How do you do it?
As soon as I get up in the morning, I drink my coffee, brew another one to make sure my blood pressure is up (no time for breakfast) and then I enter the office. I put on some good music first and then open everything up. I’m immediately overwhelmed by the day’s tasks. Emails, meetings, statistics, calculations – and 1 minute later, the sun is at 100 degrees. As soon as you cross off 1 task, 3 more take its place.
Every moment we live under the spell of numbers and results. As entrepreneurs, our goal is to grow, develop and succeed, to lead the team forward. Yet, in the daily rush, we often overlook one important thing: LOVE.
As we make business plans, develop strategies and constantly optimise (it’s boring to list them all), we are becoming increasingly distanced from the people we are really doing it for. Our families, loved ones, friends – they are the people whose lives we want to improve, yet we spend the least time with. But the same is true of our colleagues. We want to give them a place where they can feel good for many years to come, where they are valued, where they can do what they do best, where they can earn well and live a safe, good life.
We want to be efficient and effective. So we do our best, often beyond our means. We monitor indicators, we measure performance, and we make success the bottom line. But what happens when business consumes us so much that we forget to love? We forget that love is what really keeps the system we are building alive. And it’s not enough that we feel it and the other person knows it. Without caring, it’s just a word.
We were sitting in a business meeting when my colleague suddenly sighed, “When was the last time I spent a whole day with my family without checking my email?” This question struck me to the heart. Despite our best efforts, we often forget the essence of what we do, why we do it. We are simply carried away by the wind.
As modern technology has allowed us to be always available, so have our working hours. We can check our emails at any time, which means we can pull ourselves up at any time. 😊 Standing in line at the cinema, what are you doing? Say you’re updating your emails or scrolling through the daily reports… when you should be wondering whether to buy nachos or popcorn. You just don’t allow yourself to be in the moment. The love that is our driving force, yet in an instant it takes a back seat to deadlines and goals.
“Love is the force that connects us, supports and inspires us, giving meaning to our everyday lives.”
There is a wealth of research and expert opinion online on the importance of work-life balance. These are such trite words, but they are so not trite. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, maintaining a good work-life balance not only improves our personal well-being, but also our performance at work. So we’re even doing ourselves good by relaxing and spending time with the people we care about. And Gallup research shows that employees who live more balanced lives are happier and more productive at work.
But how can we bring love back into our lives without sacrificing our business success? The answer may be simpler than we think. Find time for our family, friends and colleagues. Let’s show love in our daily activities, whether it’s a genuine smile, a kind word or a little thoughtfulness. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to love ourselves more and not always take a back seat to our loved ones.
Perhaps we could build into our weekly list to take colleagues out for lunch one by one, or I’ve had times where I’ve put in my calendar to call my parents (shame, no shame). I just had to remind myself to make time for others, even when the pressure was on. In the same way, I need to make time for myself more, stop being so gracious about taking myself to the hairdresser. 😉 Because I’ve realised that the hair is always big. Not intermittently, but always – especially in this wonderful economic climate.
Let’s remember that love is important not only for our family and friends, but also for our colleagues. A kind gesture, a supportive word, or even a simple thank you (when everyone is running around) can do wonders for the atmosphere at work. Love empowers, motivates and connects us. Without it, I don’t think there is any point to anything.
The world of business is often cold and unforgiving, but we can choose to spread love ourselves. Let’s build love into our daily routine and watch how our lives change. After all, if we don’t love and care for others, what’s the point of working 12-hour days? Will we sit alone on our boat and look out of our minds? 😊
So, dear readers, the next time you’re overwhelmed by the day’s tasks, stop for a moment and think about love. Because ultimately, that’s what’s really important. I too need to rethink my calendar (I can delegate as much as I like, if I’m dragging on more tasks), the people around me, because I’ve certainly realised that I haven’t known anything about the people that matter most for months. This sucks, and it shouldn’t be done this way. 😊 Let’s not wait until we pass each other by. Love each other, care for each other, look out for each other.
Then you can go along with it, but what’s the point of working yourself to the ground if you don’t know what’s going on with your friends, your parents…?
Do you think we can get everything?
Is it possible to do this by doing well on all fronts or is it always one to the detriment of the other? How do you do it?
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