Ahhhh, so excited we finally announced baby #2 is coming soon! I felt like in my previous blogs I was holding on to such a tight little secret and now it’s finally out!
With this huge announcement being made, I can now be even more authentic when I say, life is about to get even crazier in the next few months (baby #2 is tentatively due September 3), giving me exactly three more months to try and get my shit together. I write that last sentence laughing because I’m always “trying” to get my shit together and the reality is no one ever has life completely organized the way we think we should. Life is constantly throwing us new curve balls, we as “responsible adults”, must embrace and successfully take on as best we can, am I right?!
In my previous post I harped on the importance of having your hype team who surrounds you at all times, holding you accountable in business and your personal life. To recap I have an entire team who tells me what’s up on a daily basis including: my hubby, parents, daughter (two year olds are by far the most honest human beings, especially when you’re not doing something right), marketing manager, transaction coordinator, virtual assistant, life coach/therapist, nanny, incredible housekeeper, the list goes on and on. CLICK HERE TO READ PREVIOUS: https://alexandrameganhomes.com/it-takes-a-village/
If you don’t have a hype team yet and you’re simultaneously trying to grow any type of business, family, or just personally make more time for yourself to thrive, I strongly suggest you take a few minutes and consider who you can rally to give you more leverage. For so long I was trying to hold onto control and do everything myself. The more my business grew, and now for the sake of my growing family (and my own sanity) I’ve had to let go of control and depend on my team to help me succeed in all aspects of my life. I’ve also realized that I can’t be good at everything nor do I have time for everything and if cleaning and doing laundry is the last thing I want to do while pregnant, on top of a long day of work, I’m not going to do it. Playing with Mia for an hour before dinner is 100x more important to me and I’m happy to spend the money and have my housekeeper come 2x a week to take additional stress off me. Just take some time to think about all of the errands, chores and work tasks you’re not good at and/or don’t want to do and imagine how much lighter you will feel if you pass these tasks off to someone else?! It’s so freeing!
With hiring help, sometimes comes guilt. I know this might sound crazy but as a working mom/wife, when I started hiring more help I also felt guilty for taking the burden off me and asking other people to step in. Let me tell you as I’ve discussed this with my therapist, these are normal feelings to have, especially for a female, however, feel them and then let them go. There is absolutely no reason anyone should make you feel guilty for knowing where to best spend your time and not doing every little task/chore/errand on your own. Know your worth, know where your time is best spent and as a mom boss, it’s so essential we take control of our own schedules and not overload ourselves with tasks we don’t need to be doing ourselves.
So with ALL of this being said, comes down to action and how to complete tasks we actually have to get done. This is the hardest part of all right?! I’ve finally figured out ways to ask for help and take so much off my plate and I don’t know about anyone else but many days it’s still so hard for me to execute basic tasks that are still my responsibility and just get SHIT done! And I’m not talking about work stuff. I’m great at sales and following up with clients and getting deals done. I always make these work items my top priority which is often why I get overwhelmed with personal tasks. It’s the basic, daily extra shit I know I need to get done that I put on the back burner which just makes my stress levels rise and I’m back to square one. Anyone else relate?
After numerous attempts at different schedules, waking up at different times of the day, trying to go to bed earlier, passing off tasks to other people, here are the things I’ve discovered about myself, what works for me when it comes down to getting tasks done and what my daily schedule looks like (I wish when I started my real estate career and now that I’m a mom, someone shared something similar with me):
I am NOT a morning person so why try to make myself one. I wake up on average at 7:30am these days and I’m not angry about it. I’ve got to let my body rest. You should too. If you’re a morning person, embrace it, if you’re not, don’t be mad about it. Get up when your body is ready.
I can’t control my whole day but I can control my mornings. I don’t start picking up calls or answering emails until after 11am. That might sound crazy but I realize my mornings are my time with my baby, my time to workout (I go to OrangeTheory Fitness 5 times a week either at 8:15am or 9:30 am). This is one constant I know I can control because I actually have to schedule my time to be at the gym for my class. The time of my class doesn’t change therefore I have to plan my mornings accordingly in order for me to make my class on time.
Mia’s schedule stays the same every week. This is a godsend as a working mom because I know exactly where she needs to be at all times. She goes to school every week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and our nanny comes on Wednesday and Saturday. Knowing exactly where Mia is every day of the week helps me plan my days accordingly so I can schedule work meetings, showings, listing appointments and personal tasks into my weekly schedule easily.
My workday starts at 11am and ends at 9pm. This is the reality of being a real estate agent and works best for me. My day looks something like this every single day.
Saturdays: Morning workout, listings appointments and an open house. Every Saturday is the same for me. It’s been this way for the entire 7 years I’ve had my license. I spend Saturday afternoons after my open house focusing on personal errands I cannot order or get done on the internet. Amazon is my absolute best friend. I feel people spend way too much time running around when they can literally order anything they need on Amazon. Let’s be real, I have the Amazon Prime card and use it pretty much every day for purchases. At the end of the year I have a billion points I use to buy holiday gifts. Works like a charm. Another huge time saver, I buy all of my groceries online and have them delivered.
Sundays – FAMILY TIME! I will answer work calls since this is a busy open house day and I respond only to emails in the evening. Since having Mia I have been VERY strict with keeping Sundays my day off. Taking at least one semi day off is a game changer for me. I come back so much stronger on Monday if I take that time with my family every week.
The only way I remember daily tasks to complete is by using my google task lists. I literally have one list for business and personal tasks that need to get done. I’ve tried keeping two different task lists but it never works. When I put everything I need to get accomplished on one list by the order of importance I’m able to slowly knock them off one by one which makes me feel accomplished and encourages me to keep going as I cross each item off as the day goes on. This is the only app/tool I use for my to-do’s. Trying to use different tools always overwhelms me and then I end up dropping the ball.
Another action tip: I always order my weekly groceries on Monday so meals are planned for the entire week. I only cook Monday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday night we usually always eat out and Sunday we cook together. I try not to run any personal errands during the week. That’s what my Saturday afternoon is for. Every other personal task that needs to get done during the week is either completed by our incredible nanny, housekeeper or I can order/do myself online. If I have to go somewhere in person, it happens on Saturday only.
So much info to take in but the point is YOU CAN DO THIS! Biggest takeaways are not being scared or feeling guilty for outsourcing as much work as you possibly can (and can comfortably afford). Always keep in mind, the more you outsource the more you can focus on the tasks you really enjoy and thrive at, therefore, spending your energy on the tasks that make you successful in your career and personal life. Keep your weekly calendar as consistent as possible and remember your work time is limited (especially when your family comes first) you must time block consistently every day to stay on track. Keep a simple task list. You don’t have to have multiple task lists for work and personal. Put all of your daily and weekly tasks in one place where you can easily see them and check them off as you go. Don’t waste your time “running errands” that can easily be completed online.
Lastly, take at least one day to spend with your family. Whatever that looks like for your crew, it can be watching movies all day together, whatever, just take the time to be together. Spending a whole day uninterrupted with the family will remind you why you do the daily grind you do and re-energize you for the week to come. Above all else, enjoy the organized chaos and live in the moment of each task, the weekly challenges of life are only helping you grow into a stronger, better version of yourself.
