires your full attention, and it’s hard to focus on anything else.
Spread Thin
With three CARSTAR locations in Sidney, Troy and Piqua, Ohio, I can find myself spread pretty thin. But I’ve learned over the years – sometimes the hard way – that working toward a healthy balance is critical. In the beginning, I didn’t have that balance. Thank goodness I have an understanding wife or life wouldn’t have turned out as good as it has for me. I’m the type of person who is all in no matter what it is, which is good and bad.
One thing that has helped me achieve a better balance in my life is the support from CARSTAR. With their management tools and resources, I can operate my three locations more efficiently, which allows me more time to enjoy my life and my family.
A Turning Point
Back when I started, when I had everything on the line and my family and employees were counting on me to make it happen, I put all my efforts into the business. When we opened the second store, I promised my wife I would still keep my work time to under 10 hours per day and then I promised myself to take better care of my health and made time every day to work out. I learned that if I didn’t take care of myself, I would not be able to take care of anyone else.
That realization finally hit me as I got older and fully understood what truly is important in life. It’s really easy to take things like your spouse, kids, parents and friends for granted. You’re so busy at work and so focused on achieving the next goal that you think you can slow down and spend time with them once you achieve that. But there is no guarantee how long any of us will be here, and we need to remember to enjoy the day we have and keep things in perspective.
Schedule Time for Yourself
To keep myself balanced, I have my day broken down into segments. I have 16 hours available – two hours for fitness/personal time, 10 hours for work, board service and community functions, and four hours for my wife, kids and grandkids. It’s not always perfect, but I try to stay with this balance because too much of anything is not good for you and the more well-rounded you are, the better you’re going to be for everyone.
There is no guarantee how long any of us will be here, and we need to remember to enjoy the day we have and keep things in perspective.
I’ve seen a lot of benefits from this approach. My quality of life has gotten better, and I’m able to move better and think better. It has helped me to be not so stressed out even though I have a lot more responsibilities and pressures now. It’s truly amazing how much better you feel when you give your body the right fuel and exercise and how much that pays back into your work life and family life.
Teach Your Team
I share my work/life balance approach with my team at all of our locations. I try to remind them how important family is, not to take things for granted and to take care of themselves. The benefits of doing so are definitely worth the effort it takes. I always tell them to learn from my lessons – that way, they’re that much further along in life than I was at that point. Of course, they’re young and I’m the old man, so you know how that goes.
When you’re the business owner and just starting out, everyone depends on you
to put work first.
We discuss things that have helped me in life, like allocating time to each activity each day. I also really encourage healthy eating and exercise. It just makes you a better person because you feel better and are mentally stronger to handle life’s challenges.
Summary
When everyone is working to achieve balance in their lives and taking steps to improve their health, it creates a more positive, productive workplace. Not to say there aren’t difficult situations or stressful times, but we’re all better equipped to deal with them.
Article Credit to BodyShop Business.
What do you do to maintain a healthy balance between your business and personal life? What advice can you give other managers and business owners to balance their work/personal life? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like it and share it with your friends.