Starting your own business can throw a wrench in your work/life balance. If you’re not careful, the relentless focus on work can deteriorate your home life and personal relationships. Scott Weiss, parter at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, writes about how he was a jerk during his CEO years and what he learned. “While I was focused, motivating, articulate, and decisive at work, I was inconsiderate, preoccupied, self-centered, and lazy at home,” he says noting that when he got home he just wanted to veg out and watch TV. He then outlines a few adjustments that helped him restore the sanity.

One idea: treat personal engagements as more sacred than work ones and put them on the calendar as if they were any other meeting.