A day in the life through pictures
So I recently decided to take one day off a week from work. Well, when I say that, I mean massage work, because my new day off is to free me up to do everything else that I can't do when my hands are on someones back. So that includes making calls, admin, product design, retreat management etc etc etc.
Since the clinic opened and the product line launched I have been racing at 100 miles an hour. Trying to answer emails or texts in between clients, getting home from the school run and going straight back onto my phone or computer to catch up on the things I hadn't completed in the day. I basically realised I was becoming a rubbish mum, a rubbish friend and (shock, horror) I was starting to not love my job anymore! I was heading for burn out and the crazy thing was, all I wanted to do was spend time with the people who really bring joy to my life and yet they were the ones I was spending less and less time with. Not Cool.
So off I went to Italy on a work trip and I had a moment where I realised I didn't want this anymore. It's very easy to fall into the trap when you're self employed, of always thinking that if you just work a bit harder or a little longer then the extra money comes in handy. I would justify it by saying 'if i do one more client then I can take the boys out for dinner'...whats wrong with a home cooked meal?!? It started me thinking, at what point do you realise that actually, you have enough?
So I made some changes. I researched some amazing people who could do things that I'm not great at, in half the time that I could do them and got them on board...which allowed me to work at the things I was good at and start enjoying it again.
It's been 2 weeks and I feel happier, guilt free with the kids and really enjoy what I do again. Yes, my income has gone down slightly because my expenses have gone up, but my quality of life far outweighs that. I even had a night out last week and drank cocktails...woohoo.
So here's my typical day in pictures...
I can guarantee that the family time, sadly, would have been what was missing from this little storyboard if I had continued the way I was. The outcome is that I laugh far more than I did (even when my kids are throwing me into the Thames?!?) and I have time for my friends and the people who I adore. My greatest relationship for the last year has been with my phone...how sad is that! That is all going to change and trust me, I may be poorer but the richness that has come from it has been tenfold. Big love