Entrepreneur Overkill: 7 Reasons Your Business Needs Office Hours

As an entrepreneur, we work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and sometimes 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. More hours equal more money, exposure, social media engagement; we can be where our competitors are not because we are all #TeamNoSleep.  Customer service is immediate, email response times are flawless, and we put the “instant” in instant message.

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However, there’s a case to be made for limiting your time at the office even if that office is your home (it is eleven p.m. and I’m writing this before I head to bed).

We all know we need to sleep and there’s plenty of research that says we should do that on a steady schedule, but there’s more to office hours for the entrepreneur than that.  Here are reasons your business will thrive if you implement office hours.

1. You need deadlines. What time does your work day end?  If you are like me, it varies based on the amount of work you have for the day and according to Parkinson’s Law, the more hours in the work day you allow yourself, the more work you will find to do.  However, how much faster would you work if your work had a stop time?  Being able to elongate your day to accommodate the tasks in front of you can result in less production.  You can take a quick call, answer a few emails, etc. instead of staying on task because there’s no end to your day.  Your work needs a deadline for you to work towards otherwise the tasks become less of a priority.

2. You need priorities. “No,” is a complete sentence.  Say it with me, “No.”  It is hard to understand, but not everything is going to get done today.  Or tomorrow.  Or ever.  It isn’t important enough.  With a long day you feel the things that don’t need to get done have a place in your business.  Nope.  Shorten your day and really focus on those things that bring you money, exposure, a learning opportunity or a new contact.  Make what’s important a priority and shut the day down having the unimportant stuff wait.

3. You need to quit. There are two reasons for this.  First, have you ever noticed how much you get done when you

aren’t doing anything?  Having a time every day when you know you can think of your next big project or overarching big, audacious, hair goal for your company is important.  Even though this thinking may still be for work, your brain needs to know and look forward to the time it can do this regularly. Second, remember quitting time at your old 9-5?  Remember how hard you worked when you knew it was five o’clock, or Friday, or the day before a holiday, or, God bless it, vacation?  The endorphins kicked in and boom, you and your work were on fire.  Having office hours can give you that same sort of endorphin rush and push.  Getting something done and knowing there is no going back tomorrow is a great way to end a day, get some sleep and let your mind work on new projects.

Click here for four more reasons your business needs office hours.

4. You need to start…later. Sadly, if I wake up at 3am, I check my messages. I check them before I go to bed and have tried to stop that being the first thing I do in the morning.  There’s no easing into my day because I work from home and have no office hours.  By telling yourself, your staff, and your clients when you will start (and end), you set a successful pace for your day.

5. You need to be the boss – of your time.  There’s more to a day than work.  Relationships with significant others, children, family, continued education, physical fitness, and even work events fall victim to our non-schedule.  Knowing when you’ll be on the clock gives you more incentive to have and enjoy your off time.

6. You need to tell your family when they can expect and plan for you to be available.  Having a set schedule helps everyone plan for you to be included in an event or not.  Your family’s understanding of your time will make you more productive because you aren’t constantly having to shift appointments for what is important nor fielding interruptions throughout your (now) set workday.

7. You need to be you. As an entrepreneur you are your business, but your business is also you.  All the experiences you had that make you an expert in your field need time to continue to percolate.  With the crazy amount of hours we work, we all need to remember at the root we still need those experiences to give depth to our expertise.

Your business does need office hours. I’m not saying that you have to stay on a 9-5 schedule or even limit yourself to eight hours a day; you know your business and you should also know how many hours it takes you to be productive. I am saying you need to know when you are scheduled to be at your desk or engaged in activities that move your business forward.  Being available for your business is your responsibility, but so is guarding against entrepreneur overkill.

Ella Rucker is the co-founder of Weekend Startup School and director of operations for #MentorMonday with Paul C. Brunson, both of which serve minority entrepreneurs. Ella has made her living for the past three years working as a writer, editor and content producer with some of the most successful personalities, brands, and blogs.  She has also written an eguide for Blogalicious entitled Tick Tock Goes The Blog Clock: The What, Why and How Of Creating 365 Days Of Content TODAY.

Ella tweets at @ellalaverne and blogs at BestBlogContent.com.