As a working mother sometimes from morning ‘til our heads hit the pillows at night we are going. Taking care of clients, children, husbands, PTA, church & organizations that matter to us, the home, the car, balancing the bank account, bills, the yard, opening the mail, packing lunches, calls from school, finding babysitters, mothers, fathers, you name it – it can consume us.How can we balance business, family and all of the things that are important to us in our life is the key to living a life that we love. Here are a couple of tips to maximize your effectiveness in business while being available as a mom to your kiddos.
Turn off your cell phone – It was a wakeup call for me the day that, while we were sitting down for dinner; my kids asked if we could have a rule that we don’t have any cell phones at the table. While I would never take calls at the table I would forward incoming leads to buyer’s agents or shoot text messages and answer texts from members of my team. I thought these were flying under the radar. Guess what, they weren’t. I laughed at myself and then realized that what was important during these few precious hours that I had with my children was them and that as long as my mind was divided so was my attention. One of the best choices that you can make for your relationships is to be fully present to the people that you are with. I actually had to turn my phone on silent and leave it in the other room. Even having it in the same room I would sometimes absentmindedly pick it up, just to glance at it and get roped into some form of, “oh wait! just a sec…gotta send a quick…”.
Schedule family time first – Take some time once a month to look over the next month or quarter and write in time for you and time for your family. When you schedule that big vacation you always make time for that. Why not schedule smaller respites throughout the month or quarter even if it is just for a day or even a couple of hours. Treat these as one of the most important appointments you have, when talking about them always refer to them simply as an important appointment. There is no need to let anyone know the nature of your appointment. This is time to connect to what is most important in your life.
When you are working – WORK!
W hat are your dollar productive activities
O rganize and delegate the rest
R elax…breathe, remember why you are here and what your intention is
K eep focused
In coaching I like to work with my clients in creating a customized plan of action for implementing their business plan and maximizing their effectiveness. What you will find is that work may have taken a 10 or 12 hour day to complete may only take you 4 – 6 hours. Yes, you can actually create more time in your day. Whether you are Bill Gates or the Average Joe on the street, there is one thing we all have in common, 24 hours in a day. How you are spending yours will directly translate in the level of success you experience.
How do you stay focused, genuinely motivated and on track to succeed at whatever you endeavor in life? You find your true passion; you find how what you are doing or not doing now will help you live that passion. One very powerful tool that I utilize is the balance wheel. If you’d like a copy of this you can request it here. http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/pages/contact-us.htm This is one of the most effective tools I use is coaching.
Having a coach is vital to me both back when I was building my real estate business and still as a coach, a mother and personally as a woman. I feel it is so important to have a voice, an advocate in my life who knows my aspirations. This person helps me see where I am now on the map and helps me to clearly understand where I want to go and where that is on the map. Then, together, we can draw a bridge from point A to point B on that map.
When I found myself floundering, not working but spinning my wheels, feeling overwhelmed, constantly moving but never seeming to make any substantial progress, coaching was what was missing. When I began being coached and being coachable is when I found satisfaction, accomplishment and balance. Maybe you are ready to move ahead as well. Maybe it is time for you to hire a coach.