From the Experts, Your Event Career
The Secret to Achieving a Healthy Work-Life Balance—Part 2
Last week, Heather Vickery of Greatest Expectations let us in on how to set the foundations of effective work-life balance. Today, she shares some more of her tips for making sure that balancing act stays balanced!
Maximize Productivity
Now that you’ve defined and created some boundaries, save time and sanity and maintain those boundaries by implementing smart productivity tips. A few that I have found very helpful are:
- Batch-tasking instead multi-tasking (seriously, if you are multi-tasking you are not giving anything 100%)
- Using apps and software to help you be more efficient
- Knowing what and when to delegate
- Setting limits and rewards for completing tasks
Commit and Carry Through
Make commitments and stick to them. There is a very big difference between a goal and a commitment. A goal is something you aspire to, a commitment is something you are going to do. Period. By making commitments, you are declaring intentions and then taking action to follow through. Without commitments your desires can waver and so can your follow through. When that happens, balance goes right out the window. Remember: “How we do anything is how we do everything.” Think about that when you make your list of commitments.
Make Yourself Accountable
Get an accountability partner! Seriously, find someone that wants to achieve success and have a healthy work-life balance, and hold each other accountable. Meet with your partner once a month, if possible, even if it is over the phone or video chat. Talk about your concerns, your desires and what action you are taking to turn those things into reality. An accountability partner can be a buddy, someone in the same industry or a professional coach but I assure you that taking accountability beyond just yourself will really help hold your feet to the fire!
Learn to Love Delegation
Embrace delegation. We cannot do all things, we cannot be all things and we truly do not enjoy all things. Yes, there are some things that must get done when you own your own business, but that does not mean you need to be the only one responsible for doing it all. Create a list of what needs to get done, then create a list of what you are personally interested in doing—- what skills you bring to the table and a list of items that can be delegated. Once those things are identified, go on and delegate! When you decide not to let the weight of the world rest on your shoulders, really amazing things can happen.
Celebrate!
Celebrate all successes, even the small ones. I love this one. I have met so many people that think they need to reach really big milestones to celebrate, but celebration breeds motivation and motivation breeds success. So when you have a “win”, even one that seems tiny, celebrate it! That can be anything from ringing a bell in your office to treating yourself to a coffee break, going for a walk or spending a few minutes checking out social media. I created a “rewards” list for myself. When I celebrate a success, I pick something off of the rewards list and treat myself. It helps me stay motivated and taking action.
You have worked hard to build a business you can be proud of but make sure it supports you in all areas of your life. Take the time to put these systems in place upfront and then watch your dreams come to life. You have the power, now use it!
