Had you asked me a couple of months ago if work-life balance existed, the answer would have been a "no".
Well, okay, in fact it would have been "OMG, I don’t have time for this" (and I’d have been surprised if you even had the chance to ask me something that wasn't work-related).
How Things Used to Be
Back then, my typical day looked like this:
4:00am – Wake up, shot of coffee, get ready for work
4:30am – Arrive at office, have more coffee
10:00am – Realise I’m starving, grab anything I can possibly find for breakfast (often leftover cakes, biscuits etc that clients have given us and are sitting in the fridge) – now back to work and time for more coffee
3:00pm – OMG, I’m starving again, order takeaway to be delivered to my office – now back to work
7:00pm – Dinner appointment
9:00pm – Coffee time and back to the office
11:30pm – Go home
That was my life for 18 months, 6.5 days per week. I was totally convinced that the only way I would be successful was to work SO hard. But then I finally found my secret weapon.
My Secret Weapon
My secret is delegation and automation.
These days, before I do anything, I now ask, "Can someone else be doing this?" or "Is there an easier way to do this?" (I guess the last one's my Gen-Y mindset kicking in!)
I’m now at the point where I no longer need to be in Brisbane for my business to run. In fact, all I need is my iPhone and I can do everything. I could work only one hour per day and my business would continue to run exactly as it does right now.
Sounds too good to be true? Well it’s not. It’s what I do now.
My Top 6 Tips
Always use a list
Do everything digitally – I hate paper, I hate pens and I hate printers
Work proactively, not reactively
Make yourself accountable – Set goals. For example, I want a new Louis Vuitton handbag, but I won’t buy it until I have achieved everything I set out to achieve at the start of next month
Practise makes perfect – Change doesn't happen overnight. Be patient and stick to the plan
Focus – It's actually that simple. Focus on one thing at a time, you will save yourself SO much time!
I’d love to hear your work-life balance opinion or story. Do you have any tips to help reduce workload?
Let me know in the comments!
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