“In today’s world, reimagining capitalism requires embracing the idea that while firms must be profitable if they are to thrive, their purpose must be not only to make money but also build prosperity and freedom in the context of a livable planet and a healthy society.”

– Rebecca Henderson, Author, Reimagining Capitalism In A World On Fire

These days, it is almost inevitable that you come across messages that promote the need to hustle or glorify the grind - all in the name of achieving "success". Yet, buying into hustle culture and constantly striving to achieve unrealistic goals can push us into overwhelm, exhaustion, and burnout. It is an unsustainable way to operate and will take its toll, both on you and your organization.

As business and nonprofit leaders, we can choose to create work-life balance for ourselves and our teams. We can choose to build organizations that prioritize mental health and rest. To do that, we're sharing five effective tools that can help us achieve work-life harmony while balancing career and family.

TOOL #1: NERVOUS SYSTEM REGULATION

Simply being human in our modern world is a dysregulating experience. Many things that contribute to this - the accelerated pace of modern life, the constant demands of capitalism, the pressure of our families, just to name a few. Staying regulated is only possible through consistent effort, time and time again.

One of the things that can help us find work-life integration is creating safe containers for regulation. This can be therapy, or simply a safe space where you can practice parasympathetic activities (activities that put our bodies into “rest and digest” mode) such as yoga or meditation.

Another aspect of this is staying mindful of your nervous system and its daily impact - really taking the time to tune in to your body, noticing how you are feeling, and learning to listen to your body when it says "slow down". Your environment can also have an impact on your nervous system, so be mindful of the environments you are in and the company you keep.

TOOL #2: STRATEGIC PLANNING

Often with business and nonprofit leaders, much of their struggles come from the lack of a long-term plan. To create a plan, we can start by changing the dominant narrative that profit is the only objective, and instead focus on the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.

For example, as leaders, we can be mindful of individual bandwidth (both for ourselves and our team members) during growth stages by checking in with people to see how they are coping. We can also align our marketing with our goals and values, and plan that out into the future to avoid last-minute scrambles, overwhelm, and burnout. Something that helps greatly with that is planning stages of growth between phases of rest and alignment.

Steer clear of stacking launches or big marketing events one after another. Instead, schedule time in between to rest and reset. Planning your marketing at least six months in advance is a great way to ensure your business or nonprofit grows at a steady and sustainable pace while giving you and your team the space and time necessary to rest, reset, and stay in alignment.

TOOL #3: CLEAR BOUNDARIES

Striking work-life balance has a lot to do with setting and maintaining clear boundaries. Both with yourself and your clients, be clear on your boundaries and strive to reinforce them consistently. Do this both in your communication with your clients as well as through business operations tools.

Having a scheduling calendar with dates and availability marked out is an easy way to establish boundaries around your time and energy. Acuity for example, simplifies and streamlines the entire scheduling process so you don’t have to worry about having to explain to clients why you are not available at a certain time. Using clear and concise contracts and invoices in your sales process is another way of creating boundaries in your business or nonprofit. By setting expectations like the scope, deliverables, preferred mode of communication at the beginning of your working relationships, you eliminate the need for unnecessary back-and-forth with your clients, remove unnecessary confusion, and protect your mental health.

Boundaries are only effective if you reinforce them when they are not honored. When someone oversteps a boundary, kindly but firmly remind them of it. It may also be necessary to consider only maintaining relationships with those who consistently respect your boundaries to avoid burning out, or falling into overwhelm and exhaustion.

TOOL #4: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Running a business within the widely accepted norm of hustle culture can be challenging, and as a leader, you have the responsibility to be mindful of how your business or nonprofit is progressing and learn to recognize when things need to shift so that things are in alignment with your values. Try asking your team and colleagues for regular feedback, and train your team to support you by delegating to them and empowering them to work and make aligned decisions independently.

To continually grow as a leader, it is also prudent to invest in consulting and training at least annually. Get external support from experts in the field. Follow and learn from your mentors. By dedicating time and energy to your own personal and professional growth as a leader, you can see the benefits of work-life blending. Another element of leadership development is also being accountable and learning from mistakes. This may be uncomfortable and difficult, but it is one of the most important parts of building a sustainable business or nonprofit.

TOOL #5: BUILD A COMMUNITY

Humans are not hard-wired to operate alone. As business and nonprofit leaders, particularly if you are a solopreneur, it can often be a little lonely. It can take a toll on our mental health, especially juggling the many demands of existing within capitalist systems. Building a community and network around yourself can help ease some of that stress.

Try to attend networking events with colleagues regularly, and engage with your clients and colleagues online often. You could brainstorm with your colleagues for ideas, or ask your audience for their feedback. These are just some ways to forge and foster deeper community relationships with your peers and people around you. You might even consider an accountability partner to check in with each other’s goals and projects regularly as a way of creating deeper bonds with people.

As leaders of businesses and nonprofits, we don’t have to buy into hustle culture. We can set new benchmarks for ourselves and our organizations and cultivate a healthier and more sustainable culture that benefits us, those around us, and our planet.

If you're interested in creating work-life balance as an entrepreneur, learning more about holistic digital marketing & business development, and building authentic relationships with like-minded professionals, join the waitlist for our upcoming digital wellness community called The Lounge! Doors open on June 1st, 2022.