How I Manage Life–Work Balance as an Entrepreneur

Nicola Lake
Feb 2
4 min read

(and Why It Looks “Wrong” on Paper)

Work–life balance used to feel like something I was constantly trying to get right.

For a long time, balance meant being organised, disciplined, and staying on track. It meant having a clear plan, meeting expectations, and following through, whether the energy was there or not.

Productivity was measurable. Progress was visible. Rest was often conditional.

What I’ve since realised is that this way of operating isn’t exclusive to corporate life. Many entrepreneurs recreate it inside their own businesses, often with even more pressure and fewer boundaries.

I did too.

Entrepreneurship didn’t automatically bring balance. What it did bring was responsibility. Responsibility not just for outcomes, but for how I choose to work, lead myself, and design my days.

Over time, I’ve learned that sustainable success doesn’t come from tighter control or more force. It comes from presence, choice, and learning to listen to my own rhythms.

That shift has changed everything.

1. I Work With My Energy, Not Against It

One of the most grounding shifts I’ve made is designing my work around my monthly cycle.

I tracked it long enough to notice a clear rhythm:

One week where confidence dips
Self-criticism rises
Energy softens

Instead of treating that as a flaw to fix, I now treat it as data.

For roughly three weeks, I focus, create, build, and decide. For one week, I intentionally lighten the load. If I feel like completing something during that lighter week, I do.

If I don’t, there is no pressure.

This has required letting go of urgency and trusting a longer arc. But the result is more consistency, not less. More presence. Less self-abandonment.

Spaciousness isn’t laziness. It’s strategy.

2. I Lowered the Bar (and Gained More Confidence, Not Less)

This one has been humbling.

For a long time, my bar was set high. Very high.

I held myself to exacting standards and wore perfectionism like a quiet badge of honour.

The problem wasn’t the standards themselves.

It was what happened every time I missed them.

Each mistake felt like a mark against my own name. They compounded. Confidence slowly eroded. I would tighten my grip, raise the bar again, and repeat the cycle. I carried this pattern into entrepreneurship, assuming that because it was my business, I had to be even more precise, more polished, more faultless.

What I’ve had to unlearn is this:

Perfectionism isn’t the same as care.

Now, I intentionally lower the bar.

I make mistakes. Sometimes silly ones. It still irritates me. But instead of a barrage of self-criticism, punishment, or shame, I choose something else.

I laugh.

I let it go.

I learn what’s useful.

I put simple measures in place so I don’t repeat it.

And then I move on.

I’ve come to understand how my own mind works. I tend to be holding five thoughts at once. When I work with that reality instead of fighting it, everything softens. I become kinder to myself. More present. More resilient.

When it’s your own business, any missteps are yours to own. That responsibility doesn’t need to come with self-punishment. I’ve intentionally built my work and community around supportive, big-thinking entrepreneurs where I don’t have to perform competence. I get to be human. Mistakes included.

Lowering the bar didn’t lower my standards. It protected my confidence and my capacity to keep going.

3. I Don’t Build Alone (Even When I Work Independently)

Entrepreneurship can quietly become lonely, especially when you’re building something values-led and unconventional.

I lead an accountability group I genuinely love. It’s a space to:

Celebrate wins without minimising them
Think bigger when my vision shrinks
Problem-solve without carrying everything alone

This kind of support doesn’t just keep me motivated.

It keeps me human.

Community reminds me that ambition doesn’t have to be isolating, and that success can be shared, witnessed, and softened.

We aren’t meant to hold our dreams alone.

4. I Let Go of the To-Do List (Most of the Time)

This one tends to raise eyebrows.

I’ve learned that traditional to-do lists make me anxious. They hold me hostage. Once everything is written down, my nervous system won’t let me rest.

So sometimes, I simply don’t write one.

Instead:

Anything with a real deadline lives in my calendar
Everything else is guided by priorities, intuition, and trust

I trust that what matters will surface. And it always does.

This doesn’t mean I’m disorganised. It means I’ve loosened the grip. I choose structure when it’s supportive, for example when leading or collaborating. And I choose flexibility when I’m self-leading.

Cumulative progress is my metric now.

5. From Control to Choice

Corporate life trained me to follow the plan at all costs.

Entrepreneurship has taught me something different:

I have a north star
Clear values
A vision rooted in balance, freedom, and presence

Within that, I allow my energy and mood to inform how I work on any given day.

I no longer force myself to do what I “should” do just because it’s on a list or expected. I ask better questions:

What’s needed right now?
What would create spaciousness rather than pressure?
What supports sustainability, not just output?

This is how I redefine ambition. Not by doing less, but by doing what’s aligned.

The Truth We Don’t Say Out Loud Enough

Sometimes entrepreneurship feels like you’re making it up as you go.

I don’t think that’s a bug. I think it’s the point.

We’re designing lives, not just businesses. And that requires experimentation, reflection, and the courage to work differently than we were taught.

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Your Coach,

Nicola Lake

Lifestyle Coach

Freedom to live life on your terms.