How We Create Work/Life Balance

We also made a video on this topic! Check it out here: Work | Life Balance Hacks

You started a business for freedom. So why does it sometimes feel like a cage?

If you’re a couple building something together, this is one of the most common traps you can fall into. You get busy. The calendar fills. The to-do list multiplies. You’re running operations, solving problems, leading people. Somewhere along the way, you stop asking the most important question:

What do we actually want from this business?

Design Your Life First. Then Build the Business.

We are deeply passionate about this principle:

Design the life you want first. Then build the business around it.

Your family comes first.
Your marriage comes first.
Your calling comes first.

When you reverse engineer your business from the life you want, you create something you love. When you don’t? You risk waking up one day feeling captive to the very thing that was supposed to give you freedom.

We’ve seen it over and over. Couples start energized and aligned, but without intentional design, the business slowly expands to fill every available space: evenings, weekends, mental bandwidth, emotional energy. The business becomes their life.

If you find yourself there, no worries. It's not too late to put plans, boundaries, and systems in place to get things back in balance. 

What Does Winning Look Like

Sit down together and ask:

• What does winning look like for our life?

• How many hours do we actually want to work?

• What rhythms feel healthy for us?

• How does the business serve our family, not compete with it?

Some couples enjoy working more than others. And let’s be honest, business takes work. You can’t build something meaningful without investment. But there’s a difference between pouring into your business… and pouring your life into it. Your relationship with your business has to be healthy.

For some seasons, it won’t feel balanced — and that’s okay. Just don't let that become the norm. 

The Myth (and Reality) of Balance

Work-life balance can feel like a myth when you own a business. Instead of perfect balance, think in terms of temporary intentional imbalance.

We like to call it sprinting. There are seasons where we sprint: building systems, supporting leaders, making key hires, tightening operations. Those seasons require long hours and focused effort.

Then there are seasons where we step back. Rest. Travel. Reset. That rhythm works for us. It may not work for you. The key isn’t copying someone else’s rhythm, it's designing your rhythm on purpose.

Create Transitions, Not Just Boundaries

At a day-to-day level, the little things matter. For example, even when working from home, changing clothes can signal a transition. Work clothes on. Relax clothes on. Lights off in the office. Mentally shifting from “CEO” to “Mom and Dad.”

It’s not perfect. We still talk about work after 5:00 sometimes. We give ourselves grace, and then recenter ourselves in the moment. We are intentional about transitions, because if you don’t create them, work will bleed into everything.

The Power of Margin

One of the most powerful boundaries we’ve built is margin in the morning. Almost every day, we go for a walk before meetings begin. That means starting work a little later. That walk sets the tone for the day. 

We begin with connection and alignment. We talk through our day. We get on the same page personally and professionally. It’s simple, but it protects us.

Where could you create margin?

Pattern Interrupts Matter

If you work from home, transitions can be harder. That’s where pattern interrupts come in. A pattern interrupt is simply doing something different to shift your state.

Maybe it’s leaving the house: picking up your child from school and going to the park. Taking a second walk. Grabbing ice cream. The activity doesn’t matter as much as the shift.

You’re telling your brain: We’re done with work mode. Now we’re present.

We like to say: Wherever you are, bring the energy there. Bring the focus there.

Give Yourself Grace 

You won’t get this perfect. There will be messy seasons and weeks where the balance feels off. That’s business and that’s life. 

Just remember that even slow progress in the right directions makes a big difference over time. 

Think about this: 

If nothing changes, what will your business cost your marriage five years from now? What would it take to design it differently, starting today?