impossible think that there is no need for work-life balance, work is a part of your life. I actually subscribe to the idea that work-life balance doesn’t exist if you love what you do.   This week I worked Monday – Friday for my fill-time job for about 10 hours per day, then worked on FNPhenomenal during the evenings, and then on Saturday worked my other business. Sunday I flew out to Maryland to attend a wedding!

Being an entrepreneur is difficult because for many of us, we started a business that aligns with a product or idea that we are passionate about. It’s hard to turn off our passion, because it is a part of us. This passion is the thing that allows us to make the hard decisions such as:

• Saying no to certain purchases because we need to invest the money in ourselves and/or businesses instead of spending it on something that may or may not bring us value

• Saying no to friends and/or family. This one is a little harder because we miss out on many events and activities in the name of our passion.

• Working with less sleep. When you are an entrepreneur or even someone who is trying to climb the corporate ladder, you must spend time being productive and going the extra mile to get the work done.

Sometimes, even when we work full-time in a demanding position it takes us away from our passion and concurrently minimizes our free time. There are 168 hours in the week, and if you sleep 8 hours/night, which research says you should, you are left with 112 hours in a week. A full-time job may account for 40-60 hours/week which then leaves you with between 52-72 hours/week (7.5-10.2 hours/day). This time does not account for time to get dressed, commute, running errands, preparing meals, or any other life/household related activities which can easily use 3 more hours per day. You see how this can quickly add up? If you have your own business, side-hustle, or passion project, you can quickly go into the negative with respect to available time.

The key is prioritization. Some things you can’t prioritize or control like if you are in a sprint period for work or your business, and you have to work around the clock to meet a deadline. During those times, everything will probably stop until the deadline passes. However, the question is, “How often do you do this and do you ever take a break?” If you don’t take a break, you can burn out or even worse, you can look around and realize that you have run everyone in your life that matters away. I meet people all of the time who use work as an excuse to avoid going home because they worked so often that they don’t even know their family anymore. I recently read an article that talked about how having a significant other is often a casualty of entrepreneurship.

As I think about the concept of work-life balance, I have increasingly moved towards the school of thought that work-life balance is impossible because work is a part of life if you love what you do. However, as I continue to work a demanding job (both mentally and time demanding) while managing my own businesses, I’ve learned that I have to take time for me. At some point there has to be a mental break and some time to balance the everyday sprint. That’s where I believe the balance is – finding time to do something special for you and spending time with those that we love. This provides the fuel that allows us to keep going and continue the pace that we are accustomed to operating.

What are things that you do to maintain your balance? What do you think of the work-life balance concept? Let me know!

Aisha Taylor is a #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of the book “5+5 FNPhenomenal Ways to Save $100 This Week Without Killing Your Lifestyle”, and the Founder of FNPhenomenal (Frugal –n- Phenomenal). FNPhenomenal helps women to break the vicious cycle of making money, but not keeping it. FNPhenomenal provides education about money management, empowers women to take control of their lives, develop a healthier relationship with money, and pursue being phenomenal.

Visit Aisha online at www.FNPhenomenal.com

Follow Aisha on Instagram/Twitter: @FNPhenomenal

Facebook: facebook.com/FNPhenomenal

[info_box type=”alert_box”]If you want to practice self-care, you have to care for your finances.  My book, The Happy Finances Challenge, is designed to help you learn to make money decisions that will lead to long-term financial happiness in just 42 days. [/info_box]