thread Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business? in Community Corner

How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

tranguyen — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:53:09 GMT

Happy Wednesday, everyone ‌🌸‌ ‌💐‌

This time of year - when clocks change and schools break for spring - it seems like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. For business owners especially, it can be overwhelming to balance everything alongside your day-to-day operations. And it can feel lonely as well 🩷.

For those who have been in this position before, we’d love to learn:

How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Looking forward to reading your insights!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

maxpete — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:52:10 GMT

Tagging @mksavage, @DinaLRosenberg and @Minion in case they have thoughts!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Minion — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 22:03:39 GMT

Honestly I perform and stay on my toes more often when I'm busy. For some reason, my brain seems to click and the gears move a lot more than when it slows down for a few weeks in Feb/March.

I find myself jotting down a lot of notes. Before I leave work, I'll write down things that need my attention first thing in the morning when I get back in. The same goes for things at home. I make lists of things that need to get done and prioritizing them with the time of the year and importance. I do what I can get done in a day, and if that doesn't happen its no sweat, it'll still be right there when I get back to it.

My business phone goes into silent mode every night at 5 and on the weekends. Granted, I will check it periodically but just a large business I have hours of operations as well and I've come to the point where I don't need to be near my business phone 24/7.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

maxpete — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 22:15:46 GMT

I definitely relate to performing more when busy vs. being slow! Nice to hear the boundaries that you have set too.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

JUYBoutique20 — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 04:38:26 GMT

I use a planner...literally it's a must for me...On Monday mornings I usually plan out my week personal and business....I add events to my planner calendar and my digital calendar whenever they are scheduled or booked...I also schedule family time and my self care time....I truly believe you have to schedule things that are important to you and make it a priority to follow that schedule....Things change yes, that's why they make white out!!!!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

maxpete — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 11:20:23 GMT

+1 to using a planner and scheduling out the priorities!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

mksavage — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 20:29:23 GMT

This is such a great question @tranguyen @maxpete -- I feel like I could literally talk about this topic endlessly. But who am I kidding? There's no time for that!! The baby is crying, the emails are piling up, there's laundry everywhere, and it's Payroll day, ha! 😉

In all seriousness though -- I feel like 5 years into motherhood and 10 years into business ownership, I'm starting to hit somewhat of a stride. There are lots of "practical" things that help me stay organized: a list app on my phone where I can quickly input something when it crosses my mind (I use Todoist), a very organized calendar, a loose routine for my days (I find this better than a super structured routine which almost immediately goes out the window). But one of the things that has helped me most is simple to do my best to be fully where I am at the moment. If I'm in Mom-Mode, put the darn phone down. Work can almost always wait, there are very few things that are life and death, and I don't want to spend my kids' childhood looking at a screen. And when I'm at work, be fully at work. I used to be a person who took a lot of pride in being able to do-everything-at-the-same-time, but I found that trying to work & take care of children simultaneously felt like I was being physically & mentally ripped in two, and it was really painful (and inefficient). So, that's what I'm working on -- be fully where you are. It's freeing, honestly.

(A big part of this, which is a whole other topic, is that I finally had to release some control and hire managers to handle most of the on-site, day-to-day operations. Which allows me to work primarily from home, stopping in briefly a few times each week. It's really hard, but also a total game changer.)

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Helen — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 19:49:58 GMT

This is fantastic advice for all parents @mksavage, thank you!

I can't believe how difficult it is for me to put my phone down too. I have to leave it in a different room in the evenings or put it somewhere I can't see it!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

mksavage — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 20:16:35 GMT

@Helen Oof, I don't know why it's so hard to put the phone down, but it really is! We ended up putting a charger in the foyer, and I'm trying to the practice of plugging it in there at the end of my workday. I mainly work from home, so I keep trying to think of things I could do that would be like a "commute" -- some kind of signal to my brain/body that "I'm done with work now, time for Mom mode." It's hard!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Helen — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 20:26:33 GMT

Great tip about charging it in a different area. I work from home too so at the end of the day I change out of my 'work clothes' (nice yoga/active wear) into 'home clothes' (less nice yoga/active wear)! That's my commute.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

mksavage — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 20:38:04 GMT

Oh my goodness, I love that so much. Nice active wear to less nice active wear, haha! This is my new plan.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Hailey — Wed, 15 May 2024 14:29:29 GMT

@Minion @maxpete I ALSO RELATE TO THIS!

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Hailey — Wed, 15 May 2024 14:30:59 GMT

@JUYBoutique20 Scheduling family/personal/partner time is so important! I have found this is something my partner and I are constantly in and out of habits. We, and our lives, work MUCH better when we are in the habit.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Hailey — Wed, 15 May 2024 14:32:17 GMT

@mksavage you've hit your Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours 😅 MASTER MICHELLE

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

Hailey — Wed, 15 May 2024 14:34:20 GMT

HAHAHA "Nice active wear to less nice active wear" hit me hard! Amen to that and a great tip @Helen about changing clothes (my therapist actually recommended this once. I should probably start doing it cause your girl needs boundaries and rituals)

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

ameliajsmith1 — Sat, 18 May 2024 22:54:25 GMT

I try to prioritize my time. It isn't an easy task. Thank God that I only have 1 child. He requires enough attention as it is lol

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

mytauto — Tue, 21 May 2024 19:16:30 GMT

For me I work my business from 8 -6 most days and when there is things that we wantbto do I close uo shop and do the rhkgs we qant to do .

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

GeTRAW — Mon, 27 May 2024 23:43:50 GMT

There are many ways to delegate responsibilities and regulate time for work, play, family. I liken to an old Amish tradition that you delegate 8 hours to work, 8 hours to refreshment and entertainment and, 8 hours to rest. So we're open from 9AM to 5PM Monday-Friday and my phone is programmed to go silent from 8PM to 6AM. The ultimate goal is to be able to pass the business along and train others to do the chores. Albeit, I am still ultimately responsible, I have some very capable employees.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

NicholeK2 — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 13:40:49 GMT

We have our teen sons working with us....which they LOVE..note sarcasm 🙂 that's about as far as we get We do close earlier on the weekends and those 2 hours are reserved for family time. We usually go out to eat or go somewhere then just crash together and watch a movie at home. Besides that no idea.. our house is a mess, laundry is stressful, there is no food in our personal refrigerator ever. Thankfully our business is just up the road- so our kids can bike there to get something to eat when they want/need.

Re: How do you balance family time or other care responsibilities with running your business?

kat_victoria — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 15:12:03 GMT

So i have 2 small children and am building a home i do feel like my kiddos want alot more time with me and so understanding different perspectives on how and how not to do this is helpfull.

i do find that avoiding life with work is as bad an addiction as any and im noticing the negative impact its having ultimately on my mental healthy......

than being said firm boundaries raising prices to accomodate and prioritizing professionalism and not just seing every customer as my boss is amazingly helpfull. finding friends and childcare that works for my schedule is huge!!!! and making sure im proud of the things and people the kiddos go with while i get to give 100% of my attention to my business tasks and than 100% of my attention to the kids when they are finally with me