Maybe you’ve recently thought something like the title, or “I should be spending more time doing x,” where x is something outside of work.
If this hasn’t come up for you recently, it probably has at one point or another.
The word to notice here is should.
Notice the “I should be spending more time…”
There’s probably one of two things going on when you think or say that.
One thing is a knowing inside of us, our intuition, telling you that maybe it’s time to adjust how you’re spending your time and reset boundaries around your time.
If you need to reset boundaries, there are a couple of things to ask yourself.
The first one is: What blocks of time are absolutely, without a doubt family time, self-care time, or whatever it is that you need to set boundaries around.
Some of the blocks are one-time things. They’re special events or occasions that you want to make sure you’re there for. You put them in your calendar, and they are untouchable.
There are also more routine things. What are the times you’re there every single week or day? Maybe Thursday night is family night, and you watch TV or a movie together or play a game or have dinner together.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to do this. It is about finding what works for you.
The second question is: What blocks of time are absolutely, without a doubt business time?
Like family time, this might be one-time special events: maybe there is a networking event one evening that is important for you to attend or some other activity. Or it might be something like “I’m working from 10-3 every weekday” That doesn’t mean that you don’t work before or after that, but you know that this time is reserved specifically for business.
Again this is about what works for you.
Here’s the thing about working for yourself: YOU get to set your hours.
And it might be that you work 30 hours or you might work 50 or more. It’s about what works for you. And it probably changes from week to week or depending on what’s going on in your business.
This leads us to work-life balance.
Some say work-life balance does not exist. It’s a mythical unicorn that simply doesn’t exist, so don’t waste your time searching for it.
But it’s all about how you define work-life balance.
If you’re expecting to have equal parts work and life like a perfectly balanced teeter-totter (see the image below), then yes, that doesn’t exist.
Now, think of that triangle as your expectations of what your work-life balance should be.
If you shift that triangle to the right, it allows one of the circles to be larger, and everything is still balanced.
However, if you think of the triangle as your expectations and you shift it a bit to the left because you know you’re in a season where you want or need to spend more time in your business.
Work-life balance is more about your expectations than it is about finding some equal balance.
When you shift your expectations for work-life balance, it allows it to balance.
When looking at your work-life balance, what are your expectations?
We all go through seasons in our business and personal lives where one area needs more time and attention. And that’s okay.
If there are people in your business or personal life that are affected by this shift, you’ll want to make sure that they’re on board with the change.
And if you’re spending more time with your business, make sure you’re still taking care of yourself. This includes getting enough sleep, spending time with the people you care about, and that you’re still doing the things in your personal life that are important to you.
Again, decide what work-life balance looks like for you right now and work toward that. There is no one right way to do it. It’s about what’s right for you right now.
I share a little bit more about this in the video below.
One thing is a knowing inside of us, our intuition, telling you that