Don’t Sacrifice Your Personal Time – Calendar It In!

Calendaring in your business activities – your deadlines, meetings, projects, and launches – is an essential practice for any growing business. If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not going to happen!

However, this also applies to your personal time, which is what many entrepreneurs forget to do.

This is completely understandable. After all, you’re building a business, which takes constant focus. When you first started your business, most (or all) of that focus needed to come from you; there just wasn’t anyone else to do it.

As you grow, however, this needs to change. This transition isn’t an easy one though, and it’s where many business owners get themselves trouble.

They start missing out on date nights, birthdays and anniversaries, family moments, and even vacations. They wake up in the middle of the night stressing about whether something was done and spend most of their evenings and weekends mired in work. (Is this starting to sound familiar?)

No judgment here. I’ve been there, and it’s not a great place to be. If you’re ready to break out of the hamster wheel and reclaim your personal time, keep reading!

Prioritizing Your Personal Time

When you look back at your “why” – your foundational reasons for starting your business – did they include the following?

• Spending every waking moment obsessing over tasks that you should probably delegate
• Missing out on all the important moments in life so you can try to catch up with business tasks
• Having approximately 12.6 minutes to yourself each week to eat, sleep, and grab a cup of coffee

Obviously, this list is satirical, but you know what they say…satire is based in truth. Even though none of us actually set out to accomplish these “goals,” most business owners find themselves there at some point.

When I owned my law firm, I found myself in this position more often than I should have. I went with it for a little while (I just figured it was part of owning a business) but eventually, things needed to change.

When I learned how to build systems and really delegate, everything started to change. I learned how to carve out time in my schedule for both business activities and for myself – and eventually, I learned how to make the most of both. Work hard, play hard!

Get Intentional with Your Calendar

Your calendar really is one of your most important tools, both for your business and for your life. As a busy business owner, things can pile up quickly. If the important events aren’t on your calendar from the start, all of the smaller tasks and “hey, do you have a minute?” distractions will take over your day.

And eventually, they’ll pile up…and you’ll be right back where you started.

By getting intentional with your calendar from the start, you can ensure that the important dates – the ones you decided to prioritize – get on your calendar and everything else gets worked in around them or delegated to your team.

A great way to do this is to get specific members of your team involved. Your EA, your Admin, and your Marketing Assistant or Marketing Coordinator are all excellent choices.

This allows leaders on your team to not only help you carve out the time you need, but it also equips them to become more proactive in their own planning and leadership!

Why You Need Scheduled Downtime to Grow Your Business

Being present for important personal and family moments is invaluable and being able to truly be in the moment when you’re on vacation makes the experience so much sweeter.

That’s not always enough to get us to shut the laptop, though. (Just being honest!)

If you want your business to grow and your team to develop, you actually do have to step away at times. This serves two important purposes:

• It allows you to “stress test” your systems so you and your team can refine them. If you never take a day off, how will you know whether your team can run things in your absence?
• Even more importantly, taking personal time – whether it’s a couple of days or a few months – allows you to relax and recharge. Staying on the constant “stress high” might make you feel productive for a little while, but eventually, it will take its toll on you and your team.

Scheduling in time to recharge is an essential part of growth! It might seem like it’s out of your reach when you’re in the midst of the chaos, but trust me – getting intentional about calendaring your personal time is one of the best things you can do to grow a business that allows you to thrive. If my team and I can help you get your calendar under control, let us know!