work life balance Archives

Recently I found myself suffering with a frozen right shoulder. It was extremely uncomfortable, especially while sleeping.

But life still had to go on, I had to look after a three year old, work on my business, chores etc. I wasn’t sleeping well at night and generally crabby and irritable. Unable to work at my computer (believe me I tried!) and with a phone that died, more demands on my time than usual, this past week has been pretty horrendous.

Now I definitely learnt something from this experience (don’t you love a story with a moral?). So here are my five tips for other stressed mums in business who feel like the world is collapsing around them but still need to be there for their kids and business.

1. Make that medical appointment

From past experience (I had a frozen neck at the same time last year) I should have made that critical appointment at the earliest with my physiotherapist and not subjected myself to so much anxiety by waiting until I was in acute agony. So if you’re in pain and it’s interfering with your daily life, for God’s sake go and see a medical professional! Remember that analogy of putting on your oxygen mask first before attending to others?

2. Take a day or two off

If you’re in pain or worn out, the best thing you can do is take a time out and relax. Stop working and take a day or two off to recharge your batteries. Apart from email, do not respond to anything else. My advice is to stay away from your phone altogether.

3. Get off social media

Ever get the feeling that the world is moving too fast on Facebook and Twitter? I had that feeling when I was sick and checking the social networks. I finally switched off completely for a week and guess what happened? The world came back to normal. So if social media is causing you to stress, turn it off and see how much better you feel.

P.S. Anyone wanting to get in touch with you can use old fashioned text and phone calls. Much simpler!

4. Meditate and exercise

When did you last take time to do yoga or simply sit in silence?. If like me you don’t remember then you’re long overdue for an exercise session. If you don’t have time to attend a class, say hello to YouTube. During the frozen neck fiasco, I started watching YouTube yoga videos and I swear it helped me heal faster and sleep much more deeply. Roll out your mat once the kids are in bed instead of attending to emails or scrolling through your Twitter feed.

5. Clear your to-do list

We mums have never ending to-do lists! Ask any mum when she last completed hers and you may get an eye roll with the answer “Never”! If erasing the to-do list is too much for you, go through yours right now and see what you can delete from it. Less tasks means less stress and more time for fun!

Hope these tips help you next time you feel stressed. Don’t wait for a frozen muscle to remind you to take it easy and look after your health.

Right, I’m off to do some yoga…Namaste!

Work-life balance is such a big promise, especially when you are a mum who is also trying to run a business.

Does the work “balance” make you shift and tense up? Or does it make you feel optimistic and relaxed?

Balance is the promise of having it all. Being perfect. This can be kind of stressful in itself and unrealistic. Yet, it also represents calm, an equal distribution of your attention and a varied, beautiful life.

Who doesn’t want that?

Personally, I like the word; it makes me feel like I have something to strive for. To be balanced is such a priority for me. To feel ok with where I am, how I am spending my time, and who with.

However, for a business mum the work–life balance can be one of our BIGGEST challenges. So after 5 years of balancing my solo business and my two gorgeous kids, I want to share with you my top 5 work/kids balance tips and how they work for me.

1. Balance is always changing

The first thing to know about balance is that it is never consistent. Every day is different when juggling a business and your lovely kids. Bumps always appear in the road – sick kids, school trips, doctor appointments, or my recent experience of my son’s kinder being closed down for a month while they fixed the water pipes.

If you approach balance knowing every day is different and you accept it, it feels easier already.

2. Balance is having support

Often we can feel as though we must do everything ourselves. The housework, dinner, looking after our kids and running our business. It takes a village to raise a child, maintain a house and run a business. So ask for help. Get a cleaner; part-time day care won’t harm your kids, ask your partner, neighbours, parents, siblings and friends to take your kids for an hour here and there; find yourself a great virtual assistant etc. Balance gets easier when you have support.

You are doing an amazing job as a balancing business mum

3. Balance is having fun

Our kids are creative, playful, fun and full of imagination. If we really make the most of our time with them, it can be the perfect way to bust your work stress. Take a bath with them at the end of the day; jump up and down like a “crazy” on the trampoline; join them in their painting sessions; or play hide and seek. Really engage with your kids. Be hands on. Enjoy them. This is a massive key to having balance in your life.

4. Balance is communicating

If projects or client appointments are going to be delayed because of family events, them communication is the answer to keep your business running smoothly. It is not the end of the world if something is delayed. Often, if you just keep your customers and clients in the loop so they know about the delay and the ETA, then it is likely that they will be pretty cool about it.

5. Balance is productivity

Productivity becomes a super skill for a business mum when balancing a business and kids. You become so smart about time and to do lists. Be strict about your work windows. Prioritise what you need to work on, switch off your email and social media, and get through those tasks. As I said, productivity is every business mums’ superpower, so embrace it and tweak it over time.

All I wanted to share with you today is how to change your perception of balance. Just let go and trust that things will happen eventually. Accept that things won’t always go to plan, but to try and be easy going about it – don’t stress. You will get there.

You are doing an amazing job as a balancing business mum.

Do it!

