“Balance? What is that?!” was how she responded when I asked her if she had a balance plan. She is not alone! People are working more than ever. “The more I work the more I get done” is the thought, but that is not always true.
Professionals often become overwhelmed with the handling of their personal and business matters. Business owners know that boundaries around their work and efficient systems are paramount to career success. Yet, few experience the benefits of self-employment because they are buried in an ever-mounting pile of paper and backlogged tasks.
I'll share an alternate route today.
By identifying inefficiencies in based business and processes and then improving them, you can transform into into an empowered entrepreneur that takes hold of their businesses!
Make a Balance Plan
Your life consists of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual.
You will not spend equal amounts of time in each area. You will likely not even spend time every day in each area. But, if in the long run, you are spending a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, then your life will be balanced. If you ignore any one of your areas (never mind two or three!) and you will get out of balance and sabotage your success.
Fail to take time now for your health and you will have to take time for illness later on. Ignore your family and they may leave you and cost you a lot of time to re-establish relationships, etc.
Also understand this…You do not to have every minute of the day scheduled to be organized
While scheduling appointments, important projects, chores, responsibilities, and so on, is highly recommended, you do not need to schedule ‘every moment' of your day. Scheduling is the fine art of packing every day just full enough of the most useful activities. Never overload it. Let your schedule always allow you time for spontaneity.
Differentiate between obligations and choices.
Do you feel guilty saying no? Is your time stolen by others' needs and priorities? Did you know you can change that?
If you have been dragging yourself to the company party for years, attended a boring or non-producing networking group so many times that you have lost count, or you are dreading doing one more time consuming fundraiser; let yourself off the hook. When you thin your schedule of unwanted obligations, you are choosing to make room for the activities that are truly important to you and will create lasting memories. Your family and business will thank you for it.
What do you think?
Until we talk again,
Live Fully — Love Openly — Laugh Often — Leverage Your Brilliance — Connect Authentically — Get Your Message Out — Serve with Impact — Prosper Everyday
Brian Osher says
Hey Steph, another great post!
I agree with you, it’s really hard (actually impossible)to be “perfectly” balanced in all of the key areas of your life. But… That doesn’t mean that we can’t try.
Here’s what I do…
I’ve identified the key areas of my life – I call them “Core Values”. Each week, I assign tasks within each of my Core Values. Those tasks might range from completing a big project (Core Value – Build Great Business) to taking my wife on a special date (Core Value – Build Strong Family Foundation).
I have eight different Core Values. By identifying those and then assigning tasks to each of them, at least I know that I’m recognizing the important areas of my life and trying to make some progress in each of them.
Hope this helps…
Brian
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Brian –
Great tips thanks for sharing. Steven Covey suggests doing the same thing. I hear people tell me that they don’t have time to practice what you are suggesting. Would love it if you would share the time it takes you. I bet it is not as much as everyone thinks.
Brian Osher says
Hey Steph, great question – and you’re absolutely right! In fact, I did this yesterday. It took me about ten minutes (max).
I use this list of tasks to plan my daily To-Do list. There are always other things on my To-Do list, but I always make sure to include the items from my weekly plan to make sure that I’m getting all of my bases covered.
Does anybody else have a suggestion for an effective balancing system?
Ellen Delap says
Hi Steph, I found a parallel with balance in life and balance in pilates. My pilates instructor said balance is moving many parts, in small ways, to keep you in balance. So while we are never perfectly balanced, we have parameters to what to move when to keep in balance. It is in defining what to keep moving that drags us down. This post really speaks to that! Thanks!
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Ellen – OH I LOVE THAT! Great tie. While I have not tried pilates (it is on my “bucket list”) my son and I love to play the balance games on our Wii Fit. It is truly amazing how tiny shifts can make or break you on those games. The analogy ties well. Thanks for sharing.