I was recently on a call with a client. She was sharing with me all of the challenges she had over the holidays. She ran down the list of things that she had to do and the things that she did not get to do that she would have rather done, and how it was all out of balance. She told me it was hard to focus at work, because she was thinking about everything she needed to do at home, and vice versa.
I am always fascinated by the words people use. Often when discussing time management, “balance” is used. Trying to create balance is the biggest mistake we make.
Balance is defined as a condition in which different elements are equal.
There are 168 hours in a week. We spend probably 56 sleeping; 40 (or more if we are being honest) working; another 20 grooming, running errands, cooking and meal prepping; five to six exercising; five to six commuting…the numbers add up fast and the time left over for life diminishes every time you add an hour to any of those, or even other activities I missed. It is out of balance, and likely always will be.
Now, consider harmony—a consistent, orderly or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
Notice the concept of equal is not mentioned.
Time management is not about making the scales equal; it is about making the most of the time you dedicate to each part of your life and making sure you are making the highest and best use of your time. It is about being 100-percent present in whatever you’re working on. Jim Elliot said it best: “Wherever you are, be all there.” We would all do well to put this into practice.
Imagine if you followed your time-blocking plan and committed to it at that level. When you were at work, you followed a schedule that focused on money-making activities first and foremost. When you were at home, you were present—not with your face buried in a phone, telling your family to give you 10 minutes because you just need to review a contract really fast. Really present and in the moment.
This harmony is deliberately built and a critical foundation of a life by design.
There are times when we have to dig in and work more, and there are times our personal lives need more focus. It cycles as we grow our teams and businesses and grow personally. When you’re deliberate about the choices you make with your time, you’ll achieve harmony, even when it’s not balanced.
Plan to do your highest and best tasks with the available time. Commit to it. And wherever you are, be there.
Sara Guldi of The Guldi Group has been a licensed real estate salesperson since 2004. She lives in Florida and has a team in Maryland that consistently exceeds $20 million in production annually, with an average sales price of approximately $165K. In their best year, The Guldi Group did $64 million in production, and they attribute their long-term success to a strong commitment to systems and coaching. Guldi loves helping others build amazing business and lives using the performance coaching systems developed by Workman Success Systems. Guldi is passionate about coaching and in addition to being a Master Coach with Workman Success Systems, she is also Board-Certified Trainer and Master Practitioner of NLP, as well as Hypnotherapy and MER. Contact her at Sara@WorkmanSuccess.com. For more information, please visit www.
This is so true. I used to be that person feeling guilty when I was at work and feeling guilty when I was at home. Then I realized, I have to do both anyway, so I get the most critic things complete at work, so I can be present at home. I actually put time in my calendar for to be with family and I commit to it like a client appointment. I set boundaries with my clients to contacted me between 8am and 6 pm only. (Unless it’s a night I’m showing properties). Huge difference. So simple.
Brilliant thinking, Sara…. as always!