3 Ways Business Owners Can Add Flexibility Into Their Schedule

The main reason I wanted to run my own business was so that I could add flexibility into my life. I also frequently ask my market why they want to run their own business and I get the same answer.

The problem is I also hear of many business owners who don’t have flexibility. I hear stories of burnout and working 24/7. This makes me wonder what the point is of people going into business for themselves.

The truth is we’re hard-wired to believe that making money is difficult and requires all of our attention. Because of this, businesses owners need to consciously add flexibility into their schedules. Here’s how.

Quite frankly, between my job, classes and a side business I’d been working 24/7 for a couple of years and I was over it. I also didn’t want to fall into the bad habit of always working.

Does this mean I didn’t have weeks where I was working a lot? Of course not. Launches, travel and life happen. It just means I make the conscious effort to set boundaries and give myself a break.

This means I planned ahead of time. I assumed I wouldn’t be fully present for work for about three weeks. I got plenty of work done ahead of time as a result.

It’s a good thing I did too because, just as I suspected, not only was I traveling but I also played tour guide for a couple of days. The reason I was able to do this was that I planned it out so well.

Granted, being able to plan ahead effectively comes with more experience. You will get better at it as time goes on.

Another reason I’m able to add flexibility into my day (sometimes on a whim) is because I’ve priced my services accordingly.

For instance, I recently had a client ask if I could take on a quick project. Because I knew I would be traveling I said no. That’s partially because my bills are already paid due to the pricing structure I have for other services.

The ability to add flexibility into your day depends entirely on you. If flexibility matters to you, then you consciously need to make the decisions that will help you have it.

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