It’s been a weird day today. It’s the Friday after the Anzac Day public holiday and I’ve been back in the office feeling like it’s Monday. It’s also weird because I did something strange yesterday and actually took the day off. Sure, I thought about work for most of the day and had a million plans going through my head, but I didn’t actually sit down at the computer and do any work. I just thought about it.
Having time to think is just as important for an SME owner as having time to actually get through your task list. We all know that. Strategising, creative thinking and planning are at least as important as doing.
So, if I understand that, why do I feel like I have wasted a valuable opportunity to get through more productive, income earning work by misusing the gift of a day off in the middle of the week?
Well, the main reason comes back to my constant need to reassess my values to get my priorities in order.
As owners of SMEs, we bear a lot of responsibility for our families, our staff, our clients and our suppliers. Sometimes getting those responsibilities in order can be difficult because the needs are intertwined – working in the business helps our clients which helps our staff and helps our families so it is to the benefit of everyone if the business grows and thrives.
But sometimes this burden of responsibility is so strong that we don’t get past the starting point. We continue to focus on the needs of our business as the fountain of good fortune for all and the needs of our families, our staff – and ourselves – hardly get a look in. That is, until something happens to remind us that other priorities – very important priorities – are slipping through the cracks.
In the past, I have been so heavily focused on servicing my clients that I have even responded to emails on Christmas Day! I would get up an hour early to ensure that I could email clients before I took my children to school simply because I knew these clients were early risers. And I have travelled 500km on a return overnight trip to deliver expo material to a client who should have put a bit more “thinking” into their planning process.
After more than 15 years in business, I have now learnt that I have to structure my day to make room for priorities other than the business. Yesterday, I ‘booked in’ a few hours in the afternoon sun to relax with my family in the beer garden of our local pub overlooking the beach and then took a walk with my oldest son. It was enjoyable and rejuvenating and a great use of my time.
Juggling so many responsibilities as an SME owner, mother, wife, friend and boss does not come easy. Those who claim that they’ve got the balance right are super-human in my book – and I’m certainly not super-human. Which is why I feel guilty today about ‘wasting’ yesterday even though I know that, considering all my responsibilities and priorities, I actually did the right thing.