My life is full and I love it that way! I love all of the games, practices, concerts, meets, activities, and school events. I adore the 6 boys (gotta include the hubs) that my life revolves around. AND, if I’m not careful, my life can eat up every moment of peace, sanity and productivity, and I’d find myself with no time left to pursue my dreams. And that isn’t fair to anyone. My family deserves a happy Amy. And I am happiest when I have some order and balance.
Managing your life is probably the most critical thing you can do to set yourself up for business success. Here’s the 5 most critical areas to pay attention to.
Schedule- Our schedules are admittedly a little insane. But that’s not real uncommon for entrepreneurs. We have a lot going on! Keeping the entire family’s calendars up-to-date, plus my business calendar up-to-date is a big job. At the beginning of any season, I ask for the entire schedule and put everything in the calendar. Google calendars is pretty much my best friend. I sync to each of the 4 school calendars. I sync to the church calendar. I sync to my husband’s calendar. And then the beautiful part happens. If it’s not on the calendar, I’m not responsible for it! All those last minute emergencies that come up when someone didn’t give me the paper from school? Not my problem. Sure I’ll help if I’m available. But if I’m not, everyone knows that they had responsibility to give me the information.
Household management- One of my Amy-isms is “It takes a family to run a family.” I truly believe that. I am not the servant. Neither is my husband. Instead the work of running our household gets run by the entire family. When the kids were smaller, I had a housekeeper/nanny. Now that they are bigger and more self sufficient, they do their own laundry, clean bathrooms, mow the lawn, and do dishes. How you coordinate is up to you. But it is a coordination effort! And the sooner you embrace NOT being the one responsible for all the cleaning and laundry, the better!
Outside commitments- I love helping. As a result, my natural tendency is to say yes to EVERYTHING! And that is a recipe for disaster in my business. I had to learn the skill of saying NO! IF you struggle in this area, here’s how I made the shift. I made a rule for myself that I could not say yes in the moment. Instead I would say, “Thank you so much for thinking of me. Can I get back to you later today? I need to check my schedule and make sure it’s something I would be able to commit to.” By taking the pressure off of saying yes in the moment, I am able to really evaluate if I can give my time to said organization. Usually within 5 minutes it’s very apparent if I should say yes or no. And I’m grateful I gave myself the chance to think it over.
Relationships- I can’t tell you how many business owners come to me for help in their business and end up needing support in their marriage and vice versa. When your relationships are struggling, it carries over into business. And when business is struggling it almost always leads to bickering and strain at home. It’s just the nature of relationships. So when I tell you to make time to focus on strengthening your relationships, understand that it is one of the best things you can do to grow your business.
YOU! This is actually the one I am the WORST at! So, I’m saying this as much to me as I am to my readers. YOU are the MVP in your life. If you go down, so many things fall apart and slip through the cracks. You are the most helpful when you are at your best. Learn your limitations, and honor them. Discover what makes you feel amazing whether it be sleep, a new scarf, or a day off and then GIVE YOURSELF WHAT YOU NEED! It’s simple. And you will probably need reminders to manage your self care. If you are anything like me, you need those reminders frequently.