Why Business Owners Struggle To Sleep

Business owners can spend up to 16 hours a day or more working in their home offices or while on the road. Those who have full-time jobs outside of running their companies may dedicate even more of their time each day to work. As there are only 24 hours in a day, it may be necessary to forego sleep in an effort to be a successful entrepreneur.

Working at Home Means You're Always Connected

Many entrepreneurs have home offices from which they take phone calls, write their business plans or hold client meetings. Working and living in the same home or apartment can make it difficult to truly separate yourself from your work. Since your office is so close to your bedroom, it may be tempting to forego a few minutes of sleep to compose an email or finish other tasks. However, there is a chance that a few minutes could easily turn into a few hours as completing one task reminds you of several others that you suddenly need or want to get done.

Long Days May Provide You With a Sense of Pride

Working 12, 16 or 20 hours a day has long been seen as a validation of a person's willingness to work hard and achieve great things. As an entrepreneur, it may be easier to gain the respect and admiration of investors and other important stakeholders by showing your ability to work hard. Of course, working long days can result in physical and mental health problems. Therefore, it is important to attempt to create some sort of work/life balance for yourself.

You May Not Have Time to Sleep

If you are a parent, it may not be possible to sleep during the day when your children are awake and in need of constant supervision. It may also be impossible to sleep while driving to work or while making a presentation to your boss. While it may be better to sleep when you get home from work, you may prefer to spend some alone time with your spouse or good friends instead.

How to Manage Your Time While Working for Yourself

It is important that you try to stick as close as possible to a traditional 40 hour workweek. Even if you work irregular hours, it is necessary to leave time for sleeping and catching up with loved ones. In some cases, you may have to learn how to say no to people who demand too much of your time.

Doing so can help to set boundaries that can make it easier to regain control of your personal and professional lives. If you can, delegate tasks to employees so that the business can move forward even when you aren't actually doing anything.

While it does take significant time and energy to create a quality company, you shouldn't sacrifice your entire life to be a successful entrepreneur. Instead, you should seek to make being a business person a part of your life that can coexist with social relationships and hobbies that you have.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.