Booth: Today's topic on the podcast is kind of perfect timing because
this is the end of Season 2.
So after this episode, I'm going to take a couple months off during
the summer and then we'll be back in August to bring you Season 3.
So I'm taking the summer off from doing the podcast because I wanted to take a
few things off of my plate and create a little more time to spend with family.
My son has just finished his junior year in high school and the summers
with him are quickly, quickly dwindling and so I want to make sure
I have as much time as possible to be present with my family this summer.
So that leads me right into today's topic on the podcast,
and that is work life balance.
Seems to be the million dollar question everyone always asks, especially us moms.
An easy answer would be great, but the truth is there is not an easy answer to
how to find work life balance, and it looks a little differently for everyone,
and it looks different depending on what phase or season of life you are in.
So, what you have to focus on is what works for you.
For example, when my son was small, I worked outside the home.
My approach to work life balance, certain things I had to do, were much different
than they are now that I'm self employed.
He's a teenager.
He can drive himself.
Things like that.
So, the calendar looks a little different as well as home life.
Today I'm going to run through some tips, some little ideas for you to
think about if you are struggling to find some work life balance.
So, the first one is time management.
It seems like a no brainer, But it's not always easy to manage time.
Some people are better at it than others.
So those of us who are not good at managing time definitely need to kind
of have a plan of attack to make sure they wrangle in their time management.
One of my absolute favorite things to do, and you've probably heard me talk
about it before, is time blocking.
Time blocking is a game changer for your schedule.
And it also is easier said than done, and if you've never done it, it's
going to take a little trial and error to figure out the little cushions you
have to leave in for drive times and things like that, because focusing
on those details and making sure you allocate proper time really helps.
Really is the key to making time blocking work and having ample time
to get everything done in the actual amount of time that it takes to do it.
So Google Calendar is a great tool to use on the go.
You can put appointments in, it'll give you a little reminder,
all of those kinds of things.
But when it comes to time blocking, the old school pen and paper
generally seems to work better.
And that is for a few reasons.
So I like to sit down, usually on the weekends or something, and do
a week at a glance style calendar for the week ahead to plan it out.
I actually have linked a free download in the show notes if you want to
print your own week at a glance to use to do your time blocking.
And I start with my time blocking by putting in appointments that I have, maybe
doctor's appointments, things like that.
And then from there you prioritize what gets on the calendar and what doesn't.
And color coding is a great tool.
So I like to do all my work things in yellow, family things, things for my son
in blue, and then my personal things like a yoga class, something like that in pink.
So this visual that you get looking at your week at a glance, the task of
writing it down, all of those kind of things, helps your brain process what
you're going to have to do this coming week, and already kind of gets a game
plan for how it's going to happen.
And maybe you have clients that make appointments in something like a
Calendly, or something like that.
Be sure you link those kind of things to that Google Calendar, so
when you're doing your week at a glance, you prioritize those client
appointments that have been set.
Additionally, I like to look at the month ahead periodically as well.
It helps for planning out any long term projects so that you can
break them down into pieces into that week at a glance calendar.
And then you don't end up procrastinating things and then they
become stressful and overwhelmed because they take over your schedule.
Additionally, if there are any other goals or something you're trying to
achieve, mapping them out on a long term and then having that into your
week at a glance will help you achieve those and stay on track with them.
And, of course, being able to achieve the things we want to do, get the things
done we want to do, that creates a good mindset, keeps us from being stressed,
and that is one key to work life balance.
I also like to prioritize family time on the calendar before any other
social obligations get put on it.
We oftentimes find ourselves overwhelmed throughout the week with work.
And then the weekend comes and all of a sudden we have a
bunch of social obligations and family is what takes the hit.
So don't let that happen.
Go ahead and prioritize which social obligations are important
to you and you can decline an invitation and it will still be okay.
You will regret not spending the time with your family more than anything.
So number two on my list is next is an organized household.
And again, this one is much easier said than done and some people have an easier
time with staying organized than others.
So I'm going to give you some tips that will help you wrangle in the
household and keep that from being another stressful part of your life.
So communicate with your spouse about household duties, chores, tasks, all
those things that need to happen.
