Y’all,
I need to be honest with you.
Your approach is all wrong 👀
You’re doing too much…and not enough.
Hear me out.
I’ve realized that many of us are in a constant struggle for balance.
Saying things like—
“I love the extra days off, but I need more money for bills.”
“My current clients are over the moon, however, I’m struggling to make sales”
“The acne is finally under control. My stomach though? A hot mess.”
With all our competing priorities (and chaotic world), balance can be hard to find.
^ for the visual learners
It’s often not for a lack of trying!
Most of us try to build systems to manage our chaotic lives
Whether it’s Notion to capture all those ideas for a book or Apple notes to jot down your workout plan, you likely have SOME type of system for maintaining balance in your life.
You need a solid system to manage your daily processes and tasks, however—
Your system will break without the right approach.
Today, I plan to help you get a little bit closer to that elusive equilibrium with our lesson—
It’s not YOU; it’s your approach.
1️⃣ THE PROBLEM
too much x and not enough y
You need systems and processes to get through life without constantly wanting to rip your hair out.
But that’s not enough to sustain.
Your attention and effort must also reflect the balance you are seeking.
Are you putting in a high level of effort? Sure
Are you even organized? Great!
Despite that, do you find yourself losing balance in life?
Do you look like the woman on the tightrope up there?
The source of that problem can vary.
Which version of this problem is going on in your life?
^ your rn because I reminded you about your life problems; don’t run—it’s worth the read ❤
Problem Version 1 - You’re an “all or nothing” person
Balance is difficult for those who are constantly going “ALL IN” on something.
I went ALL IN on my business once, and fell ALL THE WAY OFF with my health.
surprise mini-lesson: YOU CANNOT BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE
Apparently this guy can, but WE cannot 😀
In order to sustain a happy personal and professional life, I had to realize my lack of balance was the true barrier holding me back from long-term success.
Problem Version 2 - You hyper-fixate
Do you find yourself consumed with just ONE aspect of your life?
Scared you can’t focus on your favorite hobby today because you’ll forget about your work assignments?
Too preoccupied by world news to focus on that brief due tomorrow?
This is a reminder that the other parts of your life (and the world around you) still exist while you fixate on the one thing occupying all your mental state.
And whatever you’re fixated on right now will be there when you get back.
Problem Version 3 - You have a great system, and you don’t use it
You’re someone who thought through every scenario.
You (or someone you paid) built a beautiful work management system, tracker, or other tool to manage life’s requirements.
YET, now you don’t even open it because you’re just working off memory anyway.
AKA your system was set up for the “IDEAL” and not your REAL life.
Bonus Version - None of these apply, but you still feel unbalanced
Don’t worry, my love.
The problem is just an acknowledgment.
The realization is where the magic happens ✨
2️⃣ A REALIZATION
Your approach defines your outcomes
Going too hard on one aspect of your life and feeling unbalanced?
Just ignoring it will end in neglect
Going harder will burn you out
Cutting back without a reason to put that effort elsewhere will leave you bored
Overwhelmed with your “perfect” system of task management?
simply scrapping it and starting new won’t save you
saying you’ll start using it Monday is just a lie
When you approach these problems with a sense of fear and doubt in positive outcomes, they will persist.
You could have the perfect plan laid out for you and still fail to pursue balance.
We have more access to these than every before.
Free meal plans and workout schedules
Project Management tools that promise to be your one productivity solution
bullet journals
guided journals
timers to lock you out of apps
& so much more
People love to sell these tools with a simple equation.
“ PRODUCT + YOU = PRODUCTIVITY & A BALANCED LIFE “
These resources are AWESOME and they can be a FOUNDATION to your life balance.
They are tools to help you build a system you can stand on with two firmly-planted metaphorical feat.
However…they are not your savior.
They cannot do for you what you know you must do: put them into action.
In reality, the issue isn’t you—or even your system alone—it’s your approach.
OK, Mom. We get it. So HOW do we put these systems into action?
Aren’t you listening? You use the right approach.
3️⃣ THE SOLUTION
AKA the right approach
There are a few rules to approaching balance in your work, life, and endeavors.
You need a system to prevent full-blown chaos
You should approach what you build (checklists, trackers, etc) with optimism
Your system should ALLOW you to grow into your ideal level of balance
Your system should ACCOUNT FOR the fact that life is crazy and things go wrong.
Once you understand these pillars of good systems, you need to remember the following to successfully implement more balance in your life.
Make your system of balance easy to use and easy to maintain.
Prone to headaches that spoil your productivity? Add 3 extra “focus blocks” in your calendar with NOTHING scheduled in case you need to move work around.
Are you the one dropping the kids off each morning? Maybe avoid that 9am meeting in case you’re running a bit tardy 🫣
Create buffers in your schedule for when unexpected side quests occur
Want to bill 30 hours per week to your clients? Schedule 40!
Hoping to submit your essay in 1 week? Set the deadline 4 days early.
Set reoccurring reminders to check in on what’s working and what’s not.
Just like life, processes change.
Your budget template works today, but what about when your rent changes with that new apartment? Time for a check in!
That workout plan had you SNATCHED, but 6 months later? Time to update the difficulty so you can get continued results.
ITERATE 👏 ITERATE 👏 ITERATE 👏
Something that revolutionized my life was working with software development teams. There’s a longer lesson coming on this later, but here’s a preview. 😉
Even the BEST system built to provide balance will need tweaks over time as the other factors (like your life circumstances or energy levels) vary.
To make those tweaks, you ITERATE.
Iteration is “the repeated application of a function or process in which the output of each step is used as the input for the next iteration” (source: edc.org)
Create a system
Use the system
Review the system
Make changes
Repeat 2-4 over and over and over again.
💫 No nuance for you this week. ❤
…but there’s something FREE to enter linked under that adorable photo of me 😊
Until next week,
You can always change your mind
Go outside 3x more than you THINK you should (your soul will thank you)
and don’t forget to be kind to your neighbors.
Love,
your business Mom
Do you want guided support in building your systems with the right approach?
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⬆️ let’s make something magical together ✨