Balancing Life and Business

This article was originally published on easystylewithsami.com

Balance is hard, and is a constant evolution. I might even go as far to say that true balance doesn’t exist. There is always something that is a bigger priority. Balance is more about finding the right way to make sure all the important things get their time.

This can include:

?? ?? ?? ???family time

???work

???you time

???friendship

???travel

?????health

???sleep

Balance changes because life goes through seasons. Sometimes you have more space for family, sometimes work needs to be prioritized, sometimes your health needs more attention. In this post I’m sharing some ways that I balance all the things in my life. It is a constantly a work in progress and always evolving but I hope it will give you some ideas if you’re struggling with balance. This is what works for me, but by no means is a specific roadmap for all people.

What’s on my plate!

Before we jump into how I balance things, it’s important to know what are the elemends I’m balancing!

1?? Family – I am blessed to have a wonderful hubby and two kiddos! My kids are in their tween and teenage years and mostly self-sufficient! My husband and I share the load, which I’m grateful for.

2?? Marketing Biz – I have two businesses that work in tandem with each other. One that does 1:1 consulting for website design, content and email marketing and one that has a podcast, digital resources, and online classes.

3?? Direct Sales – I am a Color Street stylist. Love having someting fun on my plate that makes me feel beautiful and that also connects me with amazing people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

4?? Easy Style with Sami Podcast/Blog – I’m constantly inspired by the people around me. I created this website to share Color Street but also to share things I care about and how I’m navigating through creating my own style, inside and out.

Why so many thing? Well – for one, I’m a big fan of multiple streams of income. I try to balance the feast or famine nature of running your own businesses. Secondly, I’m a serial entrepreneur. I love the flexibility, the varity of work, and the challenge. Also – I’m just someone who likes to stay busy.

What balance looks like

Creating balance is easier said than done, and from day to day looks a little different. For example, the last week of the month is really busy for my husband’s job. I know that I shouldn’t plan anything that requires him to have to adjust his calendar during that week. I also know that I will pick up more of the family stuff. In reverse, if I have an evening event for Color Street or I’m running a virtual event in my business, he picks up the slack.

Communication is critical and really supports the whole family in understanding what we need in the moment!

How we communicate

Setting expectations is crucial, as well as letting those around you know what you need. We aren’t mind readers afterall! Communication is critical for your family and your team.

For schedules, I’m a huge fan of a Google Calendar. I can see everything in one place for my business and family schedules to make sure I’m keeping the right priorities at the front.?

Usually the night before I am letting my husband know if there is anything that’s different. If it’s something bigger, than we talk farther ahead, otherwise in real time works best. I also communicate with the kids in the summer to let them know what I have on my schedule so they know how what they need to do to help out with food, activities, etc.?

Finally, throughout the day, we are also communicating about what we need. Some days I have lots of calls or recordings and my energy is zapped. Letting my husband know I’m needing to recharge let’s him know how. hecan support me and vice versa.

With regards to work, the same is true. Letting people know if I’m going to be working irregular hours, if I have kids activities, what priorities I’m working on. This all helps me reduce stress on all sides.?

Building my schedule

How I manage my time has changed over the years, and sometimes changes depending on the week. Here is what I’m working with right now.

On Sunday’s I like to plan my week. This includes family schedule, work schedule, and meal prep. My favorite tool is the?Full Focus Planner. I love to plan on paper and execute digitally! ??

Meal Prep

This is mostly for dinners. We do grab food for breakfast and lunches but mostly (especially in the summer) it’s all about healthy grazing all day! I love to have dinners planned so I can get 2-3 days worth at the store and know I’m ready to cook after then end of the work day. Most of my meal ideas come from Pinterest and my Epicure stash!

Family Prep

Each season is a little different with kids schedules. On Sunday I like to ensure that their activities are on the calendar so we don’t miss anything. Doctor appointments, play dates, sports and activities, everything goes on their calendar. This way I can match up the big family view and see if I need to find something for the kids to do during the week – especially in the summer.

We also try and plan a date night at least every other week. Its something we prioritize and schedule to ensure that it happens.

Work Prep

Because I know what my quarterly priorities are I can easily plan my weekly priorities to keep moving forward. I start by looking at my weekly calendar – what’s on my plate and where do I have blocks of time.

Then, I look at what I have to get done by project (marketing, Color Street, etc). I like to block off time to work on this big priorities. Working on similar tasks make you more efficient and productive.

One thing that is always blocked off on my calendar are my daily todos. Those include things like social media posts and email. Other things I block off are content creation (blog and podcast), client work, Color Street planning, etc. While the ratio changes each week, I still go through all the elements to ensure I’m working all my businesses in the way they need.

Blocking time on my calendar serves two purposes.

1?? I know I have space reserved for my priorities.?

2?? My brain is freed up to work on what’s on deck for today because. I know I have space carved out for other priorities.

3?? Because I use a scheduling app for meetings with potential and current clients, it ensures that I don’t over booked and spend my whole week in meetings and not executing.

Saying no!

Yes I have a lot of projects and things on my plate. It might seem like I don’t say no to much. I definitely do. Feeling good about saying no is critical to balance.

Sometimes you are ok to go out with friends after work. Sometimes you’ve had a long day and need to take care of yourself. Sometimes. agreat opportunity comes your way with work and you take it, sometimes it’s great but not the right time.

Saying no helps you build the life you want, and eliminate the things you don’t. Saying no helps you protect your time and energy.?

Conclusion

Finding balance takes time but you can achieve it. It takes honesty, communication and self-awareness. Adding in Color Street definitely added more to my plate, but with organization and consistency hasn’t added more stress or taken away from other elements of my life. You could do it too!