Good morning everyone,
I hope you are finally thawing out for spring. This has been one of the longest winters I have ever experienced. It snowed on the 17th all day which I am hoping is for the last time until December!
Today I wanted to start the discussion on the topic of work / life balance. This may go for a few blogs as we hit on different areas, or if we feel it only needs to go to one blog topic then I will keep it at that.
So, lets start with the fact that there never seems like there is enough time in the day to get everything done. With the smart phone it seems you can constantly check emails all day and night. Not to mention the social media aspect of the phone that can take me down rabbit holes that when I come out it is February again.
When launching my company while working for another company it is a constant battle to manage all of the emails, to do items, projects, launches, writing a sales book, managing the finances, and staying in shape. It has been a crazy few months already balancing both and being present with family. It really seems like there is never enough time to do everything. Stress has been at an all time high and I have been running around like my hair is on fire.
Building momentum on my company as well as managing all of my other obligations has been quite taxing. I have noticed quite a few grey hairs showing up recently as well. Clothes are fitting a little tighter than usual and quality time with my wife / kids takes a back seat at times. I try to do my best, but even on spring break I was on conference calls, checking emails, making sure everything was up in the air and not crashing on the ground.
With that I have had to manage better and put up rules for myself. When I am home I have had to make sure to place my phone down and walk away for at least an hour so that I can have relationships with my family and have quality time with them. I am still working to get better at this, but it has made me physically stay away for the first part of the evening.
Next, I have been making time to work out so that I can keep from having to buy more clothes. I really don’t have time to go clothes buying so if I can do more working out in order to slim down I am good with that. Currently I am starting P90X 2. If you have done this work out feel free to respond and let me know your thoughts. It seems like more stretching and less active working out. I try to work out five to six days a week if I can and the beach body on demand streaming is quite nice to use any device to work out with. Now I just need to stop finding all of the extra snacks in between.
After the workout I do check my emails to see if there is anything I have missed or can answer quickly. Then I close the laptop and grab a quick shower and sit down to have dinner with the family. I say quick because it seems like I shovel everything down and then head on to something else. Something I have been working on is to have more in depth conversations instead of chowing down and walking away. I guess I am males and that is why I tend to eat quickly to move on to the next task.
From there it is usually working on a project that I need to finish or read some books which I try to do quite regularly. I am a slow reader so about 10 – 15 pages is about all I can really manage. Not to mention my attention span is quite small and if a squirrel attention has just left.
I try to make the last hour to not do anything except spend time with my wife hopefully watching a show together and not falling asleep on her. She likes quality time and conversation so I need to make sure I leave a little energy to make sure she feels not left out. The problem is that I often will find myself thinking of another task or project that I need to spend time on. I have really had to back off and think about priorities.
That is a typical day after working all day.
With all that said, I have been reading on best practices to figure out a better work / life balance. I want my family to always know that I care about them and that I want to give them the best of my abilities. I read that some people will actually post a note on their dash on the car so when they are heading home they see the phrase “You are about to do your best work of the day when you arrive” to keep focus on family and spending time investing in those relationships. I am really contemplating that or putting a sign above the door so when I walk in I can see it. Something like the football players hit on their way into the stadium.
What are some of your hacks for work / life balance, or what are some of your struggles that you would like help on? Would love to hear what you guys are experiencing and your wins!
Next, week I’ll talk about a small win during a weekend away without laptops.
As always if you have questions, want to dig deeper, or if you would like to ask about other topics feel free to reach out to me at info@kevinsidebottom.com. Also, you can comment to the blog to keep the conversation going with other readers.
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom
Sales and Leadership Enterprises