Intro to my MBA Mindset at Home
Hello again!
Today I’m going to talk a little about the MBA mindset I’ve started working on cultivating at home in order to start running my life as efficiently and effectively as I would if it were a business. This is kinda sorta part 2 of my introduction.
As I mentioned in my last post, I struggled quite a bit with the transition to becoming a business owner and stay at home mom (during a pandemic).
My life got flip turned upside down…
…in a good way, though.
After the winter of 2020-2021 being the worst winter ever recorded for everyone (semi-quarantine + lack of sunlight is not fun for anybody) as the warm weather and vaccines began offering a slight glimpse of hope for the future, I decided to take a step back from EVERYTHING and just give my life a hard reset. I’m not talking just pressing the reset button on the Nintendo, but powering it off, taking out the game, blowing the dust out, unplugging the whole system and letting it sit for 10 minutes, and THEN maybe thinking about plugging it back in.
For the first time in my entire life, I actually let myself slow the f*ck down and REST. And it was NOT easy.
On one particularly hard day, I was trying to come up with a strategy for getting through the day in one piece, and I had an epiphany.
I realized that I could NOT do it all that day. I had no energy, I think it was raining, it was the middle of the pandemic in the winter and we had exhausted all the fun indoor activities and were going stir crazy…
So I asked myself, what is the bare minimum I can actually do today?
I thought for a second about what I could drop from the to-do list, what was important to keep on, and it came to me immediately.
I decided I would only put FOUR things on my to-do list:
1. One thing for myself
2. One thing for my daughter
3. One thing for my business
4. One thing for my home/life (chores, errands, etc.)
This was a GAME CHANGER.
Within 1 single day, I went from feeling like I had barely scratched the surface of my never-ending to-do list at the end of the day…to going to sleep feeling like I had paid attention to the four most important areas of my life and actually accomplished something positive in each one.
These can be super simple things or big things, depending on how much time and energy you have. For example: sleeping in can be a thing you do for yourself! Doing a quick and easy arts and crafts activity with your kid can be the thing you do for them. Even if you only have time to send one email, that’s your one thing for the business. And same with the home/life stuff – just straighten up one teeny tiny section of your house or make one phone call you’ve been putting off that will only take a couple of minutes of your time.
These aren’t four random things; these are the 4 things in my life that are the highest priority. Yours might be different.
They are also not in a random order. I am first because, you know, the whole ‘put your own oxygen mask on first’ thing. My daughter is second because she’s the most important thing in my life. My business comes next, because bills, and then the life/home stuff comes last. Some days I don’t make it to all four things, some days I do. But every day I am able to at least do something for myself and something for my daughter, which has made a huge difference in both our lives and how I feel at the end of the day.
Now, I have to acknowledge that I do in fact realize that every single one of us actually has to do WAY more than 4 things in a day. But I am not counting all the mindless stuff that is exactly the same day in day out - shower, brush your teeth, feed your children, do the dishes, etc. We all have to do that shit every single day, there’s no reason to waste any mental energy on it. I’ve simplified as much as possible and put systems into place so that most of the basic things get done every day and I don’t have to think about it - set it and forget it!
Since I started using this 4-item to-do list, I’ve started making little tweaks and changes, and little by little it’s started WORKING. Life is getting *slightly* easier.
Here are a few of the things I’ve accomplished so far.
I implemented ONE system to keep track of my sh*t and replaced my disorganized mishmash of written and digital to-do lists and calendars that made sense to nobody, including myself.
I started adding mini-routines into my day wherever I can fit them - stringing 2 (or more) activities together like always taking my vitamins as soon as I sit down for breakfast with my daughter so I don’t forget to take them, or spending a few minutes cleaning the kitchen each morning while my waffles are heating up in the toaster oven so that it at least starts the day clean.
I started implementing micro-bursts of productivity, like scheduling 15 minutes a day to check email and plan for the next day, and doing “cleanup dance parties” with my daughter every single night before going upstairs for bath time, so that I never have to spend a single second cleaning up toys after she goes to bed.
They are tiny changes, but they’re making a big difference, and more importantly because they’re small, they are also SUSTAINABLE.
So, based on this four item to-do list that has started completely changing my life, I decided this is what I want to write about. Managing yourself, your kid(s), your business/work, and your home/life with an MBA mindset.
Self-care and mental health
Parenting
Entrepreneurship
Managing your home and life
Next up, I’ll be digging into some of the specific strategies I have implemented to start using my MBA mindset at home, and stay tuned for a downloadable copy of the 4 Item To Do List coming soon!
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