Donna: There will never be a perfect balance, but you can have a healthy blend, a blend that is comprised of three things, a business that fills your purpose , a connection to your loved ones that fills your heart and a strong self care habit that keeps you energized and buoyant. It's the healthy work-life blend that we can all be working towards.
The five steps I'll talk about today. Is the a recipe for a business ownership lifestyle that has you feeling content grounded and free from burnout.
The bus way that we've been hearing about so much over the past couple of years is balance getting the perfect balance in life. And I'm going to call bullshit on that. It's bullshit because just those two words, balance and life. To me, that's like oil and water. It's never going to be the perfect union, a work-life balance.
That's never going to happen. That combination of words. Perfect work life balance is really setting us up to fail. So instead I feel that we need to replace that terminology with work-life blend a small, but a really significant change in the language and the intention. I also want to add the word healthy into the mix.
So let's coin it as a healthy work-life blend rather than a perfect work-life balance. Life is fluid and it ebbs and it flows. And so that's your business. So that's why they'll never be a perfect balance. But what you can have is a healthy blend. I'm a business strategist. My goal with this podcast. With the Ready To Rise program and with private coaching is to help moms go from feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and on the path to burnout, to thriving with a successful business.
It's also my driving purpose to have you enjoying more time with the people who mean the most to you and making self-care part of your daily practice. Now a business that lights you up, you and your purpose, a connection to your loved ones that fills your heart and a strong self care ritual and habits that keep you energized and in tune with your true core values.
That's what it's all about. So how do we do that? I'm going to share with you just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to establishing that healthy blend. Five key things that you can do to start the process. And the first one, it may not be sexy, but it is a great place to start. And that's with time management, the better you can control and use your time to be super productive in running your business.
Then the more time you'll have for your loved ones and let's face it, our loved ones just want us to be present with them. They just want your time. So it'd be 100% in your business when you're working. And then 100% with your family when you're in their company, get yourself a time management system, something that works for you.
Something that feels good and is easy to use. The results that I use, I will sharing with you today and you can download it for free. It's really, really simple to use, and it will have you making more of an impact with your time and you can use it consistently to smash out your goals and dial down that overwhelm.
It's called my ultimate productivity planner. It's a printable document and you can get it by going to donnahann.com/freeplanner. Some of what I've just said, which ties directly into time management is number, two boundaries, so be prepared to set strong boundaries around what you will say yes to and what you will say no to.
I'm going to bet that when you started your business, just like I did, I started it because I wanted the freedom. I wanted to break the corporate chains and I didn't want to have to ask a boss for any time off. I wanted to work around by kids and, you know, I wanted to be creative in problem solving with minimal red tape. And I'm going to guess that that was you too.
Now it might sound restrictive and counter-intuitive to be talking about boundaries and also talking about freedom. But saying no is what will help you to get that beautiful work-life blend. And you need to set parameters on how far you're going to push each areas of your life.
So if we start with work being the most obvious one, considering this is a business podcast. As business owners, instinctively, we are problem seekers and solution makers. And our purpose behind being in business is essentially to help solve other people's problems. And our award for doing so it's hopefully money.
When you have a passion for what you do a strong purpose for why you do what you do. It becomes really easy to be consumed by your business, by your work. And we work longer hours and we try to squeeze more stuff into less time and we can also over-serve at our own detriment. So that's the first part around why boundaries are important.
The second part of this blend when we're looking at those three areas of life that we want to blend together is when we talk about family and friends, the people who made the most to you in this area, when talking about boundaries, that can be a tendency for us as the mom to become a crutch, especially for our kids.
And sometimes even for as significant other, because we love them and we want to do things for them. It's part of our love language, and that's beautiful, but it can also be exhausting if that's taken advantage of, if we are doing, you know, the lion's share of the household, uh, jobs, if we are, you know, teaching our children that they don't have to do things for themselves, but that we will do it all for them.
And that becomes really exhausting and it's people pleasing, gone wrong. Energetically. We also need to surround ourselves with great people who lift us up. And I'm sure we all know someone. We've all got someone within our circle of friends or family that maybe as a little bit draining, maybe they challenge your self-beliefs and maybe they leave you feeling a little, you know, who I'm talking about. There's always somebody.
If they are a family member and you can't, or you don't want to part ways with them, it's a, you know, something with, if it's a friend, then maybe an easier solution just to not spend time with them anymore.
But just remember that if it's someone that you don't want to cut ties with them, I'm not suggesting that you cut ties with everybody who maybe doesn't fill you up a hundred percent of the time, but remember that you don't need to enter into every conversation you're invited to.
There are conversations that, you know, when you have them, we'll be leaving you feeling filled with self doubt or negativity or something like that. So either be brave and have a talk to that person and sort of make it a no-go convo with them, or just let the comments slide on past you like Teflon. And don't give those words any power. Don't even let those words land so that you have to step over them. Give them nothing, be like teflon. And that might really help.
