I was thinking long and hard about what I would post this week. I knew it would be really full with clients. On a normal week, I try to see clients 3-4 days out of the week. It doesnβt seem like a lot, especially based off of a normal work day β but it is. I scheduled this week to be 5 days with clients because two of them have a deadline coming up pretty soon.
As I was looking at my week spread out on my calendar, I had to wonder why I felt so overwhelmed by five 6-hour days. I started my βadultβ life working a normal 5-day 40 hour (or more) work week about an hour from my house. Even when I got a job closer to home, I was working a βrealβ schedule that was much more demanding than what next week looks like on paper. So why was I so overwhelmed? Why did I already know how hard it would be to get through the week?
The answer is easy: non-billable hours. When I was working for an engineering company, I learned what these are. It means work that clients arenβt paying us for. The admin work, cleaning up, organizing filesβ¦ anything that isnβt directly related to a client and making the company money. As an engineer, I could still see that as working. It was done while I was at the office, usually at my desk, and stopped when I clocked out. Now that Iβm running my own business and donβt have an office to drive to, itβs easier to blur the line between working and not working.
The other day, Jarod and I were having a conversation about employees, business plans, and growth goals at dinner. He stopped and looked at me and asked βhow much do you think you work a week?β and I responded with βwellβ¦ I had this many clients so that comes out to these hours.β But thatβs not what he meant. He pointed out that I was working during dinner. I was writing down plans, unable to turn off my brain and just enjoy dinnerβ¦ essentially using him as a bouncing board for my thoughts. Which was fine, but I didnβt even think of it as working. He made me reflect a little on my time βoutsideβ of work. How much of my day is filled with excel spreadsheets, answering calls and texts, and even moving schedules around thinking about how the next few weeks need to go to make space for return clients while also being open for new ones. All things considered, it turns out Iβm actually working closer to 50 or 60 hours a week even when Iβm only seeing clients for 18-24 of them.
Iβm running a small business and only have one employee. I donβt see this amount changing a bunch in the near future. However, this conversation did open my eyes a little bit. Now when Iβm on a walk I actively try to leave work at home. I have started making boundaries like not working after 7pm β any client who wonβt wait until the next morning probably isnβt one I want to work with anyway. When I hired Abbie, I made the decision not to work with clients on Sundays β now Iβve modified that to say I will not work at all on Sunday. No excel, no messaging clients, and Iβm REALLY trying not to think about the next week and get stressed out about all the things that need done.
Stating boundaries and sticking to them are two very different things, but Iβm trying. I didnβt realize the mental load I was taking on by never βclocking outβ of work and always thinking about what was coming next. What boundaries do other small business owners make? How do you balance being there for clients with keeping your own space? π As always, if you take any fun pictures or videos, tag me on Instagram @SmileMakePeopleWonder and use the hashtag #DandelionSmiles. Donβt forget to subscribe so you donβt miss out on the next exciting idea!
Nice oneπΌ
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