How do you actually measure happiness in life?
Do material possessions make you happy?
Or success in career or business?
Time with your loved-ones, or enjoying hobbies?
Volunteer work or spiritual activities?
Or a combination of all these to feel secure and fulfilled in your life?
I like balance and do work hard, also long hours sometimes, but there needs to be time for relaxation and not just slumping in-front of the TV exhausted!
We work for a reason, even though it seems to occupy so much of our life. We are working to provide resources to enable us to enjoy our time and provide for our loved-ones. This enjoyment may well include helping others, charitable contributions and altruistic endeavours. We all have own own individual reasons for operating our businesses.
Have you thought about this question recently? Thought about what really makes you happy?
Likely-so I imagine, since our lives have been disrupted by the covid pandemic. But is it time to sit down, take a deep breath and really eaxmine our lives from a more holistic perspective?
You may have asked yourself this big question already, but here are four additional questions to ask when considering your overall happiness in life and work:
How long has it been since you and your partner, children or other loved-ones have spent some quality alone time together?
I know it’s not been possible to travel recently, but have you had some digital downtime to really focus on enjoying time in their company?
If you have been forced together due to furlough or working from home, have you been irritated, or enjoyed the company? If being together is hard, is there any way to have some quiet time? Meditation, or reading in another room – even in the bath!
Really connecting with others is so important in helping us to feel valued, to recharge and rejuvenate. If a holiday isn’t possible, have a day out together, or take a walk, enjoy a picnic, or play a game, indoors or outdoors.
When was the last time that you enjoyed a quiet weekend at home without working part of it?
Are you usually tempted to open your laptop to do a little work, which then takes longer than expected? Whilst it’s so easy to ‘quickly’ check emails and social media on our smart phones…
Why not try a digital detox for at least one day of the weekend. Turn off your phone (if that’s possible), or mute the alerts. Leave it in another room and concentrate on doing something away from technology. I always have either saturday or Sunday away from my computer and social media.
Take time to restart an old hobby or craft, find a new one to try, especially if working with your hands, moving your body, or even truly relaxing.
How long has it been since you enjoyed one of your hobbies, sports or time with friends?
Is it time to reconnect over a game, or invite friends over, or go for a drink? There was a time that I spent my weekends either working on my business, or chores and never ‘found’ the time to get out my sewing machine or I’d scroll through social media instead of picking-up a book.
It took a little effort to begin with, but now I spend some time reading on and off throughout each day and, by placing my machine on a table next to my desk, I can also quickly sew a seam or two. When watching TV, I’m also knitting or learning crochet and, in a few months, have some lovely completed projects. I’ve also felt much more fulfilled as a result!
When was the last time that you engaged a new client or landed a new contract?
Or are you relying too much on existing clients and have ‘all your eggs in one basket‘? It’s just not sustainable to receive most of your work from a small base of clients and customers, but it can be difficult to find the time to spend marketing your business.
I understand this. When you’re busy working on day-to-day operations, how can you possibly find the opportunity for active marketing and increase sales? However, it’s a well-known fact that marketing activities should continue even, or especially, when you are busy with a full order book.
Ensure you dedicate time in your diary to spend working on your own business. You are, after all, your most important client!
Is it now time to delegate and outsource some tasks to free up a considerable portion of your time?
When you do this it’s amazing how life will change for you. You will be able to spend more time with your family, keep the work in its rightful place, spend important time expanding and stop fire fighting each day, just ‘running in place’.
These days, you don’t have to employ with all the expense and redtape that entails. There are plenty of skilled freelancers who work flexibly for clients undertaking so many different tasks. As a Virtual Assistant with more than a decade of experience, I love to support my clients and see the difference that my assistance can make.
One of my client’s goal was to reduce her working week to 4 days, to take Fridays off. Within a month of working together, I’d managed to control her diary so this was achieved. She was such a giving person though, that I frequently had to challenge her as to whether she really needed to agree to so many requests. Sometimes you just need another supporter in your corner to help protect your time.
For some inspiration on the work that you can outsource, download my FREE guide to the
‘150 Tasks You Can Outsource to a Virtual Support Professional‘.
Alternatively, book a call direct in my diary for a no-obligation chat about your current challenges.