Six Entrepreneurs Reveal How they Work and Play We are all trying to achieve a healthy balance between work and life, but it's easier said than done
By Pooja Singh
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
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We are all trying to achieve a healthy balance between work and life, but it's easier said than done. Juggling careers with family, friends, and hobbies can be a real challenge. We asked entrepreneurs their favourite apps to maintain work-life balance.
Fei Yao
Co-founder, NewCampus
Blinkist helps me better fit reading into my life. In the past, I've been quite hard on myself for not finishing books even if the read was no longer enjoyable, or purchasing more than I have time to read. But the 10-15-minute book bites help me take away key points and are helpful in deciding if I want to go deeper. I usually listen to it on a speaker at home while prepping my breakfast.
Shavon Lindley
CEO, ion Learning
Trello. It is an easy, free, flexible, and visual way for me to manage and organize my projects and to-do lists at work and at home. I am notorious for Post-it notes and calendar reminders, but I would always have this haunting feeling that I forgot something. Trello has relieved so much stress and anxiety.
Mark MacLeod
Founder and CEO, Roll-it Super
Streaming music into my ears at work with Spotify helps creativity and task focus by providing a break from the demands of client and team meetings. Music gives the "inner introvert" time away from the typically "extroverted" profession of a startup founder. When it comes to life, who doesn't love to put their home and social life to a sound track? A favourite pastime of mine is creating and sharing playlists with friends.
Gero Decker
Co-founder and CEO, Signavio
Spending time in the garden with family helps me to unwind, relax and re-energise for the working week ahead, so I was excited to recently discover Soliday, which sells sun sails for gardens. Through the app, you can configure the sun sail in 3D, simulate how it will look in your garden and how the sun sail's shade will move throughout the day. It is essentially a combination of my three favourite things: family, sophisticated tech and the outdoors.
Michelle Gallaher
CEO, ShareRoot
I'm a creative at heart so I love a little quiet time with artistic photo editing app Enlight Photofox, which allows me to make mini masterpieces from the huge photo file on my phone. Digital art is a wonderful circuit-breaker that unlocks my mind, and gives me the freedom to let my imagination explore—taking me away momentarily from the usual pressure of running a business.
Ben Thompson
Co-founder and CEO, Employment Hero
Waking Up is the best meditation app I have found after trying quite a few similar apps over the years. It makes meditation extremely accessible. I manage to fit a 10-minute guided meditation into my morning routine, usually when I arrive in the car park at work. Consistent meditation has been invaluable for my state of mind, awareness of my stress levels and choosing my responses to the issues I face at work and at home.
