Hey loves! Today I'm sharing another Behind the Blog post which uncovers a topic that I've had a roller coaster relationship with. Finding balance. I always joke about being a Libra but constantly struggling to find balance. It seems easy though, right? Well not so much for a full-time blogger that gets about 200 emails a day and is constantly being pulled in 6 directions at one time.
I'll admit I'm a workaholic but sometimes I forget it's work because I love what I do. I have two managers and a business partner now but that hasn't made things any easier (in terms of my work load). I always tell people at the blogger conferences I've spoken at that blogging is not an easy job. It will never get easy. When you're living in a saturated city like Los Angeles - that doesn't help either. The internet is such a fast-paced and crazy place that literally never shuts off. So how can you shut off? How can you keep up with your always-on career and still find time to do what you need to do at home, spend time with your family, enjoy some kind of social life, and just plain relax?
5 Keys to Work/Life Balance
1. Push back/Learn to say "No"Over the past few months, I've had to learn how to say "no." I've tried but it's impossible to do everything. Learning to say 'No' can really be a good thing for your business. If you're a people pleaser, it's going to be key to push back from always saying Yes to people you don't want to disappoint.2. Create 'Me Time'Everyday I will set time aside for doing something that I love, whether it's opening up my bible and giving God my time or going for a jog in the neighborhood or doing lunch with a friend. Regardless of how jam-packed my day is, I'll make some time in the week for 'me time'. On the weekends, I completely turn it off (well, the blog that is). If I'm traveling for work, I'll always take moments out in my trip to enjoy the city I'm in. This allows me to clear my mind.3. Keep a rational work scheduleOrganizing a schedule and sticking to it is truly the key for mental and life balance. If I tried to store everything in my mind I would fail miserably in life. At the beginning of every week I have a big calendar I write my daily work tasks in as well as personal to-do's. Sometimes I look at the schedule and I think, "holy cow Tuesday is a jam packed day." Knowing this, I'll keep it rational for Wednesday and push back. If you can balance a schedule and stick to it, you've got yourself a good balancing system.4. Stay organizedStay away from clutter! If you're in an un-organized space you will instantly feel more off-balance. I like to keep certain things in designated areas where I can find them. It reduces the level of panic and frustration. I've also had to learn to organize my inbox. I spend A LOT of time with my emails so I try to keep everything in folders for visual balance.5. Be honest with yourselfThis is the hardest one, but also the most necessary. Part of your weekly review should be to ask yourself “Am I happy with all this?” And to follow up by looking at how well you’re doing in balancing everything. It's important to check in with yourself and self-communicate!Overworking yourself can be as detrimental to your life as not working at all. I literally have to preach that to myself as a reminder. As I'm still figuring things out, I'm learning that the key to any job is to practice good self-discipline and organization. I hope this post helped you out if you're in the same boat!
Cheers
Random fact about Me: Did you know there are over 800 blog posts on Sazan.me? If I was good at math I would calculate a really cool stat.
