Posts Tagged ‘Work Life Balance’

I am an avid fan of Seth Godin – I look forward to reading his daily blogs. Without fail there is one every day!  Some of them are a little obtuse for me, some go way over my head, but I check in every day to see what words of wisdom he has compiled for the day.  Today his blog is Reasons to Work

Undoubtedly we all work to earn money – don’t we? If it wasn’t to earn money then surely that comes under the banner of being a “hobby”.  How do you separate the two?

Here are my views on Seth’s 8 points – what are yours?

1. For the money - Most definitely
   
2. To be challenged - Running your own business is always going to be a challenge however with it being your own business you will only get out of it what you put in.
3. For the pleasure/calling of doing the work - I enjoy my work, I can choose what I want to do and what I don’t.
   
4. For the impact it makes on the world - I doubt anything I do has an impact on the world, but hopefully I do help others run their businesses a little smoother.
   
5. For the reputation you build in the community - I like to think I help build communities on social networks.  Interacting with different people helps stimulate the brain.  Different ideas, varying degrees of application enhance a stronger on line community.
   
6. To solve interesting problems - I do like solving problems, looking for applications that will make any business run smoother.
   
7. To be part of a group and to experience the mission - I have always worked on my own – however when I set up On The Go I had to go networking.  In doing so became part of many groups and enjoy meeting people.
   
8. To be appreciated - If you work right then appreciation will come.

I am just reading The E Myth by Michael E Gerber.  I have only just started it but already I can see where I have gone wrong over the past 3 years.  That reminds me – it will be three years on the 5^th December when I set up On The Go – time flies!

Let me know your reasons – are they similar to mine?

I recently went back home to Kenya for a two week holiday, really excited to be returning to my original home after twelve years. It was a chance to be reunited with my son and also the perfect opportunity to take some time to relax in the sun.  Take a look at this photo – this is the view that I woke up to every morning – ah bliss! It has been twenty six years since I left Mombasa and the coast is still as beautiful as I remembered it – with sunrises and sunsets that are out of this world. 

 The run up to going away on holiday, though, was predictably hectic as anyone running a small business will appreciate. I needed to make sure that all my clients were looked after whilst I was away and thanks to my excellent secretary I knew my “typing clients” would be in safe hands. 

Included in my packing was my trusty Blackberry, and although I had been given strict instructions from Paul (my husband), that it had to be kept out of sight most of the day, I was still able to check e-mails from time to time. I was also able to flag those that needed action on my return and skip through others to be viewed at a later date.

It was while I was skipping through my e-mails that I started to ponder – ‘Why is it that we find it so difficult to “turn off”?’  Why is it, when we work so hard to have a holiday or break from work that we still insist on checking our e-mails?  Has it become second nature, a habit, an addiction even? 

If you have read “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferris you will understand exactly where I am coming from.  It was whilst I was relaxing and gazing out to sea that I began to think about work and how everything was going. I thought about how I should develop my business so that I could look after my existing clients as well as seek new clients while simultaneously ensuring that I continue to strive for the perfect work/life balance.  Now don’t get me wrong – this doesn’t mean that I’m planning to laze on the beach each and every day (what a thought!) but it does mean I considered ways that Paul and I could travel more; something we both enjoy.

This led me on to thinking about my business in broader terms and how it has grown over the past two and a half years – and where I would like it to go in the future.  Joanna Martin described in her recent newsletter that “For some businesses, the changing of the seasons may mean you need to re-evaluate your product or service”.   Hmm…surely I was in the perfect place to be able to do this whilst relaxing on holiday? 

So I took some time to re-evaluate the services I provide already and asked myself did all of them work?  What services could I remove?  Maybe I should think about the ones that were taking up a lot of my time for little income? And what services could I introduce that could be beneficial to both my clients and myself? Quite quickly I was able to see what areas needed pruning or adjusting – and once I had made those decisions my mind was free to contemplate new areas.  By dusting off the elements that were clouding my judgement I was then able to see a way forward – so watch out for some new services that will be coming up! 

So my point is this: have you taken any time recently to reflect on your business? If not, perhaps you too need to take some time out. It doesn’t matter whether it is a two week holiday somewhere exotic or just a long weekend. The important thing is to step away from your business long enough to take an independent view from a new perspective.  My advice is to do this before more time slips through your fingers, because time taken to reflect on where you have come from, and where you are going, is never time wasted.

And you never know, you might well be very surprised at what you see – and what you can learn.