My Top 10 Best Books on Work Life Balance for Entrepreneurs

One of the perks of owning your business, is controlling your work life balance. The downside? That you’re controlling your work life balance. A conundrum indeed! As an entrepreneur and business owner, the responsibility for the business side of things ultimately comes down to you. Without good time management skills, the business can end up controlling you. True, the same can happen with your personal life and often there are people on both sides of the work life balance coin that rely on your guidance and support – like employees and family.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of resources for entrepreneurs on the topic of the best ways to balance work and life. Below are 10 of the best books for entrepreneurs to find that work life balance sweet spot.

1. Optimal Living 360:  Smart Decision Making for a Balanced Life by Sanjay Jain (2014). Dr. Jain advocates focusing on the big picture as a method for balancing work and life. Introducing the concept of Integrated Decision Making gaining you an ROI on life.
2. Stop Living Your Job, Start Living Your Life by Andrea Molloy (2005). Popular life-coach Andrea Molloy currently lives in Amsterdam and holds a sociology degree. Her book outlines 85 strategies useful for entrepreneurs seeking to balance work and life. The book includes tasks, questions, tips, and quizzes covering finances, motivation, and of course – your dreams.   
3. Life Matters: Creating a Dynamic Balance of Work, Family, Time, and Money  by A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca Merrill (2003). A classic and profound work on the balance of life and work helping to hone in the best parts of those critical, and then harmonious, relationships. This book provides practical ways to strike balance in your life. Author A. Roger Merrill has co-written many other influential books with Stephen Covey.
4. Live More, Work Better:  A Practical Guide to a Balanced Life by Gayle Hilgendorff (2015). Gayle Hilgendorff’s book is essential reading for entrepreneurs searching to find the balance between work and life. She offers pragmatic tips from someone who has swung too far off the work life balance spectrum and made small changes bringing her back into alignment with what truly matters.
5. Getting Things Done:  The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (2001). Improve your productivity and improve your life. Many entrepreneurs and organizations swear by the Getting Things Done (GTD) system outlined in this book by productivity expert David Allen. I know I do!
6. I Know How She Does It:  How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam (2015). This book speaks directly to working women with children who feel overwhelmed trying to balance life and work. Laura Vanderkam studied the time diaries of successful, professional women to discover how they managed their lives and is sharing that wisdom in this great read.  
7. How Remarkable Women Lead:  The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life by Joanna Barsh, Susie Cranston, and Geoffrey Lewis (2009). Based on 5 years of research this book examines the successful habits of the female leaders and entrepreneurs from businesses such as Google, Morgan Stanley, and Avon.  
8. Smarter, Faster, Better:  The Secrets of Beings Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (2016). Charles Duhigg writes for the New York Times and in this book, he expands on concepts from his first book, “The Power of Habit” and applies them to productivity. Covering 8 key productivity concepts and the science of success, this book is a must read for any entrepreneur.
9. The Power of Full Engagement:  Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (2003). Many people consider this book an authority on managing work and life.  Its step-by-step guidelines provide concrete recommendations for transforming how you work so you can work smarter and live better.
10. The One Minute Manager Balances Work and Life by Ken Blanchard (1999). Based on the classic book “The One Minute Manager,” this book takes the concept of leadership and applies it to helping leaders develop a healthy balance between work and life. Ken Blanchard, PhD, has written many books on leadership, including the “One Minute Manager” series and “Gung Ho!”

Being an entrepreneur is a super fun gig and there are a ton more resources available to help you grow personally and professionally that I haven’t even touched on. I’d love to hear from you what other entrepreneurial books and resources help and inspire you.