7 Tips that Helped Me Find Balance in Life, Family & Business

Being all the things to all the people can get very overwhelming. From being someone’s wife, someone’s mom, someone’s friend, it can easily become overwhelming.  As much as we all want to give everything, we can’t. We are only human, and allowing ourselves the grace we deserve to figure out ways to balance our own lives is often times necessary. If you are feeling overwhelmed in your life & in your business and you are wondering how in the heck you will ever find balance between the two, I hope that by sharing these 7 tips that helped me find balance in life, family & business can help you as much as it has helped me.

I worked the entire summer. Before I knew it, it was September and I really wanted to go to the pool. So I made plans with a friend, and we went. I thought to myself, we have to do this more! Then I read the sign that said “last day of summer, pool closing”. I had done it. I had literally worked the entire summer and didn’t even realize for one second that I didn’t take any time for myself. I don’t know about you, but I love my businesses. I love what I do and I would work in it every single day, until I can’t. Some days I work so much that I am overwhelmed. I knew that I had to make a change in order to find balance in my life so that I could enjoy this life that I am working so hard to create.

My husband was coming home from work and instead of getting to relax, I was throwing our son to him for bath routine so that I could wrap up some work. There was zero balance for anyone. Not me, not my husband, and not for our family.

My business was also suffering. I built these businesses to thrive, not to sink when the boat got rocky.

But being the captain, I realized something. I had to find a way to be happy & organized in my life and my business if I wanted to make it all work. Isn’t the reason why I chased my dreams in the first place was so that I could be here for my son and husband and have family dinners every night?

When September came around, I said to myself that I was going to make a solid effort to set boundaries in my business (& actually stick to them), as well as start scheduling in time to nurture my family and my marriage. These are the things that helped me accomplish that over the last month & a half:

1. I became an over planner. I planned out everything, everyday so that I felt more organized and in control of what was happening.

2. I didn’t plan more than I could actually do. Each day, I assigned myself 3 top tasks to conquer. When they were done, I could either finish the day knowing I was successful or continue to get other things done.

3. I gave myself grace. There were a few days I woke up and just wasn’t feeling it. Instead of stressing and forcing myself to be creative. I gave myself grace to take it easy, whether that meant taking an hour to unwind, treating myself to my favorite breakfast, or reading a book. The key is, I deserve to relax and so do you. Why feel guilty about it?

4. I planned out dinners each night of the week. I planned ahead at the beginning of the week what we would have for dinner each night so that I knew what I would need at the store instead of buying a bunch of nothing.

5. I didn’t overbook my calendar. I do a lot of Skype calls in my business; coaching sessions, coffee chats to collaborate and meet new online friends. This is great, but sometimes it can be overwhelming and it leaves you feeling drained of energy to do anything else. I started booking calls bi-weekly so that way I would have every other week where I had zero calls and could only focus on getting actual work done and moving forward in my business.

6. I planned new activities with my son. I work from home, not only because I love what I do, but a big reason is so that my schedule can be flexible.

7. I got serious with my schedule and began to actually utilize Acuity Scheduling. Each month I go in and open up specific appointments and I stick to it. In the past, I would fold and change it to accommodate other people’s schedules, but I was putting my needs last.

By focusing on all of these things, when my son was sick for a day and needed to stay home, I had no problem saying to myself “take the day off”, so that’s what I did. This is the life I am aiming to have and one that takes work to maintain. I hope these tips help you to not only nurture yourself but help nurture your business and family as well.

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Also, be sure to check out my recent blog post about The Importance of Keepin’ it Real on Social Media.