We, as moms, we tend to try to do it all, and then one day the
overwhelm just boils up, and we kind of snap, and then everybody thinks
we're the mean person, or whatever.
So you want to avoid that happening.
It's not good for anyone's mindset in the house, and it becomes a stressor.
If you are a single parent, or maybe your spouse travels extensively, and
you are are the one that's going to have to be in charge and getting a lot
or almost all of the tasks done, then here are some tips for you as well.
And this one works even if your spouse helps, but assign your kids chores.
Feel like we all grew up with chores, but so many kids today
don't really have chores anymore.
Kids can help starting at a young age with things like dishes, laundry, feeding
the dogs, taking out the trash, all sorts of things that have to get done.
Chore charts can be a great way to make sure every task
has someone assigned to it.
It's also a great way to make your child feel accomplished and maybe there's a
little prize or incentive tied to it.
So the chore chart can be fun and it's a great way to know.
All the household duties that need to get done have been assigned
to someone other than you.
And while hiring someone to help doesn't fit everyone's budget,
if that does fit your budget, do consider hiring someone to help.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness.
It's a sign of keeping your mind in check.
Your time, your peace of mind is very, very valuable.
So, weigh your options with deciding to use some outside help.
One of my favorite tried and true tips is to meal plan and prep.
And, I will say that I'm not as dedicated to this as I was when my
son was younger and it was, It's much, much more important to do it, but it
still is such an effective tool for keeping both your calendar and your
household organized and on track.
It removes so much overwhelm from your evenings and saves so much time long term.
I actually have done a course where I show you how to prep the entire
week's worth of suppers in one hour, and in that time, you're also
prepping some lunches for the week.
So I'll link that in the show notes as well.
But when you can walk in the door after a long day at work and just slide a
casserole into the oven, and then you have time to go walk the dog, get that walk
in you need, or sit down and help with homework, all of those kinds of things,
your mindset is just much less stressed.
And another thing is to make sure the backpacks are packed the night before.
If there's any special outfits or things that need to go to school,
that they're packed and ready.
And I was never the type to make the sandwich the night before, but you
can always do other things to get the lunchbox ready the night before and
help speed that along in the morning.
When you're running around frantically in the morning trying to get out the
door on time and not be late, it throws your whole mindset off for the day.
It is much more stressful than you realize.
It gets you in a bad mood.
It gets you kind of being short with other people; it is basically getting you out of
balance right from the start for the day.
So do as much as you can the night before.
You have time to do it the night before when you've taken other things off your
plate, like trying to decide what to have for supper and then either stopping
to get ingredients or having to chop ingredients and all of that kind of stuff.
So It's almost kind of like a domino effect, right?
Like you do one thing and it just makes everything else flow in this perfect line.
Number three.
Taking care of yourself.
And you're probably thinking, wait, what?
I'm supposed to take care of me too?
I feel like we often feel that way.
Like, oh no, there's no time for me.
I have to take care of everyone else.
And as mothers, we are nurturers, we are carers, all of those kinds of
things we tend to want to do for the others before we do for ourselves.
But it is important to take care of us, too.
I really like to use the analogy of a mask on a plane, the oxygen mask, that is.
So they always say that if you're traveling with someone else, put
your mask on first before assisting the person besides you, the person
you're traveling with, whomever.
And the reason they tell you to do this is because you are not going to be
able to give someone else assistance if you've already passed out, basically.
So, think about that with your own self care.
If you're exhausted, if you're burnt out, If you're physically just unwell,
you are not going to be the person your family needs and you're not going to
take care of them as well as you want to.
So prioritizing taking care of yourself is very important for work life balance.
It's very, very important for mindset.
Self care is a real thing and it's a daily thing.
It's not a once a year big spa day.
Although those are great and you can add that to the list too.
Sure, why not?
Um, but it's taking care of our physical bodies each day, making
sure you have plenty of rest.
When you have your time managed and your home organized, it's a lot easier
to get in the bed at a reasonable time.
And your diet matters too.
When you're eating junk food and fast food and all of these
things, they make you feel bad.
They drain you of your energy and it just makes everything else spiral downhill.
