How To Have Your Cake and Eat It Too (Everyday)
It's the eternal question, how to balance work, personal life and everything else in between. Sometimes there's too much work that it leaves no time for anything else. When you're a creative freelancer or an entrepreneur, your laser focus mode tends to lack an off button. These modern times we are given or we give ourselves more tasks or projects than we hoped for, which isn't a bad thing. When it's good, it's very good. When it's crazy busy, you're excited to be, but then you stop to wonder --- am I doing this all right?
It's true the early bird gets the worm. When you run your own business, it's easy to fall into automatic mode of being up at the crack of dawn so you can work. Why though? Why does work have to be the first thing on the agenda? Those few minutes when your eyes open to the light of day, that's all for you. Even if it's two minutes or fifteen minutes, take advantage of just lying there and thinking about anything. Meditate or listen to a favorite song to help you get into a good mood. Work shouldn't be the first thing you think about or do in the morning. You're lucky to have those few minutes, make it all about you.
📷 by @lefawnhawk
Time management is everything, but for many it seems like a pipe dream. Always a great idea, but very hard to execute and commit to. Think of your daily schedule like a hard rock that cannot be moved. Decrease the mentality that the important top priority meetings, project deadlines and calls could be changed. Not to be inflexible, but everything on your schedule is there for a reason, serves a purpose and obviously will benefit you in ways. By getting important work items sorted, then the more free time you have for non-work activities.
📷 by @perolls
Surround yourself with good people. Employ people who will work hard for the project. Make sure your day is filled with charismatic, smart and kind people who understand your goals and will help however needed. Don't work for or with assholes. Time is money and life is way too short for bullshit.
📷 by @johnclaytonlee
Don't forget to schedule in a 30 minutes break if you have to (if not a full hour). As hectic as the day gets, and yet another lunch salad is eaten at your desk, realistically emails can wait. They can wait for the most an hour. You're not in charge of the nuke button, so remember to give yourself some free time to run a personal errand, take a walk, text your friends, do some online shopping, anything to momentarily escape work mode. Then, hit refresh.
manifesto magazine, march 2018
At the very end of the day, before or just as your head hits the pillow, make a point to be thankful for one thing from your day. This habit is a keeper, the more gracious you are, doors and windows open for only the good things to come in. All because that one thing you were thankful for was actually positive energy going out.
Hey, you're welcome.
