We have an ever-growing consumer culture these days which expects 24/7 service from businesses meaning that small business owners and their employees are expected to work longer days in order to keep up with demand. It would be easy to say here that people should just learn to say ‘no’, but considering the economy, it is easier said than done to down tools at the end of the day for business owners, no matter the size of the business.

Staying in, or connected to, the office for longer than the average working day is becoming the norm, because of smartphones, tablets and the internet, all making it more difficult for workers to switch off. Good for business, but bad for your work-life balance.

We compiled our top 5 tips to help small business owners make sure they take back the reins of their work-life balance:

Prioritise & Organise – You may not be able to justify weeks off at a time, but you are able to afford time off if you ensure you organise your time and your priorities. When you first begin your business, you should decide just how important each one of your duties is, both in life and work. Flexibility is one of the huge benefits of being your own boss, in that you set your own schedule, so be sure to use this to your advantage. Try to eradicate things that eat up your time for no good reason, do the ‘big’ jobs first and make sure you take time to relax!

Choose your workforce carefully – When starting a business it is important to surround yourself with people who share the same values and work ethic and that you’re confident they can do the job at hand, helping you to be able to rely on your employees and really switch off when you’re away from the business.

Disconnect – Reading your emails in bed, taking business calls during dinner, planning meetings while on holiday, does any of this sound familiar? Maybe one of the best ways to ensure you get your work/life balance is by learning to disconnect. There once was a time where your ‘inbox’ was a tray on your desk which didn’t get seen to until you were actually in the office – try and use this idea in your work life.

Create boundaries – This can be particularly important when running your business from home. As you’re at home it can become difficult to separate your work life from your home life, so try to put boundaries in between. Create a separate space in your home where you work from, so that when you’re not in that space, you’re home and vice versa. It may not always be possible to completely separate work and life, but it is possible to put some distance the two.

Be prepared – As they say, the best offence is the best defence. This can also be applied to your work/life balance in that the more prepared you are for things that may go wrong, the easier it will be to put right without it eating too much into your ‘downtime’. By this, I don’t mean spend hours on building plans for every possible thing that could go wrong, I mean put aside an hour to decide how certain things can be overcome so you know exactly what to do in times of crisis.