Question: As a small business owner and busy wife and mother of 2 teenage daughters I find it difficult to focus on business related tasks when I am at home, outside of my client appointments. When I am home, I feel compelled to do household chores and jobs first to keep my household running, rather than focusing on business support activities. How can I focus my time better so I can successfully manage my household, my business and also have time to recharge and relax?
Professional Organizer's Answer: Boy, this is really the ULTIMATE question that I am sure all women are seeking an answer to this one. To achieve this balance in life would take weeks (maybe months) of coaching and/or forming new habits that support the lifestyle and outcome you want. But, let me just give you a few basics so you can start to gain clarity, feel more in control, and take a day off!
I think we can sum up your question into the following quote:
You can have it all, but not all at the same time.
You must be very clear on your goals and end results you want from all the roles in your life. At certain times a woman may need to focus and decide on the tasks that are the most important in their life right now. Right now, is it time to spend precious time in the mother role with a newborn or squeeze in a few days before your children go off to college? Or, are your kids so busy with their own after school activities that now is the time you can log in a few more sales calls? Sometimes we have to decide what we really want and let the other stuff go... even if just for a little while.
It sounds cliche, but you have to know what your goals are, not what anyone else wants or expects. There are tons of books, courses, coaches and programs out there to help you go deeper and find your true path. And, with all the lip-service to goal setting it amazes me that less than 10% of the population even bother to write their goals down still and only about 3% achieve them!
The first step is to look at the different roles in your life and don't forget "yourself" as a role! Keep in mind that your roles may change from time to time. You may find there will be some weeks when your responsibilities in a certain role are very minimal. That doesn't mean the role goes away, but you can be grateful to have one less role to think about that week. List all your different roles: friend, runner, wife, mother, PTA member, pet owner, mogle, church member, daughter-in-law, etc. on a piece of paper or in your computer.
Then, when you plan weekly (let's say on a Sunday night) you look over your list of roles and ask yourself: "What are the most important tasks I can do in this role this week that would have the greatest impact on my life?" and schedule the tasks throughout the week to support your goals. Again, don't forget putting "self" as a role. Some weeks will be filled with family activity and some with deadlines for your business. But, a week is a good chunk of time to look at your roles and how you can further your relationships, impact your business goals, and try to balance it all a bit.
Whew! Now that I went over all that deep soul searching stuff, let me just give you some practical suggestions that can be implemented right away if they fit your lifestyle goals.
1. Batching - Stop and look at all your tasks for the week. Batch all like tasks together and try to do them all in the same span of time. For example running errands - don't just run to the market, while you are out go to the post office, dry cleaners, etc. Also, let tasks build up until it is worth it to do them all at once. Let the mail collect in your email, voice mail, or physical mailbox for a few days or a week and go through it all at once. This also increases efficiency for you get into a rhythm doing one type of task at a time instead of starting and stopping different tasks.
2. Outsourcing - How much do you make per hour doing what you love and how much does it cost for someone else to do tasks that do NOTHING to get you to your goals? This includes: housekeeping, errand running, bookkeeping, laundry, client database, appointment setting, etc. Then, to see an instant ROI (return on investment) for this enlisted help do nothing but revenue generating activities with the time you have gained back. With this "found" time you can make your sales calls, attend networking events, write and submit articles, create a product, anything that contributes directly to your bottom line.
3. Block Time - Block time in your calendar for family, business, self, friends, etc. Just knowing that you have devoted time allocated for your different roles takes the guilt away and lets you focus on the task at hand. While you are at the beach with your daughters on Saturday, just know that you have blocked out a sufficient 3 hours on Tuesday for a networking meeting.
4. Automate - Take a look at the tasks you need to perform and see where you can automate them. Examples are: bill paying on your bank's website, appointment setting with programs like Timetrade.com, social media with HootSuite.com, invoicing clients, reduce routine calls and emails with an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on your website, ordering groceries for delivery online (they save your favorites list too), ordering from drugstore.com instead of driving around, etc.
5. Delete - Again, look at your task lists. Can anything be deleted? Is it just busy work? Has it contributed to your income or happiness? Is it something you think you should be doing because everyone else is like social media? Is it something you really want or need to do? Is it an escape activity like watching TV? Just be mindful, check in with yourself and delete what isn't really joyful to you.
6. Create an Inspired Office - No matter how small your workspace is you need a dedicated space and it needs to be functional and pretty. Women work best when their environments are comfortable. Even if your desk is in a hall closet put up a vision board and have some fresh flowers. Clear away anything that isn't useful or beautiful. Clear away all old files, paperwork, projects you have decided are no longer important, etc. Get rid of anything that isn't supporting the life you have or the life you want right now. Make sure that you can't see the overflowing laundry basket when you are at your desk, clear the path so that when you are walking to the fax machine you aren't tripping over toys, and get the grape jelly out from between your keyboard keys.
7. Set Boundaries - If you've done your share of soul searching and the business is really something that is important to you then when it is time to do business tasks you must treat it like a real business and not a hobby. Set boundaries with yourself and your family. No "just real quick" throwing in a load of laundry in the middle of the workday. Would you do that if you worked for a traditional company? Explain to your family that you need "X" number of hours to devote to the business and you can't be distracted or multitask with household chores or requests from them at this dedicated work time. What a great example you will be setting for your young daughters about dedication and work ethic! Then when the work day is up, close up shop, and turn off your smart phone so you can focus on your family. Setting boundaries and time so you can take care of yourself is also a fabulous habit for you to model to your children. Show them that you need to take the time and that you care about exercising to stay healthy, get your hair and nails done to feel and represent your best, and go out to bond with just your girlfriends on certain nights, etc. You will feel taken care of and be able to give more. An overused saying from the airline industry, but it illustrates what I am talking about so well is "Put your oxygen mask on first before you can help others around you."
Your question is a very deep one, but I hope some of these simple tips and strategies will lead you to design the life you want without feeling so frazzled.
