It's all in the balance

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the demands of running a business in the modern tech-savvy age we live in. There is an expectation of sorts that businesses need to be on all the time; always available with mobile phones, social media and emails.
 
Being stressed, anxious, and burnt out has become the new norm, which just seems crazy, and most people I talk to wonder how they can juggle it all better. 

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We all know that too much connection and not enough downtime is not good for anyone. Modern technology has allowed us to connect more than ever before with our clients, suppliers and potential audience, but with the rapid pace we have adopted technology we have forgotten in a lot of instances to factor in how to manage that expectation to be available as a business.
 
Yes, good customer service is replying to your customers and being available, but boundaries are important and it’s you as a business owner who sets that expectation. Our workday is no longer 9 – 5, or when your venue is open, it now extends to pretty much every working/waking hour.
 
Given we have a heavy digital focus for our clients, and we know the value of these channels for promoting businesses, we also see the need for the balance in the crazy.
 
So how do you get balance? For us it’s having out of office replies set that are timed to enable down time, and so that our clients know when we will get back to them.
 
It’s powering down at a certain time of night and not responding to things that hijack the work-flow early in the morning. Emails, I’m looking at you.
 
And it’s having the foresight to know that although these tools are great for promoting a business, they are just tools to do business. So, see them as that, don’t let people rile you up online, don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle or end, and be sure to have some downtime.
 
We are only as good for our business as the energy we have to give every day, so make sure that energy is good, positive and productive.
 
Take time out, meditate, read something inspiring, do something that has nothing to do with your business, and remember that even if you step away it will all be there when you get back. So, enjoy the downtime while you have it.