Its Sunday morning, 5.30 am, hairs all a mess, coffee number 2 in my palms. Wrapped in a warm check blanket, I sit on the veranda, book in one hand, coffee in the other. This is my quiet time. My me time. As a mum we all dire for this peaceful little moment, some of us get it, most of us don’t! As a parent, time is an indulgence… but time free from the kids or the hubby or work or jobs or bills or school drop offs, lunches, washing… the list goes ON!
Being a Mum in business. Well, its next level. For those entrepreneur mummies out there, I take my hat off to you. It’s a slog and a half each day, and it can get a bit much. Overwhelming. Tiring. Exhausting. I only have 1 kid, so can’t imagine having a few like a lot of my friends in business do... a credit to you! It takes planning, time management, life balance & well luck! Some days, it just takes guts, determination & a whole lot of winging it! I am sure I have posted more Instagram & Facebook posts, emails & message replies from the toilet than anywhere else... But that’s making the most of each minute in a day. And well sometimes, it’s because I didn’t plan my tasks properly and was behind the 8 ball. Oh well! I got it done!
As a Mum there is so much guilt behind being in business, as your work never really ends. You don’t go to an 8-5 job, where your tasks finish when you leave work and wait till the next day to start them again. There are calls, emails, replies to customers, creative moments in the morning you need to make the most of and run with an idea when it pops up while your making school lunches and your juggling brushing hair, teeth & burning toast! Some days I need to check myself as I’m off with the fairies cooking up a new idea, and not present or on my phone and not listening to wild adventurous stories cooked up by her little imagination. Stopping. Listening. Waiting. Being patient. And holding those thoughts & jobs for later.
I listened to this fantastic podcast last week about scheduling tasks and planning out all your time by Elizabeth McCravy – BREAKTHROUGH BRAND PODCAST, on Spotify. She is sensationally organised, like next level! But her tips and systems are really inspirational and have already seen me think about what I’m doing, plan it out, schedule it into my calendar and make time for work, and time for home. She is really great and has plenty of other podcasts on business, branding, websites, social media and more.
On that note, here’s a tip Elizabeth gave me, get your I phone calendar, and create different calendars for different things I have:
DUSTY CREEK
PERSONAL
HEALTH
TO DO LIST
FAMILY
DUSTY CREATIVE
Your i-cloud calendar allows you to create different categories of calendars with different colours to categorise your tasks. I have different ones so my brain can see at a glance what’s on for the day. I set aside time on a Sunday to scribble everything down on paper I need to do, appointments, tasks, jobs, projects I need to allocate time for, even a lunch break. And then add it to your weekly schedule. This helps me get the jobs done I need to do, not forget anything, get my to do list ticked off. Then I can ensure I have the time for my daughter, and myself..
It’s a constant juggle but we can do it, follow our dreams, raise our families and create wealth & security ourselves. Being in business, being a mother, a wife or just educating yourself to better yourself, it all takes a lot of effort, but nothing good comes easy, and nothing easy is worth it. JT
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