Something’s gotta give. For mums in business, it is very easy to keep going and pushing, taking more and more on. But the time will come when something’s gotta give. There is only so much we can take on board before something’s gotta give. This happened to me very recently.
I’ve been working around my 18 month older daughter for the last 8 months. When she sleeps, I’m working. When I need to go to a meeting or networking, I work it around my husband’s shifts or call upon family. I have also been very very lucky that she loves her sleep and would nap for 3 hours in the mornings and then 2-3 again in the afternoon.
However, last month it stopped…
I was lucky if she slept 2-3 hours during the day. So how was I getting my own work and client’s work completed? Every evening and weekend. That’s fine in the short term if I have some extra work or a tight deadline I need to meet. But it is not manageable in the long term. After nearly a month of trying to keep up with this and having absolutely no time for myself, I decided something had to change. Something needed to give.
The plan…
I had always planned that when my business had grown enough, I would start using nursery a few afternoons a week so I could focus solely on work, without running the risk of her waking up or needing my attention. It would also mean that I could combat the mummy guilt by then making sure when I wasn’t working, she would have my full, undivided attention. But it happened quicker than I anticipated. I had imagined that I would sign a few retainer clients and know exactly what I had each month before I took this step. But that’s not how it happened.
Time for change…
So instead of charging on as normal, I decided I needed to review and put some structure in place. I needed to ask for help. I needed to outsource some of the responsibility to someone else. So with my new plan ready to go, I have a structured week clearly defining when I’m working, when I’ve got childcare, when I get to have some family time and when we get some mummy/daughter time. I’ve also reviewed my own marketing and workload, getting rid of what isn’t working and anything that I feel I am wasting my time on.
We aren’t machines and there are only so many hours in a day to get everything done.
If you find yourself in a situation where you need to let go and start outsourcing some of your workload, why not give me a call on 07538 715537 or email info@njrvirtualpa.co.uk and free up some of that pressure to focus on what matters most to you.
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