Greetings again.
I keep working toward more consistent posting here. But it’s been tough. Maybe you can relate? I frequently find myself pulled in so many different directions; it’s hard to stay on target. It can feel like my head is spinning.
I think it’s mostly about balance, but we can lose track… and, if we lose balance, everything can crash. Self-care is an essential part of this balancing act we call Life.
For the past few months, I’ve pushed myself hard. Work–writing and editing for clients AND my own writing projects, learning new business applications, admin stuff, travel, work-retreats, reclaiming my office from disarray, trying to keep up with the household chores, and oh, yea–taking care of myself.
Have you heard about this awful strain of flu that’s been going around this winter? Maybe you or a family member or friend has dealt with it? It’s bad, right? Take care of yourselves out there.
Just in this last week of January 2018, at last–I’m recovering from the nasty, relentless flu-bug. Ugh! It seems mine ran a similar course, as many folks I’ve heard about. I battled it for three weeks. Now the realization dawns on me, I unwittingly let myself get run-down. Not getting enough quality rest, ultimately put me behind for a bit. It cost me the time I could have been editing, writing or cleaning my office. I lost sight of balance. My advice: Don’t lose sight of balance in your life.
Among my many business tasks of late–I’m learning things like MailChimp, how to build my list, and using LeadPages–but it can be confusing. I’m not sure yet how to bring them together, or how best 
to utilize them for my business. Have you experienced this–trying to figure it out and not knowing if you’re doing it right? There’s a lot to take in, right? Head-spinning, I tell you. I’ve also learned it’s Ok to ask for help. Again–balance! And I have a clever friend…
Janice Hurlburt rocks at Online Management stuff –you know, the list-building, website appeal tweaking, scheduling, and many other technical aspects of running an online business. Janice will help me with these tasks soon, and she’s quite reasonable. She will even help update my website themes, eventually.
And of course, tax-time is coming–won’t that be such a treat? 😉 I’m sorting through stacks of papers, shredding a bunch of stuff (Yea! Confetti!), and finding all the tax-worthy tidbits of which I’d lost track. Tax matters are not my forte. Fortunately, I have a cool and witty tax-guy I’ve begun working with. There are so many, various, business-ly type things to keep track.
Yeah, so things get busy. Working on my client projects–I love the editing, writing, and coaching. And I write on my other website, Taking Back Wellness–trying to be more consistent in posting there too. I’m also working on two books. When will I sleep? But we must make time.
I’m not complaining. It’s just learning all the business components… well, some days it can feel overwhelming. If you’re running a business, I’m sure you’ve run into some of this yourself from time to time. Learning to balance everything can be tricky.
If you never had the chance to see the “plate-spinning-guy” on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s, you missed a treat. But you’re in luck. I happen to have found a video of him on YouTube for you. I’ve since learned his name is Erich Brenn.
If the video doesn’t show up, you can see him here.
I’m sure there are plenty of other plate spinners out there. Maybe not in the Yellow Pages (not much demand), but you can find almost anything on the Internet. I even saw there were some Chinese guys spinning lots of plates. Hobbies get around, I guess.
So? Why am I bringing this up?
Because everything is about, you guessed it. Balance. These days we are sprayed with a barrage of information and “to-dos.” I often feel like those “plate-spinning” antics are a great metaphor for Life–and business-building. We have many things we must do on any given day. But when building a business, the number of tasks increases.
You need to do A and get it going. Then move on to item B. Great, A and B are safely up and running. But now you need to start C and D, but before you can move on to E, F, and G, you must go back and renew the “spin” on A and B, and maybe C–so they don’t stall and crash.
Before you realize it, you’re doing 30 different things and trying to do your best with them all. Trouble is, maybe you’re not so good at doing L, M, N, O, and P, but you ROCK at doing G, H, I, and J. And you are… kind of so-so with C, D, and E.
Eventually, you can hire staff to take care of the tasks you’re not great at–that’s why I hire my witty tax-guy. Not that I’m not witty too… but all the numbers and math stuff… well, you know. It’s also why I hire people like my Online Management Expert friend, Janice. They shine at their areas of expertise. I shine at my different areas of expertise–like editing, writing, and coaching.
But when you’re starting out, and you’re building, it can be tough to be in the lean position of having to do it all–and still take care of yourself, and your health, and possibly a family too. The crazy thing is, if you don’t take care of you–who will? Your health is everything. Without it, you’re toast. All those plates will crash, and you won’t be able to sustain anything.
To keep balance in sight, remember your self-care. Get your rest. Take care of yourself. Go for walks. Ditch the sodas. Drink plenty of water. Eat Real Food (not processed and prepackaged junk).
Get the synthetic chemicals out of your life, out of your house, and out of your food. Use pure essential oils and other natural items. Floss and brush your teeth. Try oil pulling (if you don’t know what that is, I can enlighten you). Start your mornings with at least a 3-minute meditation, and then some gratitude. Center yourself. Balance.
I know, I sound like your mom–and it can be hard to fit it all in. But what I’m saying, is you and your health need to be in the #1 position–this includes your spiritual practice, whatever it may be. Take care of YOU. Then you’ll have what it takes to care for your family and your business.
If the actions in the previous few paragraphs seem overwhelming, I “get it,” I’ve been there. They don’t have to be paralyzingly daunting. Contact me. Let’s have a conversation. I can give you some tips. I can steer you in the right direction.
None of us are perfect with any of this stuff–we all do the best we can with what we have available to us at any given moment. We “fall off” the wellness wagon occasionally, but you just have to get back on as soon as you can.
If you’re shy or not ready to talk health-stuff with me yet, then you can also visit my other website at TakingBackWellness.com. I’m always adding to the wellness resources and information there, from my Holistic Wellness Coaching background.
Thanks for visiting.
Be well,
~Paula
