I'm sitting on the floor supervising my 3 year old's bath while she is home sick from daycare. Probably a more common scene for Mom's who also run their own small businesses. Multi-tasking is a fact of life when you have kids, a home, a husband, pets, and a business. Unfortunately it is all too easy to have the "I want it all" approach and end up overwhelmed, overscheduled, and unhappy overall.
In 2009 I wanted it all. I wanted to have a nice and organized house, spend fun quality time with my kids, grow my business, and maybe even sneak in a date night or two with my husband. And you know what, I ended the year unhappy. My husband, who is much more willing to ask the tough questions, made me face the reality that I just can't have it all...not right now at least.
So for 2010 I'm going to make some hard decisions about how I spend my time. And I expect, being able to really commit to a few things is going to make me much happier overall. It'll make me a better wife, a better mom, and a better business owner.
My number one priority for 2010 is to get healthy. I've completely slacked in the last year on this. After getting in great shape and loosing weight in 2008 when I was only working part time, I slipped into very bad habits last year because I didn't plan how I was going to exercise and eat healthy meals. Instead I stopped exercising all together and pretty much ate some form of delivery or carry out for the majority of my meals. NOT GOOD! So the very first thing on my list for next year is myself. Exercising and planning for health meals will be an essential part of my year. I know I'll have more energy and feel better, and it is an investment in myself that will last much longer than almost anything else I do.
Also for next year my husband and I are embarking on a major software project together. It will be a tool set for photographers. Some of you may know that my husband is a very gifted software developer...the majority of the projects he consults on are multi-million dollar projects. So while the stuff we've outlined is complicated...I'm very confident that we'll be able to take a completely different approach than anyone else! So that will be taking up the majority of my time over the next year. More about that soon.
Photography will still play a role in my life - and an important one. It'll just be a smaller slice of the pie. I'll be more selective about the clients I take on to make sure we are a good match. And I know that will make me much happier about the sessions I have.
So as part of this planning processes I made a chart of my days of the week and my projected time for each task. It was really eye opening. The first time I did it I couldn't get the # hours to be under 24! And realistically I need it to be more around 20 or so hours to give me some wiggle room for things that just come up (like kids sick at home!).
While I could adjust week to week, this would be a plan for getting though my week. Have you tried this yourself? I just made a google spreadsheet with the days of the week and the task areas....then put the hours per day for each task. Then I created a chart from that because I like to see things visually.
Try this for yourself. Ask yourself some hard questions about your year - and what is realistic. You'll be happier if you do!
I did the exact same thing earlier this week in anticipation of a far more organized and focused 2010 :) Good luck - to both of us!
Posted by: Lee | December 23, 2009 at 03:22 PM
I've been trying to do this over the course of 2009 and I'm still in the process! One thing I've made a point to do (and makes a big difference) is to be more selective about the clients I take on, and like you said, I usually end up enjoying those sessions a LOT. This allows me to focus more on my family and charge more. Thanks for all your wonderful advice!
Posted by: Breanna | December 23, 2009 at 04:05 PM
I SO needed to read this today! Thank you for your honesty, for your candid thoughts. Here's to a balanced 2010! :)
Posted by: Shelley | December 24, 2009 at 08:59 AM
Your comments really hit home today. I have a very similar dilemma with 4 kids, 2 dogs, a husband, and two separate photography companies. I had my meltdown last week and told my husband something has to change. We can't be 100% with everything we do all of the time when we're completely over-scheduled. Life is moving too fast as it is, and I don't want to miss any of it... especially with my kids! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I'll be thinking of you in 2010 when I am making changes to prioritize for the REALLY important stuff as well. Happy Holidays!
Posted by: Gina | December 24, 2009 at 09:24 AM
I could have written much of this post...except for the software development part..lol (I even have a demanding 3 yr old). I am going to try really hard to stay on top of things this year and have me time. If that means working out in the evening...which I hate! Then so be it.
Posted by: Melinda | December 24, 2009 at 09:40 AM
What a wonderful, beautiful post. More family focus, more efficient use of time, more exercise...these are my goals, too! Thanks for the inspiration.
Posted by: Teresa | December 24, 2009 at 11:35 AM
this is almost identical to the blog post I was just creating for myself! I love the graph... gonna have to go do that for myself right now. : )
Posted by: michelle carrillo | December 28, 2009 at 04:51 PM
Nice constructive planning ! So carry on with it. :-)
Posted by: Logo Design | December 31, 2009 at 02:34 AM