Great topic!
Unfortunately, customers DO expect us to be available around the clock. Last year, during our vacation, I got a voicemail from a customer who was angry because we were closed. When we got back, I called her and she literally said to me "who the @#$% do you think you are to be closed when I need service?!?! You have no right to be closed!" Until that point, I did not work as hard to protect my time off of work and to keep myself to a schedule as much as I needed to. Since then, I have worked diligently to be off of work at 5:00 and turn off the computer. We operate multiple businesses and I have an active volunteer life outside of work in addition to a social life, so balance is of utmost importance.
Like you said, I have to stop myself. It's a mental shift. We have to recognize that we need to recover every day and that means placing an importance on our well being. It takes 3 weeks to make something a habit, after doing the same thing everyday, the same way, at the same time. Psychologists say it's impossible to undo a habit, but we can create new, good ones when we need to. Starting with structure on paper has always helped me the most. My husband makes fun of me for having lists but lists keep me in line and on track. I know where I'm at, what's left to be done and what I've accomplished. Decades ago as a young entrepreneur, I learned how to use time blocks to work around my very young children and still work from home. I still recommend them, especially if managing your time is either new to you or still an issue in your day to day life that you need to master. Prioritize your tasks ahead of time and your brain won't be thinking you need to accomplish it all in one day. It will allow you the freedom to say things can wait until tomorrow or the next day, it removes the pressure. I also took this a step further a couple of years ago when I really needed to get a handle on my new bookkeeping tasks that were getting missed. I figured out what needed to be done daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly then built my schedule around those things. It didn't take long for me to memorize what needed to get done and when, now it's normal. It gave me such a great sense of relief because I wasn't missing things and come the end of the year, I'm not behind.
I know that many people do everything digitally and that's totally fine, but when you're starting something new, it really helps to see it on paper. It puts it in a different perspective. Work it out on paper first so that you can make adjustments until you get it just right, then integrate it into your digital schedule. It's far less overwhelming to use a pencil and move things around til you get it where you're comfortable than trying to move things around on a screen and keep track. You can't always see the whole picture in one screen but you CAN see the whole picture on one piece of paper. I don't use digital scheduling, mainly because our schedule is literally a constant work in progress. We're a service company. If I did it on the computer, I'd spend hours trying to move things around. A pencil and a datebook are much faster and easier to work with on the go, especially when heating emergencies arise. We all have to find what works for us individually but this has been what's worked best for me. Using this format has also helped me to block out days we don't work and see when the day is over and move on to other things.
Owner/Business Manager
Arctic Heat
R&C Property Management
Event Planner/Business Trainer
Member - Women in HVACR
Member - NAWIC; Mentorship Chair for MT Chapter
Square Champions Expert
