September – the new energised me which is boosting my business !
Over the month of September, I have given myself a challenge – and for once it has not been 100% work related. In fact quite the opposite.
I am not measuring myself on new leads, new accounting clients, new bookkeeping jobs, the number of Business Activity Statements lodged – but instead I am measuring my success on personal achievements – happiness, quality time spent with my children and family, time spent on myself and really putting a work life balance into play.
And how did my monthly challenge go? Well with less than a week left, I can really see some positive changes in myself, and as a result, these have flowed on to my business.
I am spending time exercising and making it a focus, and it is amazing the clarity that comes during my twice-weekly morning walks along the Yarra River in Melbourne. Not to mention the stress relief during my bootcamp sessions on a Friday morning!
I am also learning to switch off and say no. Whilst most people are scared about the impact this will have on their business, I embrace it. Friday is my one day a week at home with both my children, and I don’t work on this day. I have stopped checking emails and logging in at all hours of the day and embracing the quality time that I can spend with my family.
To achieve this “work free day” it means I am more organised on the other days. I use applications and processes to streamline my working day (Xero and Expensify are my current favourites). I have also recently outsourced to a wonderful Virtual Assistant – and while this costs me money, the amount of time that I now have back in my life is worth every cent.
During the past 3 weeks I have also gained one new client – and that is not through any additional networking or chasing, cold calling or searching online every 5 minutes – but it came from a current client who referred me on to one of their connections. So the new relaxed and energised Stacey is having great flow-on effects for my business.
I hope you spend some time each week doing something for yourself. Yes, your business is important, but so are you!