The difference between balancing and juggling is about the size of an elephant.
No. Make that a herd of elephants.
The crazy combo of parenthood and entrepreneurial-hood is much more of a juggling act than a work-life balance issue.
“Balance schmalance” is what I say!
As far as this single mom is concerned, there’s NO WAY to evenly balance the tasks of self-employment and parenting. If you’ve found a way to keep those scales balanced, you’re the rarest of [balancing] birds!
Just like everything in life, it all boils down to priorities, commitments, and devotion.
Every day you need to make peace with yourself and decide:
1.) What high-priority commitments (and promises) you can keep and
2.) How much time, dedication, effort, and energy you can spare to fulfill those commitments
In other words …
Which side of the scale is going to tip today? The parenting side? Or your business side?
Good advice from Robert Louis Stephenson:
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Which translates into doing something every day to move your business forward without obsessing about hitting a home run every time you’re up to bat.
Stay flexible and focus on progress, not perfection, and give yourself a pat on the back on your most productive days (and maybe a cupcake, too).
Raising children while running your own business is no picnic.
Sure, it’s wise to make use of all the helpful organizational tools like day planners, timers, editorial calendars, marketing templates, and social media schedulers. But let’s face it. Time management is a tough assignment.
I always say I don’t manage time. It manages me.
Annie Sisk, mom, and founder of Pajama Productivity says:
“Forget about ‘work-life balance’. There is no such thing. It is possible to get it all done if you strategize and build in accountability steps along the way. You have to be willing to adjust and adapt, and to be brutally honest with yourself about your real obstacles and goals. And having some like-minded help along the way can be invaluable.”
Dorien Morin-van Dam, mom, and founder of More in Media says:
“Here is the secret all of us working-from-home-parents know: While I work in my business – for me that is creating content, writing, creating images, planning, posting, scheduling and talking to clients – I also prepare and cook dinner, walk my dogs, drive carpool, do laundry, shop at the grocery store, make beds, pay my bills, and clean.”
Dorien has found a way to use the buzzer on her clothes dryer to help keep her on track with business-building activities. Go figure.
Nick Armstrong, brand new first-time daddy, and founder of WTF Marketing says:
“The best way I can describe it is a series of increasingly amazing moments interspersed by insane amounts of demands on you mentally and physically, all coupled with healthy doses of frustration and helplessness and joy.”
Nick is describing fatherhood but the same commentary can easily be applied to being an entrepreneur or small business owner.
To keep from getting snared in the parentpreneur trap:
Decide right now that every day will bring on a new set of challenges for you to juggle. Ask for support from family, friends, and colleagues. Delegate tasks whenever possible. Hire help if your budget allows. Make networking, online and offline, a priority.
Don’t beat yourself up when your days don’t go as planned.
Stay confident. Your parenting skills and your business-building skills will continue to improve.
And one final important note about self-care:
I haven’t met a single parentpreneur who’s experienced anything positive as a result of sleep deprivation. Don’t put yourself on the train to Burnoutville. Just sayin’.
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This month’s Word Carnival topic is Parentpreneurs: What Being a Parent Can Teach You About Business. Click the link! Read the fab posts from my fellow carnies.