This is a collaboration blog by Erika Del Sordo and Meredith Kimmel, ACC. This blog is also posted at www.TodaysTalkwithErika.com.
Balance. When Meredith and I talked about this week’s collaboration blog, she said that her other favorite word is, “Balance.”
This week it’s mine, too.
I’ve recently added “licensed Real Estate Agent” to my long list of careers. In the midst of running from job to job, it gets hectic trying to “Balance” everything perfectly. I currently hold the titles of: Voiceover Artist, Podcast Host, Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor and Real Estate Agent.
I’m a perfectionist by nature. Everything MUST be in perfect symmetry, from the underwear drawer to what goes next to the eggs in the fridge. Same thing goes for my voiceover scripts. Everything must sound perfect, or it doesn’t go out! So having four jobs doesn’t sound like something someone like me would enjoy. But I do! And I do all of them well!
This is where BALANCE comes in like a wrecking ball.
My schedule is perfectly balanced. I have a specific time of day that everything gets completed. I perfectly place my gym clients around recording voiceover scripts, the podcast has a couple of days set aside for recording and editing and while most of my time is in the afternoons for the real estate office, my real estate customers get first priority – daily.
That is what “Balance” means to me and how it affects everyday life. Without balance, four jobs that hold career status would be a messy juggling act. For me, my perfectionism (and probably some OCD) holds all of my plates in place!
What is Balance?
My blog partner Meredith Kimmel, ACC is a Transformation Life Coach. She loves this word and tells us what it means to her:
I believe that having balance is holding the keys to your happiness. We all lead such busy lives, and as Erika said, she manages four careers, and keeps herself in balance. If you don’t maintain balance, you can easily lose control and then feel like a failure because you aren’t able to juggle all of the plates.
One way to achieve balance is to put up boundaries. A lot of people do not like putting up boundaries because they feel like they must be everything to everyone. Let me tell you, you don’t. Having boundaries is a very good thing. Boundaries are your friend! Setting limits is doing what is best for yourself. You can do a lot, but cannot do it all, and you don’t have to.
Another way to achieve balance is to practice self-care. Self-care is super important to your wellbeing. Figure out what works for you in terms of self-care. Yoga, exercise, journaling, beauty routine, going on vacation, taking a trip to the beach are just a few examples of self-care.
My self-care routine includes working out and journaling every day. I also get my nails done every two weeks, a pedicure once a month, and my hair done every three months. These are non-negotiables for me. I build these appointments into my schedule, just as I would a paying client.
Get In Tune with Yourself.
Having balance in your life means being in tune with yourself. When you are in tune with yourself, you begin to recognize when you are out of balance. You begin to feel as though something is off. When I am out of balance, I actually feel it in my body. I acknowledge how I feel, and I course correct. I’ve actually been known to set a “stop work” alarm on my phone, so I know when to stop working, switch gears, and do something else.
As someone who own her own coaching practice and does everything on her own from coaching, business development, marketing, networking, billing, scheduling, etc., I can easily spend all of my time working my business. I know that if I did this, I would not be in balance. This is why I include my self-care routine and I take time to go on vacation, or even a staycation.
I hear from so many of my clients, that they have weeks and weeks of unused paid vacation and sick time. I’m always telling them to use it. Why not, the work will be there when you get back and you get this benefit from work, they expect you to use your time. It is so important that you take care of yourself.
Thank you, Meredith.
So you see, without Balance, people WOULD burnout. They WOULD drop the ball (or plates). They WOULD get stressed beyond measure. I could go on… people would eat too much of the wrong foods, spend too much time at work and not enough time with family. BUT, when Balance is held to its highest standard, you can accomplish a lot of things in a great way because the proper amount of BALANCE is how we truly succeed in life.
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