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Balancing the life of today's entrepreneur By Steve Burns, Capital News contributor Over the past month or so I have been working with a number of entrepreneurs that are struggling to determine how they can grow their businesses and balance their life at the same time. While the Okanagan does provide us with the opportunity for a better lifestyle than almost anywhere else in Canada, are we really balancing our lives? If not, what can we do about it? This is not a new issue. The issue of achieving a balance of life applies to all of us – whether you are an employee or the CEO. For many entrepreneurs in the Okanagan, they have to make difficult choices to keep things in balance. Also, what is a balanced life for you may not be the same for me. How balanced is your life? To help you assess your balance of life, I have developed a balance of life assessment tool that you will find useful. As we can always improve in this area, the critical question isn’t so much do I have a completely balanced life now? But rather, how can I improve my balance of life?. The assessment is only part of the process—what you do about it is the most important. Look at each of balance of life characteristics listed below and think about yourself and where your own attitudes and behaviours fall on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = sometimes; 4 = regularly; 5 = always. Indicate the score that best indicates your response to the specific question. Then total the scores and compare your score with the comments provided at the end of this assessment. Self-evaluation requires that you be completely honest with yourself. The only right answers are honest answers. I understand that it is difficult for most people to be objective about themselves so you might want to see yourself through the eyes of a trusted friend or associate. Score yourself the way he or she would score you. Remember, you are looking for information to guide your own self-improvement. The more objective you can be, the more successful will be your efforts to improve your balance of life. The Balance of Life Tool by the Burns Innovation Group Inc. 1. I have taken the time to have a written set of clearly defined lifetime, balance of life goals that indicate what balance of life means to me and how I will achieve it. 2. I feel that I do something every day to move me closer to my lifetime, balance of life goals. 3. I know what my family expects from me and I am proactively seeking to meet their needs. 4. I have asked key individuals, including my family and my employees, how I can better balance my life and regain control of my time. 5. I understand what issues are preventing me from achieving a balanced life. 6. I take the time to enjoy every day. 7. I set priorities according to importance, not urgency. 8. I have clear idea of what I want to accomplish in all areas of my life during the coming week. 9. I delegate as much work as possible along with the authority and responsibility required. 10. I prevent other’s from delegating upward those decisions and tasks that they find difficult. 11. When I get home from work, my family receives my full attention. 12. I leave my work at the office. 13. I take a planned vacation every year. 14. I make my best effort attempt to prioritize and organize my day before it starts. 15. I prevent unneeded information and publications from reaching my desk and intruding on my time. 16. I make every effort to limit interruptions or continual crises during my planned day. 17. I have scheduled times during the day to read and respond to calls and emails. 18. I host well-planned meetings, including an agenda, key decisions, key actions items, timelines and accountabilities. 19. I have regularly scheduled, separate time with my spouse and each of my children every week. 20. I am in control of my life. I determine my actions, not by circumstance or by other people’s priorities, but by my balance of life goals and priorities. Here is a summary of your scores: 80 to 100 – Outstanding You are well on your way to balancing your life. 50 to 80 – Very Good. Set a plan for two weak areas to work on in the next 3 months. 30 to 50 – So- so. You have a lot to work with but also a lot to work on. Set a plan for five balance of life issues to work on over the next six months. Less than 30 – Don’t be too discouraged. You have an incredible opportunity to achieve a balanced life but your life needs a major overhaul. Now that you have performed your self-evaluation, what do you think others would say about you? Why not have them complete the evaluation on you. Compare their evaluation to your own. What differences are there? Why? What did you think you were strong in but they didn’t? What did they think you are strong in but you rated yourself lower? Be prepared to be vulnerable – some feedback can be brutal so be prepared. Let’s face the facts – the majority of us do not have balanced lives. Our Balance of Life Tool should help you identify the key issues and set a plan in place for improvement to your life. You may also want to consider engaging one of the many fine coaches that are in the Okanagan. They can help you to define your goals and they can help you be accountable for your own balance of life improvement plan. Steve Burns, is the President and CEO of Burns Innovation Group Inc.
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