Wanting it all and having it all are two VERY different things. It takes discipline, intention, and ACTION! You can’t sit on your bum and think it will just happen… IT WON’T! I have to work hard to stay on track towards the goals I’ve set for myself because being disciplined, isn’t my strong suite. I would much rather be somewhere CREATING and doing my own thing. That being said (going back to my opening sentence), “WANTING IT ALL AND HAVING IT ALL ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS”.
Over the past seven years of having businesses, I have learned a few things about WORK-LIFE BALANCE. I realized (and made sure those around me knew), I am only ONE PERSON. That song, “I’m Every Woman” by Shaka Khan is fun to sing, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s not me she’s talking about. Trying to do and be all is just too much for me. If you’re like me, this post will be very helpful to you. I’m sharing my lessons regarding WORK-LIFE BALANCE and how personal branding and authentic marketing play a role in the strategies I’ve created for myself.
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First, I had to open my eyes to the fact that I’M NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE! When I first started as a married woman, I thought I HAD to do certain things and be a certain way because that’s what I saw other wives doing. It made me CRAZY! The things that I saw my mother do or heard friends talk about sometimes didn’t apply to me or my relationship and to force situations to fit into a relationship box of another persons, making was exhausting and futile. What I learned was…I’m not like everybody else. In order for me to be happy, I had to establish my own relationship rules and pull away from the advice and negativity of others. The lesson opened my eyes to a non-negotiable I use today in my business… Find what works for me and do THAT.
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Next, I realized to much means too messy. I don’t process well when there is too much going on around me. If I feel overwhelmed, I become paralyzed with anxiety of not knowing what to tackle first. It’s horrible to know things need to get done, but not know where to begin to make the biggest impact. I have so many balls juggling at any given moment, that I sometimes feel like I’ve dropped all of them and don’t know which to pick up first. Because of this, I am a PURGER! If I don’t use it, I get rid of it. If it’s not working, I stop using it. If he’s/she’s/it’s high maintenance OR too much trouble…. I let he/she/it go. I use this lesson to establish standard operating practices in my business and evaluate whether potential clients and/or collaborators are a good fit. When things are more complicated than they need to be or prove to be detrimental to myself or my business, to much means too messy definitely applies.
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Lastly, when it comes to WORK-LIFE BALANCE, I recognized my role in the BALANCE part. Allowing others to control my time was a HUGE mistake. Thanks to my stint with Premier Designs Jewelry, I learned to take back the control of my calendar. Unfortunately, it would take another few years to learn about the concept of BLOCK SCHEDULING, BATCHING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Let me help you, if you don’t already know…
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BLOCK SCHEDULING is amazing! The best person I’ve heard talk abut it is Jordan Page of Fun, Cheap or Free, Budget Boot Camp, and Productivity Boot Camp. It completely changed my life. I mean, like I said, I knew about controlling my calendar and not letting clients dictate when I would work, but this took THAT to a whole new level. Now I have days for my business and days for my nonprofit. I have specific times for appointments already built into my schedule so if a doctors appointment is needed or a client wants to meet, I have set times. It’s SOOOOO GOOODDDD!!! Watch her video on the subject and get busy making magic with your calendar too.
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BATCHING is something I picked up on from watching some of my favorite youtubers in action. Before discovering this concept, I was like a worker bee, diligently creating content the week it was suppose to be released. I frantically tried to come up with topics to discuss on my blog and wrote soooo much content and created so many strategies for myself I found myself in the “To much too mess” bucket. The idea is to pick time in your calendar (BLOCK SCHEDULE) to create multiple pieces of content for which ever medium you’re using to engage your audience. For me, I do my videos, podcasts, and now blog posts this way. GAME CHANGER!!! Amy Landino is someone I watch for #BOSSUP ideas and she has a great video describing how to batch time and content.
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS have become a fetish of mine. I love ASANA! I use it for my content calendar. When I started block scheduling my time, I began batching content for my podcast, videos and blog but I needed something to organize it all. I had been using Asana to manage different projects and campaigns but REALLY started using it at the end of 2018 to stay on track with my content. AMAZING!!! It’s quite easy to use and extremely powerful when combined with the other tips I’ve shared already.
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