While I take some time off to cuddle the new baby in our lives (and change 1,000,000 dirty diapers) I am thrilled to feature some stellar small business owners and freelancers. These contributors have been right where you are: in the trenches of growing their business, creating products and services that resonates with their audience. They’ve got tons of great tips to share!

(If you missed it, check out Kara’s post on spending vs. saving when you start your business.)

Today, I’m thrilled to feature a post by Saskia Smit on a topic that is currently near and dear to my heart.

5 Actionable Ways to Improve Your Work/Life Balance

If only there were more hours in the day, right?

When I first went freelance, I found it pretty difficult to get a good work/life balance. While it’s improved in some ways, I know there are still things I could be doing better, and I’m not the only one who feels this way.

It’s something that many freelancers and small business owners struggle with. When you’re facing work pressures, it’s easy to end up compromising family and social life.

According to research conducted by Simply Business, more than half a million small business owners avoid making any social plans at all, since they know they will be too busy to commit to them.

Of course, it also works the other way around. There are times I find myself so distracted by things going on in my personal life, like all the chores and errands I have yet to do, that I end up putting work to one side.

To help you regain some control and find a better balance between your personal life and work, follow these tips.

Set Yourself Boundaries

Sometimes it can be hard to tell where work begins and where it ends. There’s always something to do, and when you’re in charge of creating your schedule, it’s easy to feel pressure to do work at all hours of the day.

Setting clear boundaries between work and home will make it easier for you to concentrate on the task at hand and relax on your time off.

First, create physical boundaries to help you to detach mentally from work.

That’s why it’s important to set a dedicated workspace if you work from home, rather than just working from the couch or your bed. If you don’t have the space for a separate office, then try to find a quiet corner and consider putting up a partition.

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Next, set a work schedule and stick to it.

Once you’ve finished for the day, avoid the temptation to check your emails and respond to work queries. Those emails will still be there in the morning, and you don’t want work to spill over into your personal life.

Finally, try to be present in the moment.

Schedule activities that you can do with family or friends that force you to focus on the task at hand so you can’t slip back into work mode. You might want to sign up for a class, go to the cinema, or take part in a team sport. Anything that will help you to take your mind off of work.

Make Plans (and Don’t Cancel Them)

The Simply Business research also found that nearly half of those surveyed canceled plans made with family and friends due to work, at least once a week.

Does this sound like you? Then you need to learn to prioritize.

Don’t be afraid to be selfish from time to time. Make sure you place more importance on things such as spending time with friends and family, going on vacation, and doing regular exercise.

You need the time to recharge your batteries, or you won’t be operating at peak performance.

If you feel you could use a little help with that, you’re in luck – there’s an app for that!

Balanced was created to help you get more out of life. It’s about making time for the little things, those activities that you want to do, but always feel like you don’t have the time for.

This app essentially lets you build a fun to-do list. You set how often you want to do things and place them in order of importance. You receive reminders, so you don’t forget to make time for them and then swipe them away once complete.

There’s even a list of suggested activities if you’re looking for a little inspiration!

Use Tools to Simplify Your Life

For a freelancer or small business owner, having the right tools can make a huge difference.

When you’ve got a million different things to do, it’s so easy to lose track of stuff and waste time just trying to get yourself organized. It’s all about leveraging technology and making it work for you.

Here are some apps that should help you get organized:

Asana: This easy to use project management tool will help you schedule your work so you never miss another deadline. You can create a project, add sub-tasks, and set individual deadlines so you can easily keep track of things. The best part? It’s free!

RescueTime: This handy app will help you get a better understanding of how you’re spending your time. It will help you identify how much time you waste and which tasks are taking you too long to complete, so you can better organize your schedule. You can set yourself goals, and you get weekly email reports so you can check on your progress.

Those are just a couple of the useful apps out there for small business owners and entrepreneurs. There are much more that will help you do your job faster and more efficiently, so you can save yourself some much needed time and energy.

Outsource What You Can

The added costs that come with outsourcing put many entrepreneurs off.

But while it may seem like an unnecessary investment, when you consider how much time you are saving, it can be well worth the expense.

Outsourcing gives you the chance to focus your energy and skills on what you do best, giving you the opportunity to move your business forward.

Some of the key outsourcing opportunities include accounting, banking, social media, editing, and graphic design. You don’t want to waste your time on tasks that are typically better left to the professionals, at least if you can afford it.

Stick to what you do best, and outsource the rest.

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Also, consider outsourcing tasks in your personal life. Instead of spending precious free time doing tasks like mowing the lawn, see if you can get a yard service instead.

Outsource the things you’re not great at so you can free up your schedule and spend more time on what matters.

Go With the Flow

Things are constantly changing, and you’ll probably find that you’ll go through very busy periods, as well as a few quiet ones.

Make the most of the quiet times by scheduling more time away from work.

It may be an excellent opportunity to go on a holiday or just take a day or two off. Schedule in more time with family and friends – you’ll find yourself feeling a lot less guilty about not doing work if it’s quiet anyway.

At the end of the day, you want to make your schedule work for you.

Another way to organize your time more efficiently is to work when you’re at your most productive.

You may be the type of person who finds it easier to focus in the evenings, in which case you should try to do those tasks that require greater concentration during those times.

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If you’re not much of a morning person, use that time to do easier tasks until you’re feeling more focused. Simply sitting there trying to force yourself to do work when you can’t concentrate is a terrible waste of time, so schedule in the more mundane tasks for when your performance isn’t at its peak.

Remember, work-life balance is about just that: balance. You won’t get everything perfect every day, you won’t divide your attention equally every day.

But you can use these strategies to find the overall balance your personal and professional lives need.

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About the Author

Saskia Smit is a freelance writer and founder of career and lifestyle blog My Kind of Monday (@mykindofmonday), which focuses on helping people find happiness in work and in life.

Visit her blog for more career tips and advice.