Sometimes we have to change our plans and it is ok!
I often have to remind myself of the above statement as I am very much someone who likes to complete something that I have planned to do, especially when I have started it. However, sometimes other priorities crop up and sometimes we have to change our plans and make new ones. It may be that we have to change our focus regarding our work/life balance due to things that become more urgent. This happened to me recently. I had become quite adept at balancing different areas of my life but then I realised that due to pressing needs in one area of my life (my family life) I needed to lessen my focus on some aspects of my business, in particular networking and marketing.
How to change your plans
Changing your focus may mean dropping some things on your to-do list, delaying some of your deadlines if that is possible to do and it may mean delegating some things to other people. Depending on what area of your life you are trying to reduce your commitments in, those people could be work colleagues, people you line manage, or it could be friends and family. Often other people are more than happy to oblige if they understand the reasons behind the changes. Also, you do need to be aware of their current commitments and deadlines too, of course as you do not wish to overwhelm them.
Revisiting your goals
With the change of focus and priorities you may wish to revisit your goals. You may wish to set new goals to relate to the new things that have become priority. Goals should not be set in stone, and this is why it is worth reviewing them regularly, tweaking them if they need tweaking and even dropping some and creating new ones, if that is the best thing to do. Being organised and making these changes will help you to feel more in control.
Acceptance is key
Acceptance is key in relation to the change of focus that you are having to make. It may be a short-term change. If you are expecting it to be short-term but it becomes longer-term you may have to revisit this and see if it is sustainable and if you need to change anything in the interests of your work/life balance.
Practice self-love
Practice self-love. Treat yourself as well as you would treat other people and don’t accept lower standards for yourself as many of us do! Remember to build some time for rest and relaxation into your busy schedule – after all you do deserve it! This is something that even us coaches need to remind ourselves about so this is also a note to myself!
You may wish to check out this blog post and use the Wheel of Life to assess your own work/life balance. You may also wish to check out my Facebook page to see how I can help you further.