Do you need more hours in the day? Are you struggling to juggle work and life?
I’m a wife and dedicated mother of three. My daughter is in remission from cancer. I run a $20 million global direct sales business. I’m an Australian National Champion in Karate, I’m an active ambassador for Red Kite, a childhood cancer charity, and I’m an author.
“I get asked all the time how I juggle everything in my life.”
It sounds like a lot when I list it out like that! And yet I manage to balance work, family, sports, leisure, and service to others.
So let me share how I achieve that in 3 steps.
How do you define balance?
First of all, it’s essential to think about how you define balance in the first place. My whole concept of balance was changed after reading a book by best-selling author Laura Vanderkam. She believes that balance should be viewed across a week or a month, not day-to-day as we’ve been conditioned to think.
Too often, we feel pressure to be all things to all people all of the time. But we don’t need to feel guilty.
Sometimes we need to work on our careers and work hard for a time. Other times we need to be with our children and play and learn and parent and take the time to do this.
So I realised that it’s okay to get off the old merry-go-round of feeling guilty when I was working because I wanted to be with my children and would feel guilty when I was with them because, in the back of my mind, I thought I should be working!
I made the quote by David Bader my mantra!
I put it in my office and on my fridge to remind me that focus and quality time are essential.
2. Do more things at once
My second tip is to, wherever possible, tick multiple boxes with the way you’re spending time. For example, when I’m at Karate, it’s exercise time, family time, and social time because we’ve made great friends at the dojo.
So perhaps you can exercise or train with a friend while the kids play? Or instead of meeting a friend for a coffee, why not meet up to go for a walk?
If you have made friends in your direct sales team, you can be each other’s accountability buddy and cheerleader and work on your direct sales business while you get social time as well.
Disclaimer: Yes, quality time is essential and I’m not advocating that you should always be looking to do five things at the same time and never feel like you’re truly present in the moment.
But where you can do multiple things at once, don’t discount the opportunity to do so!
3. Start delegating as soon as you can
My third tip is that delegation and outsourcing are vital. I do the tasks in my business that only I can do – where I add the most value. But everything else I either delegate or I pay someone else to do.
People often say they can’t afford that or that they’ll do it when they’re making more money, but I started doing this very early in my business. I used to pay my neighbor’s teenage daughter in free products for her help with basic business tasks and housework.
“The time and energy that freed me to move forward and push on with tasks made a significant difference in my business and income. In addition, as my direct sales business grew, my network of helpers increased.”
Your time and energy are the most critical assets of your business and life. So think carefully about how you use it and what your priorities are.
