Running a business and managing a family is like having two fulltime jobs but on steroids. It’s a 24-hour ordeal and something you can’t put a snooze button to. I understand this all too well.
Having two babies (11-months apart), launching two businesses and moving twice, all in two years, I sure lost my fair share of sleep. What I didn’t know where many of these 41 tips (damn I wished I had!). Hopefully, there are a few things in here that will help you get a better sleep starting tonight!
Balance. What is it really?
Some say it's an even split between working and everything that comes after it. Well, as a parent, your 9-5 doesn't stop once you clock-out. Nope. You merely put on another hat called Mom. This job arguably more complicated and more important than the one that pays you (have we uncovered the ROI of parenting yet?), seemingly takes away from the balance we think we need. What if I told you that being a mom IS balance? Sure it's hard, and your days are often filled with bullshit from colleagues and then kid-shit in diapers, but this is life! Embrace. Enjoy. Rejoice. It only gets easier.
While I often cringe at the term work-life 'balance,' I use it in this post because it's one that most people recognize. My go-to name is work-life integration (pssst, if you haven't seen our Integrated Life video yet, then you should.) Why 'integration'? Because it's the art of incorporating and unifying all facets of your life; mind, body, career, relationships, and spirituality. The all mesh into one another, are rarely ever balanced and is why I think integration is a more fitting word.
There was a time when coding was new and unexplored by those other than the nerds in the back room. As the years have progressed, coding skills have become more important and needed. It had to because it has increasingly become an integral part of our lives. As more apps and platforms are being developed, the need for even more experienced developers is becoming apparent.
Screentime is still essential because it gives kids a creative outlet to build, learn logic and sequencing, and expand their minds. It’s also a universal skill and comes with no bias or preconceived notions. More importantly, it is something that is taught to kids as young as three! I know this because I had my boys playing around with coding apps as soon as we let them on an iPad.
Since coding is one of the most desirable skills for the future, it’s time to rethink your screentime approach and consider some educational programs for your kids.
I remember the morning so clearly. I was brewing my husband and me coffee while he was making breakfast, and I asked him about a business thing he was planning. He replied that he wasn't doing it anymore, which really surprised me.
"But why?" I asked. "You've been talking about this for a while."
He replied, "New information."
With his experience and now new knowledge, he realized that this endeavor was not going to help his business grow and in fact, it was going to be more of a distraction than anything. He knew better.
It’s very common for entrepreneur parents to feel guilty if they are unable to dedicate time for their kids, especially during the week. Societal norms, conditioning and the constant need to be the best at everything puts pressure on high performers to be present and to spend the right amount of time with their loved ones.
The guilt and the lack of being present make us search for the best tips and advice we can find to function properly as business owners and parents. Undertunely there is no silver bullet. It’s a lot of constant testing and tweaking routines and systems, and experimenting with different parenting approaches to find a solution that works at the time. What works now for your family won’t work for you in a few months or years down the road. Schedules change and with that means a change in routine.
As parents, we often want to swoop in to help our kids solve their problems. From brushing their teeth to completing their chores and doing their homework, we justify helping them because we either want to move faster (the bus is coming!) or we feel bad because they are frustrated with a task.
But the worst thing we can do for them is to DO FOR THEM. There comes a point in their development that they need to ‘figure sh*t out on their own.’
Let's face it, parenting is the toughest job in the world. While we all have different parenting styles, different methods and beliefs in how things should be done, you can't expect to know it all without asking questions or reading something.
I asked the community "What's your hands-down favorite books on parenting" and the people delivered. Below are some super handy reads not just about parenting, but about character, development, schooling, and discipline. Admittedly, I haven't read these all -- yet. Some books are not so obvious a parenting book as you may imagine, but trust me, the content is relevant and applicable
Your immediate family is a small team. A team all trying to survive and thrive together. While most roles within the household have already been clearly defined, thanks to our society and mainstream media, how we operate and what makes us prosper is something that is often ignored. Partners often get into arguments not because they disagree with each other, but because they are misunderstood. Not so much as to what they may have said, but misunderstood in terms of who they are, how they process information, how they react and what drives them. I would say that most heated arguments could be completely eradicated from your relationship if you each had a better understanding of each other’s personality. Oddly enough, the Wealth Dynamics Test is a great way to explore this.
This wasn’t the first time I used my protocol to redirect the energy to a positive outcome. I had clients from my former agency that were incredibly difficult to please. For every inch, they’d expect a mile. It was exhausting. At one point, one of their team members verbally attacked my team on a call. That big bad dragon started to grow inside of me and I needed to walk out of the room before I let it breathe fire.
Over the years I tried to think of something I could easily remember when I felt the temper or rage inside of me start to grow. Walking away wasn’t enough, though it helped. I needed a protocol that my mind could intuitively tap into to help me out of the messy situations.
