There’s no doubt that running a business is hard work. From managing staff to managing clients, not to mention that fact that you now have additional business, income, expense and taxation paperwork to do. Then add a growing family into the picture and a new challenge of managing your growing business with your family life comes into play.
But hey, we work hard so that we can ultimately enjoy our lives and spend more time with our family right? So it’s important that you enjoy this element of your life and make time for it because the last thing you want to do is wake up one day and realize that you missed your child growing up and your wife, so used to feeling neglected, now doesn’t schedule as much time for you as she used to .
Currently I own my own fitness and yoga studio in Sydney, Flow Athletic. I’m also training up 50 non-runners to complete the NYC Matahton through my Sofa2Surf program, while also operating Flow After Dark, Nightclub Spin, and have plans to open a new float and infrared sauna centre. Oh… and we are looking into renovating. I also have a one year old son and an incredible wife.
If that sounds impossible to juggle, it’s really now. Here are my top tips for managing my time.
Time Productivity
Training is important to me, it is also often the first thing to go when you have a child. As a result, I now get up early to train before the family is up at 5 am. I aim to be home in time for breakfast with my family, dinner and bath-time with my baby boy. I get as much work done as possible in the 10 remaining hours.
Rituals
The key to having a strong family is to maintain a strong relationship with your wife and therefore Wednesday night is date night, and nothing gets in the way of date night. Friday morning is swim school for my son, and these are weekly non-negotiables in the diary and everything else is to be scheduled around this.
Be Present
The time I do have with the family is time for no phones, screens or TV. Just chatting and playing. Being with your family, but spending the entire time online or doing something else is not actually family time.
Team Work
I am currently training up a team to take on the NYC marathon at the end of the year. I bought a running pram so I can still train for this mammoth event but still be with my son.
Forward Planning
Life is busy, life can be exhausting especially with both partners working and raising a baby. We find it helps to always have a holiday booked to look forward to, that makes the big days seem more manageable.
Ben Lucas is a former NRL player, and the owner and co- founder of Flow Athletic, a yoga and fitness studio based in Paddington, Australia.