Try these tips in your juggle this week.

Be conscious of patterns, behaviour and when something comes up, be observant and consider where your attention needs to be.

I would love to hear your tips with the work/kids juggle. How do you maintain balance?

Clare Greig

Clare Greig is the creator of Breath Online – Business and Creativity Coaching. Clare believes women can be devoted mums AND smart, creative business owners. Helping business mums wherever they are on their journey – from creation, growing or balancing their business and life as a mum. Be part of Clare’s community, grab her free business tools, goodies and a copy of her Business Mum eMag. Clare can help you discover to you can create an online business that is present for you 24/7 and works perfectly on a part-time basis.

Featured Photo Credit: GSCSNJ via photopin cc

I juggle lots of balls. Between working for Government, owning my own business, being a new Mum, building a new home, and managing the ups and downs of family and personal life, I am always busy. Even though I might complain about it sometimes, I know I love it. I’m not the kind of person who can sit around on the couch for hours and do nothing. That’s just not me. I’d prefer to be blogging or talking to a client.

Having said this, I’m also a huge advocate for the importance of self-care and ‘me time’. I truly believe that in order to be in the optimal position to be of service to others, I must take care of myself. But how do you do this when you are so busy? How do you do this when you’re a proud workaholic?

Here are six ways that I have found that you can ensure you take time out for yourself when you are a proud workaholic who still values ‘me time’ and self-care:

1. Meditate whilst in transit or on you’re toilet break

Yes, you read that right. You can meditate when you’re on the toilet. Or when you’re on the bus or train. Or perhaps while you’re waiting for your coffee to be made.

Take those few moments of quiet to just ‘be’. It can be as simple as focusing on your breath. Taking a deep breath in through your nose, pausing for a few seconds, and then a allowing a slow breath out through your mouth. Repeating this a few times until you feel your body and mind relaxing.

2. Introduce quick bursts of exercise

If there are times where you simply can’t fit in a workout, try introducing a few five minute breaks throughout the day to do some quick bursts of exercise. My favourite ways of doing this are:

Setting a reminder on my computer to get up every couple of hours to do a set of alternating exercises (e.g., squats, alternating lunges, tricep dips, calf raises etc.). When I’m in the office, I love getting my colleagues involved with this. Yes, they think you’re crazy to begin with, but after a while they actually start to look forward to it!

Taking the stairs instead of the lift and walking up them as fast as possible. You’d be amazed at how many calories this burns once you’ve done it a few times throughout the day!

Making and using exercise playing cards periodically throughout the day for short bursts. This is as simple as writing different exercises on a piece of paper and cutting them up into cards that can be shuffled and drawn when you have a spare moment to move your body.

Not only are these short breaks good for your body, but they also help clear your mind and boost your productivity.

3. Put a reminder in your phone with an affirmation encouraging you to prioritise sleep

If you’re anything like me, the night suddenly disappears when you start to do some work after dinner. Before you know it, you start to feel tired during the day – and this isn’t good for anyone.

I now have a reminder on my phone that goes off at a set time saying: “Self care, including sleep, is just as important as every other item on my To Do list”.

When this alarm goes off, I know it’s time to pack up the books and start to wind-down and prepare for bed.

… In order to be in the optimal position to be of service to others, I must take care of myself

4. Ask for help

For many of us, this can be tough. We like to be the one that people come to for help, not the other way around. Besides, sometimes it’s just easier to do things yourself, right?

Wrong.

Letting go, accepting help, and entrusting others is a superpower that every self-loving and self-caring workaholic must have in her back pocket. It is something that doesn’t come naturally to many of us, including me, and that we must consciously work on and practice each day.

I promise you that you will notice a huge difference in your health and happiness when you start to master this one.

5. Schedule time out

If it’s not in your schedule, it won’t happen. It’s as simple as that.

When you’re a workaholic, your diary is your bible. You are lost without it. Literally.

If you don’t make time for ‘me time’ and self care, it simply wont happen. You must get into the habit of pencilling it into your diary.

6. Plan the bejesus out of things

When you juggle lots of balls, it can be extremely difficult to find time for ‘me time’ and self-care. You are just too busy. I get this. I’m the same.

I’ve found that being super-planned and organised is what helps me identify pockets of time to stop and do things for myself occasionally.

I pencil planning time in to my diary. I have templates to help me plan efficiently and quickly. I have a weekly meals and exercise plan. I even have a monthly housework planner, that breaks down the chores that need to be done, who needs to do them, and when.

Being organised and planning ahead, helps take the thinking out of things. You can pop them into your schedule and just do them – freeing up time for that walk with the family, that lazy evening in bed reading a book, or that coffee date with a friend.

Featured image courtesy of Naomi Arnold.

Naomi Arnold
Naomi is an award winning Business + Life Passion Coach, writer, speaker and human rights activist. She works with big hearted, creative and mission driven people who want to make a difference in the world. Through her coaching, writing, and award nominated Freebies Library at www.naomiarnold.com, she helps people embrace their uniqueness and live their version of a passion-fueled and purposeful life.