By Guest Blogger Michelle Spell As a female entrepreneur, I am often asked how I accomplish the balance of work demands and my life at home. While it may not always be worded that exact way, the answer, in my experience, is found in the question. The most important facet of that question lies within the perception of the task. I don’t see a balance of work life and home life because my life doesn’t exist at work. I refer to my life at home and my demands and accomplishments are at work.
Tip 1 – Perspective
It helps me to keep the balance and prioritize. My job will always place a demand on my time; my mind and my body. When I reach goals at work, those become my work accomplishments and they stay at my work place. My home is where my life is being lived. I don’t pressure myself into to believing there is a demand for my time at home. I believe my time at home is a gift and I get to choose how to spend it there. My life at home is flexible; is made up of a partnership; is rewarding beyond a paycheck. My life at home gives me the opportunity to follow the lead of others at times and it gives me to chance to be myself without the burden of deadlines and goals. If I don’t make the bed on Monday morning, who really cares?! If I don’t process payroll on Monday, I’m instantly a bad employer and it impacts others’ lives! I allow myself the ability to work at work and live at home. I don’t often use the phrase ‘work life’ because I truly don’t believe my life is there. My work is there, but my life is at home. That perspective helps me tremendously to reach my goals at work and let go of any stress levels from home and vice versa. I respect those two aspects of my life individually and without apology, I keep my home life as a top priority. It’s where I go to live and refuel for the demands of the workplace.
Tip 2 – Organization
In practical terms, I’ve learned to balance the two arenas by being organized. At home, I am organized by keeping a ‘master calendar’ which has all dates and appointments for all family members. I also have a dry erase wall calendar in the kitchen and each family member has their own calendar of sorts! We have weekly family gatherings where we always discuss the calendar and we make sure we are all on the same page for the upcoming weeks and month. With 6 different schedules, it’s important that everyone knows what’s coming up!
Tip 3 – Meal Planning
I also keep a dry erase menu and we all see upcoming meals and family dinners. This helps me keep my pantry organized and well stocked. I keep a weekly inventory of all foods and goods. Once the menu is set, I see what I need from inventory and I shop typically, one time for the whole week! This is a valuable tool because it helps me with my time and it keeps spending under control. So my 3 major components to balancing work demands and home life are my perspective on where I work versus where I live; neat and clear calendars and meetings to keep them organized- (my husband and I have been doing this for years before our kids were even old enough to read! Now they’re at the meetings!!); and finally, keeping a clean inventory of household goods and meal plans so I can get through each week without the hassle of shopping daily and thinking about meals at the end of a busy day! I hope some of these simple tactics will be found useful in your life too! Being organized and seeing my work as my job and my life is where I live, has helped me to accomplish my goals at work and be able to be present at home to enjoy life as much as possible! Want to see more blogs like this and also get notifications on local events and happenings? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletters here.
