Saturday, June 08, 2013

Get a life



What do you do for yourself ? our speaker was asked.  Silence, as it hit her that she did nothing that was just for her.  She had no hobbies. No life.  It was all about work, making the business work, making money. And when you have employees depending on you to pay them, the  pressure is really on.

You could see that her words were resonating with the women in the audience, likely they were asking themselves the same question, and coming up with similar answers. It is hard to eke out some time for yourself, because if it is not the business, it’s the family, your home, your parents….the list goes on and on.

I often find that I get most support from meeting up with girlfriends, and yet even that time can get lost in the shuffle as the demands of business take their toll on my personal life.

A couple of years ago I decided “enough” and I started taking my Fridays off.  I’d set up to have lunch with a friend, go for a massage, or hair cut.   I made it so it wasn’t so easy to get out of this date with myself.   And while some months I don’t quite manage it, I have been fairly loyal to this plan, because it works and I feel so much better when I switch off and become just me, Anne Day.  Not Anne Day, business owner, wife, mother, dog owner, volunteer…

When you lose sight of yourself, it can be hard to remember who you really are or what you enjoy doing.  What did you like to do pre-business, before kids?  Maybe you need to tap into those interests again.  Having a good laugh with girlfriends can sustain me for weeks. 

What I do know for sure, is that working 24/7 is not good for anyone – you, your family or your business.  We all need to take a break – be it ten minutes a day just to take a walk, because when you do, you’re better able to get the work done, and still feel alive in your own life.






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