The third part that I talk about in this healthy work-life blend is self care. Now this is real self-care that I'm talking about tuning into your inner knowing rather than ignoring it, living your core values and fueling your body and your mind with great things.
Being still, getting into nature. It's the area of the three that I feel is most neglected when I speak to other women in business that I help, usually that comes down to low self-worth and the end result is always going to be burnout. So with all of that being said, The way to avoid overworking the way to avoid being taken advantage of and feeling meh.
And the way to avoid burnout is to set parameters around what you will and what you won't accept and what you will and what you won't do. And sometimes that requires saying no, and here's how I do it. If an opportunity arises within my business, or, you know, there's an employee who makes request for something that you know, is going to have a ripple effect, or if an invitation comes my way to spend time with someone that I know might be a little draining or I'm not in the right head space for that, or if there's a really good series on Netflix.
And I just want to watch one more episode, but it's already 10 o'clock at night. If I say yes to this, whatever it is then by default, what are you also saying no to?. It's as simple as if I say yes to working late, I'm saying no to story time and tucking my kids into bed. Or if I'm saying yes to watching one more episode on Netflix, I'm also saying no to waking up feeling refreshed.
It's a really good question to ask yourself when you feel like that boundary is a little bit iffy for you that you're not quite sure. Now if that question isn't enough for you and you're still unsure of what your answer is, then the next thing that you can do is give it a rating. So out of 10, how much do you want the opportunity?
If something's coming your way, it's an opportunity, but it also means that by taking that opportunity, you're not going to tuck your kids into bed that night, ask yourself how much do I want this opportunity? And out of 10, taking into consideration the future benefits of that opportunity, what score are you going to get?
Then you need to do the same for the other end of the scale. So in saying yes, means that I can't talk my children into bed that night. How much out of 10 do I really want to do that? What's the future negative impact if I do that thing. So next time you're in that situation, perhaps you could use this strategy of logic to shape your decision.
One of the most powerful things you can do for yourself and your business is to surround yourself with like-minded women who will support you, inspire you and celebrate with you when you reach your goals, I'm creating a community of savvy women in business. And I'd like to invite you to join my free Facebook group. In the group I share free templates. I check in with the members of the group on a regular basis, and I jump in live every week for coffee and coaching. And that's where I share some extra business. I answer any burning business questions you might have and help to connect you with other members of the group it's free to join.
And I'd love to see you there. Use the group search function in Facebook, typing She's In Business with Donna Han, and you'll be sure to find it.
So let's recap. You're wanting to, ratiate a healthy work left blend, a business that fills your purpose and lights you up. You want to be connected to your loved ones, so that fills your heart up and you want strong self-care habits that keep you energized and in tune with your true core self.
You've got my time management planner. Take that box, make sure you use it. You've got some boundaries in place. So now you need step three. The third thing which I already briefly touched on is self care. If you allow yourself to burn out, it will have a massive ripple effect to your family, your relationships, your business, your health, but also self care is more important than everything because for no other reason, then you deserve it as a basic human need.
You just deserve it, everybody. It is not selfish and it is not something that should land on the bottom of your to-do list. Do not sacrifice your own health and wellness for other things, protect yourself, care time, like a ninja. Work out what you can do to start small habits that will equate to big change over time.
So one of the things that I recommend that you start. If self-care, isn't already a habit for you is just start to look at yourself, stats and observations and reflections of yourself. Tune into how you're feeling on a daily basis. Tune in to how you are breathing on a daily basis. Are you breathing really shallow or are you breathing nice, slow, beautiful, deep breaths.
She needed to your thoughts and your self-talk. Is it positive? Is it negative? Just build that awareness around what's going on for you on the inside tune into that stuff. Then once you know, roughly where you're sitting start to make tiny steps as daily habits.
So here's a few things that I've tried. And it's worked for me. And I've also suggested to the people that I work with, the ladies that I work with, and it's really dependent upon where you're at, what stage of life you're in with your business, with your kids, all of that kind of stuff. As to how much you can really dedicate to investing in this, right? So tiny things, those small, tiny things that you can start to do.
The first thing you can try. Let's take a moment before you get out of bed before you put your feet on the ground to take five deep breaths. And then I want you to try and do the same thing, when your head hits the pillow. At the end of the day, five deep breaths.
The power of our breath is huge because it plugs directly into calming our nervous system, which has all kinds of benefits proven by science. So definitely give that one a go and you'll be amazed at how different you'll start to feel.
The other thing we can do as a tiny small step towards our health is to swap one of those naughty foods with whole, uh, healthy whole foods. And then build that up over time. The other thing that you can do, which takes no extra time out of your day is when you have your 10 minute shower, which we all do take it as a mindful moment.
And bring awareness into your body. So move out of your head and into your body. Feel the water on your skin. Smell the soil. The grateful for the simple opportunity that you have a shower every day practice, great gratitude. And again, take a moment to breathe. Take those 10 minutes to breathe. A really simple one that you can do.
