Work-Life Balance has become quite the popular phrase over the years. Why? Well, we want to have it all!
I thought I had it all figured out a few years into my sales career.
I was married five years to my best friend, had a new home freshly remodeled, lived close to my parents, had a successful career, and was expecting my first baby.
I was ready to be a mom. I thought I had balance figured out.
Then I have my baby! He was beautiful, healthy, and suddenly, my whole world!
I didn’t know how to be a mom, much less a working mom with a home to keep.
Reality is tough on a girl who dreams big!
I struggled for several years and changed jobs, and had a second baby.
I was still all out of sorts. So I decided, along with Earl’s agreement, to become a stay-at-home mom. Geez, that wasn’t the answer either.
Then one day, after a phone call from a prospective employer, I discovered what I wanted to help me balance my family life and career.
I went in for a second time to talk with a lady about returning to work as a copier sales rep. This time instead of just listening to the offer, I had a proposal for her.
I asked if she would consider hiring me part-time as a sales rep. She didn’t even think about it, and without hesitation, she blurted out, “Absolutely Not.”
Our negotiations ended there because I had discovered what was important to me.
I had decided I could sell more as a part-time rep than a regular full-time rep. I had shared that with her, but she hadn’t bought it. She was not open to compromise, and neither was I.
Not long after I met with her, Earl and I started PDS. I believe the seed was planted that day for me when she said: “absolutely not.”
Many years have passed since those days. I have learned a few important lessons that help to maintain work-life balance for me.
The first is to decide what is important to you. For me, time to be there for the people I love when they need me is the driving force behind balance.
Next, I discovered I was worried too much about what other people were thinking. If I was going to maintain balance, the general thoughts of people that weren’t my VIPs didn’t matter.
Lastly, when I learned to schedule predictable, consistent time with the people that matter most to me, I could better maintain balance.
Some experts say proper balance is never possible, but for me, I have found it to be much easier to maintain if I keep these things in mind.
If you imagine scales with life on one side and work on the other, you may think equal time and mind space will equal balance.
The truth is work-life balance isn’t measured by equal time but instead by enough time spent on the right things, the important things, predictably and consistently.
So maybe the image of a scale is not the best place to start. Instead, start with your heart and then your mind.
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