Ah, the joy of summer. Beautiful days, warm nights, swimming pools, beaches, icy drinks, barbecue's, campfires-all the things.
For those of us that have school aged kids, it also means that they are home-all the time. In my case, my husband is a teacher which means he is also home-all the time.
A few feelings can come up for me at this time of year:
Joy-I get to spend time with my peeps. Lazy mornings and no schedule.
Jealousy-they have lazy mornings and no schedule
Guilt-I have to work when I want to play
Frustration-can they just leave me alone so I can get work done?
I want to play. I want to relax. I want to have fun, but I also want to work and continue to make money.
So, what do I do?
Shift to gratitude-I am so freaking grateful that I get to work from home. I am also grateful that I can dictate my schedule to some degree
Shift into my ‘summer calendar'-work until 11 am and then take a break until about 2 pm. Work until 4-5pm and then wind up for the day. This allows me to spend some time with the fam.
Aim for shutting down at 2pm on Fridays.
Don't take on any new, big projects during the summer. Plan to go gangbusters in September.
Set office hours with my family-communicate my work hours with the family so that they let me work and I can focus
Be really freaking efficient when I am working-don't waste time. Set a deadline to get the work done and meet the deadline.
Let go of guilt-regardless of the time of year, we have a business to run, clients are counting on us and shit needs to get done. Don't feel guilty about taking time away from your family to do this
Get some help-sign up the kids for camp, bring in a part time child care provider if you need. Use your underwriting hub in your brokerage. While it does cost money it might keep you sane and happy.
You can enjoy the summer break too-it just requires some planning and some boundary setting!
You've got this,
Renee