Acknowledge the problem, find the solution

We are women. What it means is that we can fix any problem under the sun. Alone, by ourselves!

Right? Your baby is growing up, and it’s time to sort out childcare? Not a problem! And so you run around for a number of days in a row, collecting all the possible information about childcare centres in your area, calling them on the phone, going in to personally check them out. In the few days, you are quite satisfied with the result: you found a great Centre with amazing teachers and activities, and your baby will start attending soon! You proudly inform your husband.

Meanwhile, as you were totally pre-occupied with the chase of best care for your little one, your business started to suffer a little. Clients have not received their answers on time; the quality of your response was not of the usual standard. A few major emails have piled up in your Inbox and eagerly waiting to be sorted. But that’s ok, because you can stay up late for a few nights and sort it all out.

All good. But when you least expect it, your baby gets sick: temperature, cough, throwing up at night, and all that jazz… Well, you know how it is! As a wonderful mother, you heroically stay up all night, worried terribly, listening to every breath and cough.

If you are studying at the same time and trying to read some materials that relate to your career and business, then you ARE, indeed, a very busy woman.

Yes, it happens to all of us. And if your starting to feel that you are spreading yourself too thinly, that you are not really succeeding in any of the above areas, then it’s time to think. It’s time to acknowledge the problem before you will start to be too irritable, depressed and surrounded with non-accomplished matters.

Stop, look around and acknowledge: where is the problem?

Ø  Have you taken on too many assignments? Babies, work, business, studies, etc?…

Ø  Do you feel your house is too messy and it annoys you?

Ø  You don’t know where to start, everything seems so important! So you are just jumping from one thing to another, without accomplishing anything.

Ø  Instead of looking tidy, stunning and well looked after, you see this reflection in the mirror of permanent pony tail, tired eyes and super-concentration?

And the solutions:

Ø  Could you hire an Assistant for your business to perform simple secretarial tasks so you can concentrate on more complex, professional issues? You will be amazed how much you will progress when you have someone working for you couple of hours a day, about 2-3 days a week!

Ø  Can the housework be more structured? For example: I’m doing washing only twice a week. Mess annoys you? Well, choose the Kaizen way: it means do a little bit here and there. Believe it or not, 2 minutes of wiping the floor with wet paper towel or 2 minutes of sorting the washing pile per work day will, actually, make your life easier and more relaxed. Simply because it will be a bit cleaner and tidier after these 2 minutes!

Ø  Can you delegate? Can your husband, your mum, mother-in-law look after your baby and your castle (your home that is)? Of course, you will need to put up with the fact that they will be doing it THEIR way. But sometimes you just need to let go of total control..

Ø  I have a simple tool to fight with the notorious jumping from one thing to another, not being able to prioritise and concentrate: you just discipline yourself. Just like you would do with your child. Don’t be embarrassed to talk to yourself: ‘Sit, finish this first. I know, now you want to jump onto the accounts and check the situation there.. but NO, first you will finish writing this email!’
By all means, do pre-PLAN your next day in advance, as boring as it may sound. The next morning, when you get up, look at the plan you’ve written the night before, arm yourself with a pen and highlighter and go strictly by the PLAN, ticking off and highlighting tasks off the list as you go.

 Yes, restructuring does take time. The change in you won't happen overnight. Keep your feelings and expectations on the positive level, believe in yourself: YOU CAN DO IT! And don't be afraid to take those little baby steps towards the better life.