On the drive home, Maria Guerts sometimes leaves the music off. No podcast either. She wants some quiet before opening the front door and stepping into her roles as a mother and wife.
When you run a business, leaving work at work can take longer than the drive home. You may have closed the office while still replaying a client conversation or mentally preparing for tomorrow's meetings. Changing roles has to be part of how you run the business.
Kanset Talks: Women in business, work, family and boundaries.
Why leaving work at work takes effort
In immigration, a consultation can hold a family's plans for where they will live, work or study. Understanding what matters to that person is part of deciding how to help. The appointment ends, but your thoughts about it may continue.
That is part of the difficulty of work you care about. The same attention you bring to a client's situation can keep you thinking about it afterwards. You can value the work, feel the responsibility for it, and still need an end to the working day.
A pause before home can be a chance to notice what is still on your mind. Give yourself a stopping point as well as a plan for what comes next.
When the manager comes home
Client concerns are only part of what can follow you through the door. The habits of running the business can come with you too.
Have you ever caught yourself using your work voice at home? At the office, you may be used to setting priorities and deciding what happens next. A conversation with your partner or children may need more time to unfold, especially when your first instinct is to solve the problem and move on.
Different parts of life call for different skills. Some evenings, that change will come more easily than others.
Building a business that leaves room for life
A business plan can be detailed about growth and vague about the life that is supposed to grow alongside it. You know what the company needs next. Time for exercise, family or friends may depend on whatever is left over.
Give those commitments a place in your plans while you are building:
Create a pause between work and home: Give yourself time to shift out of work mode. A quiet commute is one possibility; choose a routine that fits your day.
Include life in your plans: Make room for health and family while the business grows. Put those commitments in the calendar so they have time assigned to them.
Stay connected: Make time for friendships and people you can turn to for support. Keep relationships that give you room to talk about your own challenges too.
The business can keep asking for more. Your plans need to say what you will give it, and what you want to keep for the rest of your life.
Building a business and looking for mentorship? Get in touch with Kanset to start the conversation.