The other one I used to do when my kids were really small is once they were tucked in bed for the night, I would take the rubbish out, take the nappy bin out for the day. And I would take a moment while I was doing that job to look up at the sky, try and find the moon or the stars if they were out that night and I would just breathe.
And I would just listen to the sounds of the knot. And that was my little tiny bit of self care that I did for myself every day, taking out the nappy bean and using it as a moment for me.
So if you're feeling well. Yeah, that's great, Donna. Awesome. But I know that within a week of fall off the bandwagon, then my suggestion is that you create a self-care plan for yourself, have a template that, you know, you can refer to that you make a plan for yourself.
Now I do have a one-page plan that I have made for you, which will help you to turn what is a very, very simple idea that you've heard on a podcast into an actual achievable thing. So it is a one page plan that has a really easy layout that you can add stuff in there that you can challenge yourself to do each and every day, once a week or whatever it is.
And it will keep you energized, grounded and avoiding burnout. Again, I'll put them in the show notes, but it's donnahann.com/selfcare. If you want to grab that one.
Nevertheless, what I want to talk about today? Number four, actually. No, I've got five. So this is the second to last one. Number four is making sure that you get a blueprint or a framework or a structure for your business.
So there is absolutely no reason why you need to wing it in business. There is so much information out there. There's programs and courses and business coaches that will help you to shortcut your. In your business process in taking you from startup to growth, to sustainable success. So go out and find someone who is the expert in the area that you are lacking skills.
Whatever you identify as your skills gap, go and find an expert who three to five years ahead of where you are, who they have, the kind of personality that clicks with yours, you enjoy the way that they present their content. The way that they say it is easy to understand and invest in learning from them.
Now it can just be an investment of your time. There's a lot of free training available. You can listen to podcasts like this one completely free. Um, books are another low cost way of doing that. So are conferences. And if you're in a position to invest financially with a little bit more significance, I guess then training programs, private coaching, find the option that is affordable for you, and then go and do it.
Before I move on to the last step, step five. I want to just tell you that if you do go seeking training and coaching, it is your responsibility to do the work. So it's like having a personal trainer. You want to lose weight. You want to get fit and strong. They can show you and they can tell you, and they can coach you on how to lose the weight.
They can coach you on, you know, doing the exercises to be fit and strong, but they can't just click their fingers and magically you'll be transformed, it doesn't work. You've not only got to do the work when you're with them, but you've also got to do the work when you're not with them. And that's the same as buying into an online program or engaging with a private coaching package.
You've got to do the work. Now once you've got those foundations in setting up your business, you've got your sales and marketing systems. You've got your products and services all sorted out. You've got strong finances and you're measuring your finances every month. Maybe you've got a team and you're developing your leadership style.
You've got your systems and processes all in place. You've also been learning and implementing strategies around time management and boundaries and self care. That's the guts of it. Then you've also got to acknowledge that there are seasons of life and seasons of business.
So this is my last point. This is tip number five, where you are, is where you're meant to be.
Even if in the moment it feels frustrating. And maybe you're not getting there as quick as you want to get, be getting there. Maybe you can't do the things you want to be doing because it's a bit limiting when you've got little children. There are lessons in everything. And you must trust that where you are is where you're meant to be.
In the words of Mel Robbins, life happens for us, not to us, and we need to work out what it is, what the lesson is within that. So if you're in a season of growth within your business, that may mean that your blend is more weighted towards working. And less towards social catch-ups with friends for that month.
Maybe it might be that your kids are at an age where they're really dependent on you. And it's not the time to move into a huge growth phase for your business because sticky fingers are warm hugs. They only last a really short time. And when they don't want to hang out with you anymore, you'll really kick yourself for missing those times.
Or maybe you're having a tough time within your marriage or relationship, and you need to hunker down on that and do nothing else. In order to save it the bare minimum for your business. And I've been there, you know, a few years ago, my husband and I, we separated for five months. And in that time I did the bare minimum.
I had to, to keep my business going. And I sank all my time and energy into building up my inner strength and loving my kids and repairing our relationship. You know, there might be times when the kids are parked in front of the TV for a few hours while you smash out somework. Because, you know, you want to switch off from work from the weekend and you just need to get this thing done.
Just allow the season of life to be what it needs to be. And the same with your business. There's always going to be seasons. Get the foundations for your business set up. Learn and implement the strategy so that if you do need to step away from your business and just do the bare minimum, it will all be okay and you can return to it when you're ready.
But as I said, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I've squeezed a fair bit into this episode today. So if you want to reach out for me and get some more information, then we can jump on a discovery call together or, if you're not ready for that, you can check out what services I offer on my website as well.
All the links that have been mentioned will go into the show notes. So have some fun with that stuff and start taking steps towards the lifestyle you've been dreaming of.
Make sure you check out the show notes for anything extra. I talked about today. If you liked the episode, make sure you subscribe and I'd love it, if you left me a review, even better, share it with a friend, because what I really want is to help women in business feel supported on their business journey, share it on socials. Tag me so that I can give your business a shout out to.
