Career & Entrepreneurship
How does work balance look like and What I’ve invested in to grow myself and my business?
“When you’re running low on your energy and health you’re left with nothing to fuel your business. ” – Kate Northrup, author of Do Less.
When I decided to start my 4th business yet, I sat to do an inventory of my highest achievements in life to date, as my assets to build upon. I grabbed a pen and paper and wrote on a list. It included my peak performances in my career as an entrepreneur as well as working for other organizations, my degrees, my awards, etc. By the time I finished the list, I felt heavy. Wondering why I was feeling like this, I began to re-engineer my sensations of contraction and expansion in my body while re-reading the list.
Photo by O12 on Unsplash
I grew curious about why I was feeling heavy rather than proud. Yes, some were nice memories, yet I didn’t feel like recreating what I experienced in the past in my new venture. This time I wanted to start from scratch with best practices. Hence, I took on an exploratory approach and decided on designing my vision board. Grabbed on magazines, scissors, and glue, and went on cutting and pasting. A few hours later, there I was feeling overwhelmed thinking, how on earth am I going to achieve all of this? I figured I had a lot of knowledge to amount in years of experience, but no intention to put the number of hours that the vision board required to get it all done. Not because I’m lazy, not at all, but because once again the feeling my body was reflecting was wrong. My body was signaling me with a short breath.
I knew there’s got to be a better way to build my legacy, as a mompreneur, working smarter. I was clueless about where to start, but my gut feeling stayed on point. So, my quest began: to uncover systems and support that would allow to create a “my own version” of a vision board. I put all the magazines away and reached for my whiteboard. With a marker on hand here I was, designing my lifestyle on my terms, and it came out looking like this formula:
20 hrs workweek + Setting boundaries = Health & Wealth
Now, this made me feel light. It felt good, doable, and right! I finally found my starting place. However, it didn’t look like a start but rather the middle of a road, one with a clear roadmap on how to get anything on my terms.
I’m on a mission to help women entrepreneurs scale their businesses by building their own frameworks, and it all starts with this formula. As I’ve grown myself and my business following it, I’ve grown passionate about sharing my findings through my coaching. I love sharing and seeing how its application works like magic, no matter the industry. The details are in the application, so let me share how it goes.
Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst
The key relies on the visualization of the goal, the planning and staying focused in the execution. My week, for example, begins on Sunday when I prepare in advance my week ahead, and call in all hands on deck. That means touch base with the people that will help me stay on my game during your 20hrs of work. Be it family, nanny, school, spouse, neighbor, etc. I let them know in advance I’m counting on them. Asking in advance allows them to plan you into their schedules, and you’ll minimize the stress of improvising as the days go by. Daily, I know exactly when, at what time, my important tasks will get done. I start with my ONE Thing, followed by the most important of the day, and work my way down to urgent, and needs to get done in that order. It simply frees up brain space and releases the stress build-up that comes from knowing you’ve got to get stuff done yourself. The most important lesson learned is how to say No. That means, I protect my own creation time and don’t let anybody or anything interrupt me. As I plan ahead, I share with those who work around me my plans so they understand why the phone won’t get answered, why the door is locked, and why they must wait until I’m done producing my work. Setting your priorities first and communicating these with your team, clients, collaborators, and family will have you play team, and in no time you’ll see how you propel hour by hour, week by week, with self-care as an axis to grow your business.
Photo by Deniz Altindas on Unsplash
Your mind-body-soul proactive preparation is essential, try not to begin your day in a reactive mode. The way you set up your daily rituals is fundamental because routine and discipline will push you in the right or wrong direction. Braking habits is one of the hardest things to do, hence, being proactive and trying to build new routines and mindset is fundamental in this equation. For example, my morning routine looks something like this: I get up and dedicate the first hour of the day to myself journaling, exercising, and learning the first 60 minutes of the day. Confirm your affirmations or mantras, move your body with your favorite form of exercise, mine is Yoga and I highly recommend it, and finish with a new takeaway by listening to your favorite podcast, FB Group video, online course, etc. These 60 minutes will set you up for a winning day. Throughout the day, stick to nutrient reach meals, consume foods that contain active nourishment. Don’t skip meals. Shorter eating intervals will help with high-performance thinking and greater productivity. Drink lots of water, take regular breaks from task to task, don’t eat past 7 pm, and end your day with chamomile tea, away from screens accompanied by your loved one.
Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash
So in short, plan your week ahead strategically inputting your 20Hrs of work across the week, lean into frameworks and systems that free up your time and scale your business, be proactive rather than reactive starting your day, learn to say no without shame and keep an eye on your movement and nutrition input. Good luck trying it out, share your wins!
About the Author:
Andrea is a health and wellness advocate, a holistic business coach and have been an entrepreneur, international networker, strategist and business developer throughout her professional career. She helps women entrepreneurs design their own balance with a business that reflects their uniqueness through her coaching business, Andrea Cristancho Int. www.andreacristancho.com
