I am sitting in row G of the top balcony at the Foals concert at the Auckland Town Hall. It’s where all the grey hairs sit looking down on the bobbling crowd of young ones. I would have been down there in my day. But it is much safer to sit as far away from the action as possible with the golf clapping geriatrics these days.
So here I am waiting for the set to begin while they play Beach Boys and other interesting choices on the sound system. What a rocking guy I am. What do I do while I am waiting for the sold-out gig to start? Partake in a couple of quiets at the venue bar? Mingle with the raging balcony crowd? FaceTime my family? No…..no. Because you see it’s all about time management. I am a business owner and I have been promising the marketing team for weeks that I will get this first blog done. So what better to do than blog about life-work balance while I am waiting for the concert to begin?
“Are you being productive with your 24 hours and investing your time where it’s needed the most?”
As small business owners, we wear a lot of hats. We do what we do but we also manage staff, prepare quotes, get the paperwork done, answer the phone, troubleshoot, train staff, comply with the rules, get to the meetings. That’s a challenging day. That might be 6-7 days a week. Work never leaves us. Then we need to spend time with the family (so they know who that guy who lives at the end of the hall is). There’s the dogs to walk too. And then there’s dishes to wash, lawns to mow, odd jobs around home………and if you are lucky you might get some time for yourself.
Well that’s backwards, isn’t it?? Why do we always give ourselves time after everything else is done? And it’s quality time too. Going for that bike ride with one eye open and legs like jelly.
Obtaining balance in life is a challenging thing. But as that small business owner that doesn’t want to say no to work, balancing life is like a Rubik’s cube of juggling balls. And you are the Dyspraxic juggling clown.
“Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.”
Bob Marley
As small business owners we tend to measure success by the financials and how busy we are. But there is more to life than money in the bank and a busy site. Life is short so there needs to be concerts and holidays and fun. The trouble is we just don’t know how to measure success unless we can put a number on it.
So how can you get that balance? Well, the first thing is to be clear on what you consider success to be. Think about what you want to achieve in your personal lives. Is that a family holiday every year? Is it paying off the mortgage before you hit retirement? Is it spending time at the gym? Maybe you want to donate to that cause that tickles your fancy.
Once you know what your personal agenda is then you can set some personal goals. Then you can take some time to map out how your business can help you achieve your aspirations. It’s about aligning your business goals to your personal goals so you can achieve what you want from your life. That’s the advantage of being a small business owner, isn’t it??. Otherwise, what’s the point? If your business can’t help you achieve your personal goals why wouldn’t you just carry on clocking in each day with your guaranteed 4 weeks annual leave, 11 stat days and Kiwisaver contributions??
“Your business goals and personal goals should be best buddies and work cohesively to balance your life.”
Once you have some clarity on what your personal goals are, you can take a balanced approach to your business success. If you know what success is then you can put smart goals in place to get there. That’s specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely goals. Start thinking about business success as giving you some life balance and achieving personal goals. It’s not just about money in the bank.
At Number Up we have the tools to help you set the goals, measure your progress and reevaluate. But start thinking of that time to yourself or with the family or on holiday as success. Life is short. Balance makes it enjoyable. Seems ironic coming from a guy blogging while at a concert. But inspiration comes at strange moments. Now back to the show……
