I reached glass ceiling of “coping” this morning with the juggle of motherhood and my business.
Since getting back from holiday my work-life balance has slipped because I decided while away that it was time to take massive action to go to the next level! But the result has been…
TOTAL CHAOS.
I am back on the hamster wheel that I effectively managed to get off just over a year ago, but this time I won’t make the mistake of staying on it to the sacrifice of my own health and the happiness of my family…
Because if we are doing all of this for anything; it is for them, right? For the freedom to be present and fulfilled and our “best self”, so we can be everything they need and give them everything they need, so they thrive!
So why do we sacrifice that, to get that?
Good question, right?
Is it one you have asked yourself already?
Do you want to get off the hamster wheel and live life, happy, fulfilled and achieving your big dream?
Here is a powerful exercise to get your life into balance FAST.
- Grab a pen. Braindump everything you are “working away on” at the moment (think of that hamster wheel.) Every single thing that is taking your focus and causing you to run the hamster wheel non-stop. Put brackets around any projects that are out of the norm for you, but you are working on them at the moment.
- In the next column write down the business outcome of each activity in column 1. The business outcome you are working towards by doing it. This is column 2.
- In column 3, write down how much time this activity should take you, if you were laser-focused on it.
- Ask yourself a question at this point: Are these activities effective at achieving the outcome you are looking for? If no, would they be effective if you were laser-focused on doing them? If no, is it time for a new strategy?
- Put your desired/expected $ amount in column 4. Consider, is this activity what you would consider income-producing? If it isn’t, can you scratch out this activity or change it?
- Add up the total $ amount from your activities and below your columns, think about what you want your life to look like with this amount of money in it. Spend some time really picturing it… What are the activities you are doing on a daily basis? When are you working? What does your house look like? Where are you travelling to? How often? What are you saving for? How is your relationship with your husband/kids/friends? What are you doing together? Where are you living? What are you enjoying? What are you doing just for you? Write your vision down in a paragraph and get descriptive!
Time to consider again, and be honest… What could you already be doing now if you jut had more time? Time freed up by being laser-focused on your income producing activities?
When I did this exercise I was flabbergasted to see I actually only had one income-producing activity in my business and if I was laser-focused in doing it I could do it in 1 hour a day!!!
I started to get excited. I got that sick/anxious feeling that I have started to identify as the dizziness of freedom! I realised I could have most of what I wanted right now if I could just be laser-focused in my business!
So the big question arose… Why can’t I be laser-focused now?
And then it dawned on me. I’m holding back from going ALL IN because the next level of success in my business scares me just as much as the first level did.
Thankfully I now have the experience to know that ACTION walks through FEAR and builds self-belief and confidence faster than anything…
I guess I also had to question whether I feared the freedom to be fully present with my kids too at this point. Because filling all those hours with activities is daunting and draining. I also had to question whether my fears related to money were at play a little bit again, anchored in the past because when you are not working it feels like you are not earning, even if the money is flowing into your bank account; a bit like a guilty feeling that life can be that easy after such deep struggle.
FEAR. False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear I know I can conquer, again, by continuing to stay fiercely in control of my thoughts and trusting my heart’s desire to go forward and keep travelling towards the life that is waiting for me on the other side of myself.
I have been on such a deep journey of inner healing, which I will share with you in my next blog. You can also be that person. The person that gifts yourself the freedom from your biggest limiting belief – the lack of belief in yourself. Belief blocked by fear born out of your past experiences. The past experiences that are in fact your greatest power to create future that you want.
Look back at your columns now and your vision and consider any projects you can complete in the next few days to free up some space in your days.
Add up the time you actually need for your income producing activities, plus the other business activities you need to do on a weekly basis, like accounts and blogs and schedule into your diary when you will undertake these, in designated blocks with regular breaks.
Think about any changes you want to make to how things are now in your life that would make things easier for you and contribute further to balance. I realised that I need to be asking more of my children in terms of contributing and could do my food shopping on a weekend when I have more time. Little things, but big difference.
If you’d like a template of the steps I used above with examples, please complete the short contact form below and I will send it across to you!
I hope like for me, balance is easy to find now you have a simple tool to use.
Much love,
CW x
Clare Williamson 