BALANCING LIFE + WORK ISN'T A THING.
SETTING BOUNDARIES IS.
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.
My mom came into town for her Spring Break, by way of my incredible invite, I must say. (send me a dm + I'll share it, it's so cute imo).
And guess what?
I didn't touch HDDL, once.
You're like, but Cee, how / why / when / where / whuuuttt?
Here's the scene: Solo time with my mom of 6 kids and I, her eldest (ellooo eldest daughter syndromeee), were a never. She had Spring Break so that meant no responsibilities, no obligations and most importantly, no spent energy.
What it did mean was incredible facials, homecooked meals and coming back to an auto-organized inbox for when I returned and no outstanding tasks waiting for me.
It was the perfect time to get her down here to chill with me for a few days.
But here's the thing — instead of grabbing for my laptop, I was out here just living and being so present with my mom.
No guilt, no “should be working” vibes, NADA NUNCA.
And before you go thinking, “BUT WHAT ABOUT…", let me tell ya, it was all smooth sailing. Why? Ya girl planned ahead.
And you might also be like, “There's no way in hell I'm just ghosting my business for a day, much less a week.”
But let me tell you, you're not meant to be glued to your business.
Just like you're not meant to be glued to a job.
LET'S BREAK IT DOWN:
- OOO DOESN'T MEAN OUT OF OPTIONS: First off, that OOO was my immediate first step. I set my inbox up to where I had no new emails waiting for me because I set up filtration. Boom. Done.
Every client email in a folder, any new inquiry in a Flodesk form and everything else into a “WHEN I GET TO IT” aka INBOX ZERO. Less stuff to come back to, less stress for me.
- BRING YOUR CLIENTS INTO YOUR PLANS: Transparency has been the key in having solid relationships with my clients! They were left with no surprises, knew exactly what to expect while I was away, and while it was a no-call week, I hopped into community chats when I felt inclined. Period.
And thennnn… all my retainer clients were set up with tasks to keep them busy through the week so we could have progress when I returned.
And here's the thing: they totally got it.
Setting expectations = respect on both sides.
- AUTOMATE FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T JUST GHOST: Okay, I actually didn't need this because because I have a boundary with my work, period. I don't NEED to do anything for my business other than be authentic, transparent and realistic.
I didn't need to schedule content or write my newsletters. Y'all will hopefully be here when I'm back. And if not, that's all good. Because boundaries are MY PRIORITY (Should be yours too but that's for another day).
HOWEVER, for you gemstones who are INUNDATED in your DM's and inbox, this is a dream.
Set them up to serve + protect your space. Having these in place means you're coming back to clarity vs chaos.
Net-net: Automate your content so you stay active. Just remember, automation doesn't mean connection. 👀
~ONE THING TO DO BY TMW~
Pick one non-negotiable "me-time" slot in your calendar for tomorrow. Yeah, you heard me. Block off that time bc it's the most important appointment of your day—because it truly is, and you’re the main focus.
