This past weekend was spent in Palm Springs where I am lucky enough to call it ‘home’ to some degree. My father resides there full time and it allows me the ability to enjoy a little R&R when my weekend’s (and wallet!) permit. As I get older, I find time with my family and friends is valued so much more and who we surround ourselves with plays a vital role in our overall mood, the success in our personal and professional lives and the urge to push ourselves that much harder becomes more evident due to the company we keep.
Finding balance will always be an uphill battle for me as I think it is for many. Learning to set boundaries with clients (8AM-5PM M-F office hours- even when my office is my home) is and always will be bittersweet as I am fortunate enough to work with people who I want to interact with outside of those times. Sending your first email at 7AM and sending your last at 9PM does not make you better (or worse) at what you do. In fact, it does not qualify you as a harder worker and at times, could potentially qualify you as less efficient, having to operate outside of normal business hours.
What I do know is when you send that 7AM or 9PM email, you are telling people you are accessible at those times and that is when you lose. And I have lost before. And it has proven to be detrimental to my business and mostly, my personal life.
On Friday, I stepped out of office (fancy way of saying I left my home) and enjoyed time with my father and a dear friend who recently lost her mother. We explored Palm Springs, drank fabulous milk shakes (Great Shakes), conversed poolside, visited Joshua Tree, sang Adele down South Palm Canyon Drive in a golf cart and laughed harder than I have in some time. It’s times like these when you let go, appreciate what we have, plan your next adventure and be present in those moments. Those moments allowed me to set new goals with clear expectations how to achieve them and in return, spent quality time with two people who mean a lot to me.
