Working as an entrepreneur means being your own boss. You get to make your business plan, hire the right team for your vision, and set your own hours. It also means that you are fully responsible for your successes and failures. While the benefits are incredibly tempting, not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. Your success relies hugely on your ability to stay accountable to yourself and your customers.

How do you succeed as an entrepreneur? By setting a strict schedule and respecting it, day in and day out. You need to show up for yourself consistently, otherwise, you’re not going to be able to handle the daily pressures of running your own business.

Here are 3 ways to set a schedule that will inspire and re-energize you:

1. Set aside a space for work

This might not be an initial high priority, but if you’re working from home, you absolutely need a separate office space. It might be tempting to just set up shop at your kitchen table or couch to save some time. The Wall Street Journal reports that 80% of young professionals work from their beds most of the time. This, however, will result in compromised productivity.  

When you do this, your bedroom stops being a place of rest and becomes a place of work. This will ruin both the quality of your work and the quality of your sleep, which is crucial for wellbeing. Dedicate a space that’s solely for work, even if it’s just a simple desk. Entrepreneurs suffer from high levels of stress, and organization is key to getting your small business off the ground.

If your living space is just too small, get out of the house! Sure, you could hit up the traditional coffee shop or even your local library, but maybe you’re looking for something with some more structure. Consider a coworking space. A recent study shows that people in coworking spaces reported high levels of work satisfaction, much higher than those working in a traditional office space.

Utilizing a coworking space will let you interact with others, get out of your house, and dedicate a space to work. Even better, you’ll be able to leave your work at the “office” and enjoy your home.

“Entrepreneurs have a great ability to create change, be flexible, build companies and cultivate the kind of work environment in which they want to work.” – Tory Burch

2. Try out a few different schedules

You’ve got a lot of freedom as an entrepreneur, but you need to leverage it to your best advantage. The good news is that you can use your peak hours of productivity. It doesn’t matter if you’re an early riser or a night owl, whenever you’re feeling the most inspired is when you can crank out your ideas and content.

You can’t forget entirely about normal business hours; you’ll need to reach contacts and schedule meetings during the 9 to 5 grind. Arrange your day around those non-negotiable meetings, and use the time you have left over to get your work done. Fortunately, you can use off hours to get errands done, since most everyone else will be at the office. This freedom helps you streamline the rest of your life and keeps your work life at peak productivity.

3. Set time for breaks

Entrepreneurs are fiercely independent by nature. You have your vision, your business, and your ever growing to-do list. It can feel impossible to put work down, but constantly focusing will hurt you more in the long run. If you want to be on your grind, you absolutely need to take breaks. This is not optional. If you aren’t pacing yourself, you’re going to burnout, hard.

This is as simple as getting up every half hour to stretch. Since you’re on your own timeline, you can schedule in time to do this and more. Get your eyes off the screen. A great way to take a break is to hit the gym since it will banish stress, boost creativity, and help you reach mental and physical goals.

“As work is important for your survival, so is rest for a peaceful mind.” – Alan Cohen

By making sure you have time set aside for breaks, you are investing in your current and future wellbeing, and as an extension of that, your business. You’ll be better rested and more calm, which will lead to improved confidence. Your peers and customers will notice if you’re overworking yourself, and will be concerned or disinterested rather than impressed.

Living by a strict schedule will ensure that you work smarter, not harder. You need to find a rhythm for your workflow, a separate place to get your work done, and take time for yourself. If you do this, your work life balance and quality of life will vastly improve, allowing you to reach peak productivity.

Which one of these 3 ways of setting a schedule do you like best for you? Let us know in the comments below!