What do you do for yourself
? our speaker was asked. Silence, as it hit her
that she did nothing that was just for her.
She had no hobbies. No life. It
was all about work, making the business work, making money. And when you have
employees depending on you to pay them, the
pressure is really on.
You could see that her
words were resonating with the women in the audience, likely they were asking
themselves the same question, and coming up with similar answers. It is hard to
eke out some time for yourself, because if it is not the business, it’s the
family, your home, your parents….the list goes on and on.
I often find that I get
most support from meeting up with girlfriends, and yet even that time can get
lost in the shuffle as the demands of business take their toll on my personal
life.
A couple of years ago I
decided “enough” and I started taking my Fridays off. I’d set up to have lunch with a friend, go
for a massage, or hair cut. I made it
so it wasn’t so easy to get out of this date with myself. And while some months I don’t quite manage
it, I have been fairly loyal to this plan, because it works and I feel so much
better when I switch off and become just me, Anne Day. Not Anne Day, business owner, wife, mother,
dog owner, volunteer…
When you lose sight of
yourself, it can be hard to remember who you really are or what you enjoy
doing. What did you like to do
pre-business, before kids? Maybe you
need to tap into those interests again.
Having a good laugh with girlfriends can sustain me for weeks.
What I do know for sure,
is that working 24/7 is not good for anyone – you, your family or your
business. We all need to take a break –
be it ten minutes a day just to take a walk, because when you do, you’re better
able to get the work done, and still feel alive in your own life.
No comments:
Post a Comment