Sometimes I have really tough weeks.

Who doesn’t right?

Honestly, one person’s tough is another person’s cake walk, but who are we to judge the validity of someone’s situation?

I talk about professional and personal balance a lot. Mainly because it is the only way I do what I do, but I have to scream from the mountain tops that . . .

perfect balance is a lie.

(And don’t forget the free daily planning sheets below that might just change your life)

My tough is real for me, and I have found that my tough is the toughest when my constants and my variables collide on me at the same time.

Now I’m talking crazy talk. What are these “constant” and “variable” characters you speak of, Britt? Allow me to explain young grasshopper.

The Constants

ConstantsDefinition

For instance, the family needing to eat, sleep, bathe, and learn is a constant and a large chunk of it falls on me.

The house and laundry needing to be cleaned and folded (well the house doesn’t get folded, but you know what I mean) is a constant.

Spending time with my spouse is a constant.

And working on a blog post, client designs, marketing and social media are constants. Whew!

When my constants aren’t tampered with, I’m like a well-oiled machine (or bikini model) handling my business (and looking good doing it).

Why? Because constants are not only things I need to do, they are typically things I want to do.

The Variables

VariablesDefinition
These are all of the unexpected things that come in and bomb your entrepreneurial/freelance/blogging lifestyle into smithereens (I have never actually spelled that word out before…and rightfully so. Who actually says smithereens?)

Here are a few you might recognize (depending on where you are in life…a few of these may be right around the corner).

Health Threats

I know that sounds serious, but I mean anything from the sniffles to a full blown situation.

In my world, health threats often look like a five-year-old running around the room and taking down the wall with her head. (That one was scary and time-consuming.)

Oh, and did I mention my husband’s hurt big toe (it really plays more of a role than you think…his big toe I mean).

New Opportunities

Sometimes you have things fall in your lap that you didn’t anticipate. This could be anything outside of your normal routine…

This could be anything outside of your normal routine…a special type of client, speaking opportunity, unexpected guest blog post, etc…

Your life has to be rearranged to accommodate these new opps.

Special Events

Weddings, showers, milestone parties and other types of events that are considered “special” can really put a dent in your productivity and mess with your balance.

On one hand, you are working hard and have stuff to do.

On the other hand, these types of events only happen once or rarely, so you should try to be there.

It’s always tough.

Relational Distress

This one is tricky because it may not be time-consuming (or it could be depending on your willingness to verbally deal with whatever issue), but it can drain the life out of you.

And if you feel drained, you are not productive.

Have you ever been in conflict with your spouse or best friend and then tried to concentrate on something professional?

Not easy.

Time Suckers

These are big and what’s crazy is you can actually control them (but they are usually fun, so you don’t want to).

Time suckers are things like television, surfing the net, games on your phone, computers or gaming consoles, or any type of entertainment that is taking place when you should be working. Notice I

Notice I said “when you should be working.”

I think that taking time out for entertainment is not only wise, but necessary.

Especially if you are in a creative industry . . . you gotta let the brain cells chill, but you know when the Netflix binge of THAT show (the one you said you’d never watch but your friends forced you and now you love it and can’t stop) is going way too long.

Wisdom on How to Avoid the Crazy House

As I said before, perfect balance is an unattainable myth.

Maybe it works in small pockets, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth working towards and there are practical ways to do it.

Tip #1 – Determine Your Constants and Make them Unforgettable

Figure out what absolutely HAS to get done.

What cannot be avoided in your life on a daily, weekly and monthly basis?

Then, post it somewhere you can remind yourself when variables start flying at you.

Tip #2 – Consider the Little Victories

I have never felt like a failure…not really…not until I found myself responsible for A LOT and I really wanted to grow my business and be successful at the same time.

Now, if I don’t remind myself that the kitchen got cleaned (minus the pots), those emails got returned (well most of them), my children ate (they can bathe tomorrow), and I started on that new website design then I won’t see ANY of the good…only the bad.

When balancing a lot as a biz owner, consider every ordinary step in the right direction a victory. Click To Tweet

Tip #3 – You Must be Willing to Constantly Recalibrate

Setting daily and weekly goals is a wise practice, and I tip my invisible hat to you if you can make that work, but my day is in a steadily fluid state.

My day may look totally different in the evening than it was projected to look that morning.

You can’t let that get you bent out of shape.

Shake it off and recalibrate.

Decide what can still be accomplished and make a choice to be OK with finishing the other goals later.

You have to.

Or you will go nuts.

Tip #4 – Create a Personal Fitness Moment

Sometimes that is all it can be.

A moment.

Exercise is good for your body and your mind, and it is a prescribed stress reliever.

This may look like leg lifts while brushing your teeth, lunges from your bedroom to your kitchen or squats while watching your favorite show.

Just get those endorphins going!

Tip #5 – Be choosy about everything that isn’t one of your top 3 constants

Since your constants can be ANYTHING that needs to be handled, they can fall in either the professional or personal category.

This is the same with variables…professional or personal.

For instance, I spent an hour creating a social media planning spreadsheet.

It was beautiful, color-coded and fancy.

It was a variable (time sucker) that really messed with my productivity.

I didn’t even use it!

Here are 5 easy ways to avoid unnecessary stress and gain balance while running your awesome business Click To Tweet

Your Phenomenal Daily Planning Sheets

I know that I promised some tips, but I have more than that for you.

These daily planning sheets have helped me soooo much.

These sheets encourage you to break up your daily tasks into four categories: HOME, WORK, RELATIONSHIPS, & SELF-CARE.

The idea is that every task you need to complete will fall under one of those categories and you will get a clear visual (based on how many items are in each list) of what type of balance you have that day.