Transcript of Episode #4:
Protect Your Family Time in 2024: Secrets to Setting Boundaries for Mompreneurs!
Cristina: Hello, and welcome back to the Blissful Mompreneur podcast. I’m your host, Cristina Hall, and I am so grateful you are here today. I am on a mission to help mompreneurs or female entrepreneurs who hope to be moms in the future, systemize and scale their businesses to beat overwhelm and reclaim their time. Join me each week as I dive into actionable strategies and inspiring stories to support you on your journey to entrepreneurial success and work-life balance.
Now I want you to take a moment and think about your current work-life balance. Do you feel that your family receives the attention and time they deserve? If you answered no, then you’re going to love today’s episode because today I am going to give you some strategies to help set boundaries between work and family time so you can find more balance.
Now you may have a brick and mortar business where you shouldn’t be taking work home but knowing how much you care, I’m sure you still bring some of your work home. And if you work from home, then I’m pretty certain finding that balance between work and family time is an ongoing challenge.
Only a few years ago, I was one of those moms who spent most of my waking hours working, which left my family starving for time and attention. At that time, my daughter became so accustomed to me either not being around or just not being present while I was home that she preferred it when I wasn’t home. I remember one particular day when she asked me if I was going to work and when I said yes, she was thrilled. That was a really painful moment, but it was also a wake up call, one that I really needed. And I realized if I didn’t make a change soon, the years were going to pass me by and my daughter and I wouldn’t have the relationship I really wanted. So I had to be more intentional at setting boundaries between work and family time. So I got to work.
The first thing I did was start to delegate. I slowly started handing off students to other teachers and handed off lower level tasks to my assistants. One change that made a huge difference was handing over the email inbox and business phone to my administrators. I decided that I was no longer going to look at the messages unless someone was out. This was such a huge transition for me because it allowed me to not get bogged down with the day to day of running the studio. And it forced me to let go of the control that I so badly wanted to maintain. I was so concerned that my admins would not respond the way I would and honestly they didn’t, but the business didn’t burn down. They may handle things differently, but what they do works and has it allowed me to focus on higher value tasks which have a more powerful impact on the business.
In addition to delegating, I also began investing in tools that would allow me to automate recurring tasks. I got a QuickBooks online subscription so I could transition all of our clients to auto pay. This meant I no longer had to manually create and email invoices each week. I subscribed to Acuity to manage appointments and to ensure all clients received automated text and email reminders about their upcoming lessons. Now if you’re listening to this and you know you need to begin delegating but don’t know where to begin, the first thing I would do is write an exhaustive list of all the tasks that you do. Then get a highlighter and begin highlighting the tasks you could automate or delegate. Also highlight tasks you do not enjoy. Now review the highlighted items and choose one task that you will either delegate or automate and make that your first priority. Once you have removed that task from your plate, then go back to your list and choose another highlighted task. Keep repeating until you start to feel like you’re happy with your work to family time ratio.
The next thing I did was begin to establish clear work and family hours. I did this by crafting an ideal week and time blocking my work time and family time. Now to this day I still use the ideal week and I love it. Sometimes things come up and there is overlap but this has helped me become way more disciplined at leaving the work aside so I can be with my family at designated times throughout the day. I try to schedule my work time during times when my daughter is at school or when my son is napping or when someone is watching my kids. When I have those work blocks I have to be disciplined and focused on my priorities because my time is limited. But I find I get more done now with less time than I did when I had unlimited time. In a future episode I will dive deeper into how to create your ideal week but in the meantime I want you to get started. Block off set hours in your day where you don’t work. You don’t check your phone or email and you’re fully present with your family. This could be dinner every evening or at bedtime. You can start small and then expand your family time as you begin to delegate more tasks.
Now it’s important to remember that you have to set realistic expectations. When you spend time in one area you’re giving up time that you could be spending in another. We are all in different seasons of our lives and our expectations have to be aligned with our current season. Since my kids are still young I have to set goals and expectations that are attainable within the time constraints. It’s more important for me to spend quality time with my children while they’re young than set big audacious goals that require a lot of time. It’s also important to be flexible. Even now that I’ve found more balance I am constantly having to change and adapt as my children grow up and their needs change and the needs of my business change. But the beauty of owning your own business is you create the life you desire. Ultimately the business should give you freedom not shackle you so that you cannot spend time with the people who matter most.
Sometime this week I’d like for you to reflect on your current work to family time ratio and figure out where you would like to be. Then just choose one thing to try from today’s episode. It’s much easier to tackle one small change than to try to do everything at once. Please DM me at the blissful mompreneur on instagram. I truly love hearing from you.
Thank you so much for tuning in to today’s episode of the Blissful Mompreneur podcast. I hope you found the information valuable and inspiring. Remember you have the power to step off that hamster wheel, reclaim your time and find balance in your life. If you enjoyed today’s episode please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps me continue to provide valuable content to mompreneurs like you. Until next time keep pursuing your dreams, finding joy in the journey, and creating a life and business you love. Take care and I’ll see you in the next episode.