Can you transport yourself back in time to that life altering day when you changed the course of your life forever? That day where you jumped two-feet-in to the life of an entrepreneur?
There were visions of freedom, passion and abundance. You no longer wanted to be a cog in the corporate wheel, but a game changer on your own terms.
Before you knew it, you were losing your vision under the weight of your self employed life.
When you clarify your intentions it creates a map for your life. If you want to utilize this map then you need to plot your co-ordinates and file your flight plan.
File The Flight Plan
Busy as you are, you do not get to blame anyone else for not having the time to do what you want, where you want or how often you want except for yourself. You simply must take responsibility for your own schedule. If you are more productive at work, it frees up time for hobbies and family. It is a win-win.
Determine when you 100% have to be available to clients and co-workers and how often. Get out a white board, a calendar (paper or digital, whichever works for you), but make sure it is large enough to write down an average week of commitments from early am to bedtime Monday – Sunday.
As you mark down you daily activities, you are going to create windows of time where you will not be interrupted.
You MUST be ruthless about honouring your uninterrupted time, but ruthless in a gracious way of course! By ruthless I mean, honour your own vision for your life more than the demands of others of your time.
At Work
You will allocate a period in the work day where you will not be interrupted by technology or actual real live people. Setting clear expectations is a key element to your success; others need to be made aware of this scheduled time or it will not succeed.
Communicate graciously that you have implemented a new work flow to increase your productivity (hey, no one can argue with that?!) Perhaps it is a note on your door, an email you send out or just lock the door! Be patient, gracious and curt, and get right back to work.
Set a regular time that works for you where you are unavailable. Perhaps you can start going into the office early when no-one else is in, or after lunch may be best for you.
You need flow in your work day and giving yourself uninterrupted periods of time will increase your productivity, engagement and enjoyment.
If you work from home then go to the library to work where there are less distractions and no phone use allowed.
Your Life
Set aside time in your week, ideally this will happen daily, for technology free personal time. All technological devices are to be shelved and out of sight. Could you even go so far as to leave your iPhone at home when you go out for errands, a walk or a meal? Gasp, I know, but I have faith you can do it and will come to crave more of this time.
Not only will you be scheduling time for your life, but you will be doing it in mindful way that supports living in the present moment.
As a result you will experience:
- a deeper connection with your friends and family
- you will connect at a soul level during your hobbies
- the people you care about most, including your precious impressionable kids (if you have them) will feel suddenly feel more important to you
This exercise will require some sacrifices. Perhaps an earlier wake up time, or giving up a couple of series you watch on tv, but it will become clear what truly matters to you as you map out all of your intentions.
Observe your own happiness and feelings of balance shoot up like a star in the night sky.
This post is a part of a work/life balance series, here is the link to Four Tips For Increasing Mindfulness.
Live life in FULL bloom.
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