The meal planning and prepping is a super way to keep your diet on track
and keep eating healthy things that make you feel good and give you energy.
And of course, you have to get that exercise in too, but exercise
really does give you more energy and makes you feel better.
A simple 30 to 45 minute walk, maybe with the dogs, maybe a weekly
yoga class does it for you, and it really helps you just stop,
decompress, and refocus for the week.
Whatever it is you enjoy doing, make sure when you're doing that time blocking, you
find some time for you to do those things.
It's very, very important to your overall balance.
And while we are saying yes to things that nurture us and our bodies, we also
must say no to things that don't, right?
So we must say no to things that are not aligned with our season
of life, our current goals, our current family's lifestyle and
calendar and things like that.
There are a lot of pressures.
Social media does make it worse, but there are a lot of pressures
to do what other people are doing, and it's not always aligned.
And that is where you have to say no, because it will be stressful trying
to do things that aren't fitting where you are in life right now.
And number four is creating boundaries between work and family time.
As a society, we have become a culture of always available.
And that is not necessarily a good thing.
That's why it's so important to set boundaries between work and family time,
but you also have to communicate those boundaries so that people's expectations
are aligned with your intentions.
So some simple ideas to create those boundaries.
When you get home in the evening, Put your phone on Do Not Disturb.
So this will keep your phone from being a distraction, but it will
also notify the person that you have your notifications silenced.
So they won't feel like you are ignoring them.
Additionally, turn off read receipts and things like that on your phone,
because if people see that you have read their message, then they're
wondering why you haven't responded.
You don't want people to know that you have read their
message but haven't replied.
So just go ahead and make it so they don't know if you've read it
and then once you do read it on your set time, then you respond.
Don't check your email right when you wake up in the morning.
Wait until you sit down to do work time.
And I like to wait and only check email once I sit down at my computer.
But if you're not a sit down at the computer person and your phone is how
you check emails and you And do all your communications, then maybe turn off
email notifications on your phone and set times throughout the day where you
stop, you read your emails and you reply.
When you set the example that you instantly respond, then that is
what people will always demand of you to be always available.
When you work for a business that has no set hours, if you work nine to
five or something like that, Monday through Friday, and someone sends
you an email, Cause it's on their mind at three o'clock on a Sunday.
They generally aren't going to expect you to reply until the actual office is open.
But if you're self employed, you need to create those office hours
for yourself and define what that boundary is of your availability.
I even like to put office hours in the signature of your email.
So if your office hours say Monday through Thursday, nine to four, and someone sends
you an email on Friday, maybe you have an auto responder on that you're out of
the office or something like that, and then they can see your office hours.
So people aren't expecting that instant reply that they're looking for.
They're understanding why they haven't gotten an answer back from you yet.
And take your lunch break, leave the building, go for a walk,
read some light hearted fiction while you eat your sandwich.
Just do something that lets your brain kind of take a break and
refocus before the afternoon.
And communicate family events or time off needed as far in advance
as you can with your employer.
And then of course, as I mentioned just a minute ago, if you're not going to
be in the office, whether it's vacation or you work odd hours, any of those
things, have an autoresponder that lets someone know that you're not ghosting
them, but you're not available right now.
Finding work life balance.
This is an ever evolving process because our lives are always changing.
There's no marker to define that you've achieved it like weight
loss or something like that because it's always, always changing.
Our lives are always changing.
We all want to be successful in our work, but our families are priority.
And so finding that balance to make both of them work.
Together, harmoniously, is the focus here.
To me, quality time is more important than quantity time.
I've been around people before where you're together for several hours, but
they're not present because they're on their phone their whole time, or
replying to emails and things like that.
So having quality time is much, much better than unpresent quantity of time.
And quality time is best achieved when we are our best.
We've taken care of ourselves.
We're not distracted and we can give our complete focus and energy to what
matters at that moment with our family.
And focusing on that daily is what makes our lives more balanced.
So if you are struggling with work life balance, I hope some of these
tips resonated with you as things you could employ in the way you go
about your day and approaching work and life together to create a little
more balance, a little less stress, a little more peace in your life.
And that being said, I am going to sign off for the summer
and I'll be back in August.