Balance

Chinnell recently suggested (/requested) that I write about balance, and how I go about balancing my life.

I get this a lot, and have for my entire life. I've always been the type of person who takes on a lot of work and responsibility.  In high school, I was the Student Council President and Editor in Chief of the school newspaper at the same time (conflict of interest, anyone?), while also swimming for hours each week and taking AP classes. Now, I run a company and spend a ton of time training for and competing in triathlons.

This IS a lot of work.  But for me, it's manageable.

I always have used my mom as an example of the ultimate balancer of all things, and I learned a lot of my "efficiency strategies" from her.  She raised me and my brothers as a single mom on a relatively small income as a teacher. As a former teacher, I know that teaching is an incredibly difficult profession. She managed to do her job, make sure her kids were happy and healthy, and she also found time to take care of herself -- she works out nearly every single day and can still get out there and run for miles.

In comparison, I've got it easy. I have a job that pays well enough for me to save time by spending money and outsourcing some of my daily chores.  I don't have kids.  I have a great staff that helps me get my work done.

Some of my days are long and grueling, and I have a pretty great work ethic. But at the same time, I've never pulled an all nighter in my entire life.

Here are some strategies I use to balance and get things done. They might seem obvious, but they work:

• Don't Procrastinate:  If I have something that needs to get done and I can complete it immediately, I do it immediately. I don't spend a lot of time thinking or stressing over the things I need to get done because my reaction to that stress is to just to complete the task.  This is something I learned from my mom. Growing up, when she asked me and my brothers to do something her expectation was that we would stop what we were doing and help her immediately.  
• Delegate: If there is something else someone can do for you, have them do it (even if you think you can do it better / more efficiently!) This requires the ability to trust other people to get the job done.  
• Perfect is the Enemy of Done: I believe that high quality work is important, but I am not a perfectionist.  I believe in good enough.  I've worked with a lot of perfectionists in the past, and I know that perfectionism can stall things from moving forward for inordinate amounts of time.
• Boundaries: I find that the more structure and boundaries I have in my day, the more efficient I am.  For example, if I know I have a 9:00am meeting and I want to go for a bike ride before I get to work, I have to be really efficient with my time in the morning. If I'm meeting up with someone after work, I know I have to get things done before the day ends. Without these time boundaries, it's easier to let things linger.
• Saying No: This is the most recent strategy I've learned, and has become easier to do as I've gotten older. I've learned to say no to things that are not fun, not productive, and generally a waste of time.  Having a clear idea of what's important to me and my work helps me say no more easily. 

This is what I do, and it works for me.  It allows me to get a lot done, and have enough balance in my life to pursue the things I'm passionate about.