Brad Feld, the famous venture capitalist and co-founder of the TechStar movement has recently written a book entitled Startup Life: Surviving and Thriving in a Relationship with an Entrepreneur. Below he summarises 10 tips from the book on how to maintain that work/life balance and keep relationships with your partner thriving:
1. Never Schedule High Priority Activities or Deadlines on Fridays: Doing so will likely create a scenario that drifts into Friday night, Saturday, and then Sunday.
2. Don’t Bring Up Charged Topics at Bedtime: Your bedroom should be a sanctuary and a safe haven from the demands of the world. Never start a conflict when you and your partner are in bed and dozing off to sleep.
3. Laugh and Laugh Often: We believe you can never hug each other enough or laugh too often.
4. Apologise and Forgive: Practice apologising when you hurt your partner’s feelings. Know that you will try to be your best self but that you will often fail and will need to hone your apology skills.
5. Have a Life Dinner Once a Month: Make a reservation right now at one of your favorite restaurants. Go out–just the two of you. Buy your significant other a gift. Turn off your cell phones and hand them to the other person. Spend a long slow dinner enjoying each other’s company.
6. Set Limits on Technology: You do not need to do just one more e-mail right before bedtime. You really don’t. You need to sleep well and restore yourself and reset your brain chemistry during a nice night of rest. Those who need to take breaks from technology are often the least likely to do it.
7. Live Where You Want to Live: Pick the place where you want to live and build your life around it. Our contributors to the book, Mark and Pam Solon, say “We believe it’s important for young people embarking on their lives to realise that geography matters in your happiness quotient and that it can even out-weigh the highest-paying job opportunities.”
8. Life Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Another contributor to the book, Dave Jilk, says “If I could send my younger self a message from the future, it would tell me to treat my career more like a marathon than a sprint.”
9. Commit to Each Other’s Dreams: “Recognising that one’s partner is pursuing their dream, they are satisfied down to their soul and, in so being satisfied, are that much more alive. That level of aliveness is a gift few partners can ever give, and successful couples recognise this,” say Tim Enwall and Hillary Hall.
10. Always Answer His or Her Calls! While it might seem like a small gesture, the cumulative impact of doing so on a regular basis shows your partner they matter to you.