Entrepreneur Mom
with Aliza Sherman
If you own a business - home-based or otherwise - this is the blog where you'll find practical tips and smart ideas about entrepreneurship. I've started and run 4 different businesses so "been there, done that." I'll also invite successful entrepreneurs to share their best advice with you.
To learn more about Aliza, check out her profile on Work It, Mom! and her website, www.mediaegg.com.
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Image via WikipediaI spent my Halloween working. I couldn’t help it. I was on deadline. Multiple deadlines. And I had spent the entire weekend working but couldn’t seem to get everything done.
It wasn’t entirely a bust of a holiday. I did go to a Halloween event in my community with my husband and 4-year-old so she could get her first official taste of Trick or Treating. She’d been before but didn’t remember it, so this was a “not to miss” family event. I didn’t miss it, and when I was away from my computer, I actually didn’t miss it either.
But after less than two hours, I was back in front of it, bleary-eyed and mentally drained. But I made all my deadlines - at least for now.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
I can blame “workaholism” and compulsive perfectionism, but the truth is that I seem to be getting worse and worse at time management instead of better. Plus I’m still plagued with the inability to say “no” to an opportunity that means a little more income or another building-block for my business.
But where does it end?
I recently did a video for She’s Next about setting boundaries. I have to listen to my own advice. I included the well-known quote “Nobody ever said on their deathbed ‘I wish I spent more time at the office.’” And yet I spend more and more time at the office.
It isn’t New Year’s yet, but I have to make some early resolutions here and now. I will work harder to set boundaries and keep work manageable. I will have fun, and spend more quality time with my family. I will get in shape and take better care of myself.
These all sound like a familiar refrain. But I mean it this time, really I do.
Is working getting in the way of your play? What are you doing about it?
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Hi Aliza!
Yes, it totally is. And I can’t seem to find a happy medium. I’ve been toying with the idea of abandoning the “work” (side-job, not full-time paying job) altogether. It’s very sad since that is my passion, but I just can’t seem to keep all the balls in the air…
Justice Fergie | November 2nd, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Hey great post! I know exactly what you are going through. Thanks for posting!
Jill Glamber | November 10th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I was a full time worker for 18 years, a working single mom for over 7 years who divorced and went to school part-time. I remarried and had a micro-preemie a year later. He spent 4 months in the NICU and then came home on oxygen and a plethora of doctor’s appointments, problems, etc… I was so depressed because I ended up staying home and much of my “identity” was in my work, Human Resources.
While at home I obtained my Masters in Professional Studies as well as a graduate certificate in HR. My thesis was titled, “The Effects of Motherhood on the Professional Woman.” Working moms have to work hard to prove themselves because there is a pervasive mindset in corporate America that women who have children aren’t as dedicated as their childless counterparts.
As I begin my journey back into the business world, I find myself working toward my own business so that my passion and my work are flexible; giving me the ability stop working and go to the Halloween party rather than pass because my boss will think I am not as dedicated if I go and resume work later on.
To answer your question, I think we do it to ourselves because of our passions and knowing that someday, when our children are older, we will continue to work towards our purpose we just have to work hard at maintaining a balance. Thanks for helping me think about this question and this situation!
Debra Perillo | January 18th, 2011 at 4:32 am