THE BALANCING ACT
Let’s talk to you about YOU …..and your LIFE BALANCE or lack of it.
There’s nothing worse than feeling like life is out of control and few things worse for your health.
In recent times, despite the technological advances that were meant to make life easier, most us feel overwhelmed by the pressures of the lifestyle we feel we must lead in order to keep up.
We seem to always be trying to do more in less time!
Research from the ‘Australia Institute’ confirms that we're all time poor. In 2010 (7 years ago) a survey found that 1 in 2 people felt that they didn’t have enough time to do the things they wanted or needed to.
That includes things like spending time with family, eating healthily, exercising or going to the Doctor when we’re were sick. These are all important activities that help sustain a healthy mind and body.
So how do we know when we’ve lost balance?
When it’s happening initially, an area of our lives tends to be ignored, usually starting with our health, then our relationships, our finances and so on, and unless we identify that it’s happening we can spiral into a total mess.
So be aware of allowing enough ‘time’ to do things and notice what you let go of first….if you get back on the wagon then balance is usually restored, if other things start to slip then you know it’s time to take action!
As a business owner and parent (especially single parents) I find the pressure is constantly on, sometimes I end up changing hats many times in 1 day…we’re looking after everyone and everything…other than ourselves usually.
At times there are days weeks or even months when children are sick, clients get upset, there is a downturn in our industry or something untoward happens…..and we lose control and as a result our personal 'balance'.
Having a business is like having another child….you care for it 24/7 you nurture it, you do whatever it takes to assure it’s success….you worry about it in the middle of the night….so we need to find that BALANCE but before we can do that we need to understand our triggers.
Triggers
Someone once said to me….
As a business owner you’ll work longer and harder than you did for anyone else so make sure you love what you do.
As a business owner and working mother……many of us feel that we must be seen as capable, successful, IN CONTROL so that we are trusted by out clients and peers so we generally need to PUT ON AN ACT and pretend we have control….AGREED?
SO LET’S TALK ABOUT TRUE BALANCE….
Balance can be divided up into 2 categories:
INTERNAL (mind, heart, health)
Mind: Balancing challenging yourself intellectually versus creating opportunities for your mind to rest, eg: meditation, hypnotherapy, yoga etc.
Heart: Giving love and receiving love in all relationships, if your needs aren't being met here things will go astray.
Health: Eating, drinking, exercising well at the right pace for you and also resting and treating yourself to things like massages, beach walks, surfing, a spray tan or whatever makes you feel relaxed and nurtured.
EXTERNAL (work, social, family, fun)
Work: Pushing yourself hard to achieve goals versus seeing the bigger picture and enjoying the ride.
Social: Satisfying your social desires versus taking time out for yourself.
Family: Fulfilling your familial responsibilities versus creating healthy boundaries.
Fun: Allocating time for things you enjoy doing versus making sure you don’t overdo it.
Both ends of the spectrum are positive; unless you feel pulled in any 1 direction and uneasy about it. Then how do you
maintain or regain the balance??
3 HOT TIPS
OXYGEN MASK THEORY - LOOK AFTER NUMBER 1 FIRST
Your children and business are a reflection of you inside and outside.
Looking after yourself is imperative, then means having self discipline…..to work and to have relaxation time…if you can’t manage that then find a Life Coach, Personal Trainer, Business Coach, Councillor or someone who you can be accountable to and who will assist in maintaining balance at home and in your business.
UNPLUG – take time to get off your phone, computer, Ipad.
2. GET ORGANISED BUT NOT OBSESSED
If, like me you have perfectionist issues….. then you need to harness your energy and learn how to compartmentalise and switch off.
If you need to be more organised then I have some organisational tools that will help. Call me!
We’ve heard it all before but have you tried yoga, meditation, mindfulness or exercise, rather than a pill, powder or potion?
All of these help slow that crazy mind chatter.
3. BE 100%, 80% OF THE TIME
Stop expecting yourself to be perfect.
None of us are and we know that super successful people like Michael Jordan, Oprah, Walt Disney have failed and been through ups and downs, that is the beauty of life.
IMPLEMENTING THESE GREAT TIPS
The Eisenhower Matrix (email me if you can't find and example)
We often focus too much on urgent tasks because we didn’t deal with it when it was important so it becomes urgent….which is stressful
US President Dwight D Eisenhower supposedly said….
‘The most urgent decisions are rarely the most important ones’
He was considered that master of Time Management….he had the ability to do everything as & when it needed to be done.
With this method you can distinguish between what is important and what is urgent.
2. Schedule for Your Life
ANNUAL PLANNER – snapshot of each month, include holidays etc
WEEKLY SCHEDULE – (create one or email me for our template). This can change but at least you have a clear picture of what your weeks look like.
DAILY PLAN – diarise all meetings, emails to send, calls to make and errands to run.
Having kids means often whole days are thrown out with illnesses, accidents, forgotten lunch, school commitments etc.
On those days prioritise and prioritise 1 thing you must do to feel productive and do it.
At least 1 action per day.
3. Your favourite Things
Maintaining or returning balance means being the best version of your self that you can to be……the best parent and best business person.
This means fuelling yourself up with rest and relaxation time, possibly the toughest to commit to. Email me for the 'Favourite Things' worksheet its awesome!
I hope this helped!
Maddy
xxx