Oh, work/life balance! Many view it as an elusive unicorn of the creative world. Some have faith but have yet to see it, while others doubt its existence altogether. Maybe you’re like me and you prefer to think about work/life integration, instead. An intentional pursuit of integrating work into your life (instead of getting it flip-flopped).

Regardless of whether you believe that work/life integration is achievable or you’re focusing on viewing it as more of a journey than a destination, I think most of us can agree that without intentional, strategic choices in our day-to-day lives, chaos can reign supreme. By making thoughtful choices about how we approach our personal lives, we’re able to better ensure that work doesn’t become the be all, end all of everything, right? And as a creative who has personally lived through seasons of unhealthy imbalance, I know how much I hate life when I let work be my top priority. It’s just the worst, y’all! And because of that, I wanted to share with you seven action-based steps for practicing work/life integration in your design business. These really do work, friend!

7 action-based steps to practice work/life integration in your design business

Set goals and prioritize

Be aware of what items have to happen this week, and make those items your top priority. I like to choose one day of the week where I look at my calendars, set goals for the week, prioritize tasks and map out blog and social media content. Thankfully my team makes this even easier for me! It is so helpful to have a group of women I can bring into these strategizing sessions, especially as we brainstorm content and the calendar for all our editorial content.

Plan the night before

Lay out tomorrow’s outfit the night before, make sure the kids’ lunches are packed and ready to go, and double check to ensure coffee is in the coffee maker before hitting the hay, to start your morning off on a less stressful note. I personally like to lay out my running shoes by my bed, along with my workout clothes so I have fewer excuses to hit snooze on my morning alarm and sleep in a little longer.

Honor your office hours

If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you’re quite familiar with my passionate love for office hours and actionable boundaries in your business. Say “No!” to checking your email at the dinner table or taking work calls after hours in order to be more present with your loved ones, or to give yourself some well-deserved “you” time! The way you respect your office hours dictates the way your clients will engage with them, as well. Sending emails after hours only opens the gates for your clients to do the same!

Time block your schedule

Set a specific amount of time for every task on your agenda, from answering emails to working on client proposals to creating content for your blog or social media. Not a fan of time blocking? Experiment with other time management approaches to find one that makes the best use of your workday, and enables you to work more strategically.

Take a lunch break

Giving yourself the gift of 30 or 45 minutes away from your growing to-do list will give you a much needed mental health break. Additionally, it gives you the chance to tend to your physical health, step outside for a breath of fresh air, or catch up on a little light reading that stimulates your brain!

Eliminate distractions

Friend, it’s time to delete those time sucking apps off your phone altogether! The lack of annoying notifications will free up more time in your workday than you’d think. Bonus points for disabling push notifications from social media apps, and disabling automatic email updates from your inbox!

Work in your inbox smartly

AKA in controlled amounts of time – don’t feast on your inbox when you should really be snacking on it. Check emails twice or three times a day instead of leaving your inbox up on your desktop all day long! My favorite apps for managing unruly inboxes are Inbox Pause for Gmail and Boomerang.

I hope these approaches equip you to build a better sense of balance into your day-to-day, friend! You truly deserve it. 💖

How you can be intentional with your life and design business

If you’re ready to implement these 7 steps to achieve that work/life integration, and if you’ve been dreaming of working on your own business by incorporating brand strategy as a massive value-add to your services, then I’d love to invite you to join the Brand Strategy School! This is my signature course for graphic, brand, and web designers, today! Inside this self-paced course, I show you how to…

• supercharge your strategy process by following my signature brand strategy method
• elevate your client experience through done-for-you workflows and swipe files
• consistently captivate your dream clients through an intentional marketing plan

And you can start elevating your design business today for as little as $84/mo!

Take it from Ashley, a talented brand and website designer + BSS student, who said:

“I learned in just a few short weeks what would have taken me years to piece together on my own! After [the BSS], my confidence as a brand designer sky-rocketed and I now feel confident calling myself a brand strategist. I learned in just a few short weeks what would have taken me years to piece together on my own and my investment has been paid back already!”

Take her word for it and join us inside the BSS today, friend! I can’t wait to see you there 🙂

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE BRAND STRATEGY SCHOOL!

P.S. Curious about the method I teach inside the BSS that delivers such transformative results and how it can help your design business grow? Then grab your free seat to my on-demand brand strategy training where I show you how to leverage my signature method to exponentially grow your business without adding more to your plate!

GRAB YOUR FREE SEAT FOR MY MASTERCLASS!