These days, we often believe that doing more will lead to greater success and, in turn, more happiness. But it can also lead to burn-out, frustration, exhaustion and disconnect from our family members. That's why I'm a firm believer in SIMPLIFYING - whenever and wherever possible.
Balancing the roles of mom and business executive takes effort to pull off. Remember yourself, your needs, your wants, your happiness - this is the ultimate measure of balance.
Flexibility is key - what works this week may be out of whack next week - stay open to new solutions, and learn to recignize the tell-tale signs of imbalance: resentment, fatigue, depression, dissatisfaction with your job or your life in general ...
To help simplify my own life, I followed these five easy steps. Try them out yourself and see what happens.
(1) If you don't yet have a family calendar, get one now and put EVERYTHING on it for ALL OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS. Then throw away all of those post-its and assorted odd papers crowding your purse, your wallet, stuck on your monitor, stuffed in a desk drawer ... all of those curled up paper scraps where you hurridly jotted down next week's dentist appointment, your manicurist's cell-phone number, your daughter's ballet teacher's new school address. Toss all of it and forget about it. Clear it from your brain. It's all on the calendar now.
(2) Learn to say NO and don't feel guilty about it. Separate the important stuff and remove or delegate the things that seem to be interfering with your life. If you're heavily immersed in volunteer organizations, school activities and fundraisers that don't directly include your children, social commitments and whatever else is bogging you down, eliminate what you can. Years from now, your children probably won't care whether you chaired the school bakesale; what they will remember was having you there with them, walking around, eyeing the cakes and sweet treats (as opposed to scurrying around making sure everything was running as it should).
(3) If you feel overwhelmed, renegotiate household tasks. If your family members are ffeeling a bit anxious about picking up some of your responsibilities, go a step further: Arrange a restaurant night one day a week where nobody has to cook, try grocery shopping online and see how it works, and consider outsourcing to free up more of your time (hire a gardener and/or a cleaning service to come in once a month to do a professional job to supplement what you do around the house now).
(4) Hold family meetings where individuals can voice their concerns, introduce new ideas for doing things around the house and talk freely about anything impacting the family. Divide the meeting up into new business and old business. Be respectful of others' viewpoints and carefully consider everything that everybody puts forth You'll be surprised at how helpful your children can be when they see that you're seriously asking for their input and help with family matters.
(5) Finally, re-evaluate what's most important to you. Step back and look at your life as if you're outside looking in. Ask yourself "Who do I want to be" rather than "What do I want to do." Start thinking in terms of "being" rather than constantly "doing." Having the life you truly want and deserve isn't as hard as you may think.
At the end of the day, if you can manage to simplify even a small fraction of your life, you may even find time to take a nap. You may feel nervous about having the time to do that, or feel that there's got to be SOMETHING you've got to do if you could only remember what it was ... Take a nap instead.
Thanks for the info I'll add it.
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