Every entrepreneurial journey begins with a great idea — or at least a passionate one. That idea drives an intense motivation to bring that idea to life. Entrepreneurs are famously zealous in their goals, often sacrificing long hours for their business.
Does that sound like you? You’re definitely part of a passionate crowd. As entrepreneurs, you’re willing to go above and beyond to build your dream business.
But you might be going too far. Whatever your dream, you likely don’t want to work every waking moment. You want your business to be a success but not at the expense of your well-being.
Unfortunately, it’s all too common to rely on workaholism to achieve your goals, especially if you come from the corporate world.
Work Less, Think More
Many business “gurus” will advise budding entrepreneurs to “work smarter, not harder.” In other words, lean on automation and delegation to lighten your workload. That way, you don’t end up sending all day working.
Ideally, you want to be working on your business, not in your business. But “work smarter” doesn’t really cover that. If something can’t be automated, are you still doing it? And be honest: are you delegating as much as you should?
Instead of working smarter, let’s work less. In our hustle culture, many entrepreneurs assume that working 60- to 80-hour weeks is par for the course. Some even glamorize that lifestyle.
No one should have to work all day to achieve their goals. In fact, over-working on your business could stifle its growth (more on that in a moment).
When you work less, you can think more. That frees up your mental energy to strategize your business’s growth — and perhaps even dream up your next enterprise.
If you’re protesting, “But there’s so much to do!” consider this. Many of the tasks you assume need to be done are unnecessary. Or at least they can wait until your business is humming along smoothly.
And by the way, most will suggest tasks that “every entrepreneur must do.” Resist the temptation to follow such a checklist. Your goals are unique, and you likely don’t need the latest fancy SaaS tool everyone’s talking about.
