Article by Shann Vander Leek, Professional Life Balance Coach
True Balance Life Coaching, LLC

For more than 40 years, more and more women are working full time jobs and raising families. We are professionals, employees, entrepreneurs, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and friends.  We do our best to have it all, but at what cost?  We must start to pay attention to the quality of our lives.

If you were to monitor one weekday in your life, what would it look like? Would this description sound familiar?

Wake up, take a shower, make breakfast, pack lunches, get dressed, get the kids out the door, and, if you’re lucky, get yourself to work with matching socks.

You go to work, make decisions all day, then it’s time to pick up the kids from school, figure out what’s for dinner, make dinner, help with homework, get the kids in the bath, do the dishes, maybe a load of laundry, and get the kids to bed.  If you are married, you and your partner share a wilted smile and connect if you still have any energy before retiring for the evening. 

Just writing this description was exhausting.

My question is, are you making anytime for YOU or have you become a victim of martyrdom?

Could you change your thinking and realize it’s acceptable to take some time for yourself? Allowing for time to go for a walk, get a pedicure or take a nap is healthy. Not only is it okay, it’s actually necessary in order to function well in the other areas of your life.

My friend is a working mother of three young children.   She often complains that she never has time for herself. Yet when family and friends offer to give her a break, she declines.  She uses the excuse that she really shouldn’t be away from the kids or needs to focus on errands, chores, etc. Sadly, she’s becoming her own worst enemy by not allowing any ME time.

We all can benefit from having a little part of the world carved out just for us.
 
Often, we are so busy we are not even fully present in our daily lives.  Look at how many people are talking on cell phones, sitting in front of computers, hustling through drive-through coffee shops and maneuvering from one task to another.  Here’s a thought, when was the last time you noticed the color of the person’s eyes that served you your last meal or handed over your dry cleaning?

Bumping around getting one charge done after another is NOT LIVING.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you giving the best of yourself to your career and your boss? 

2. At the end of the day, do you have anything left in your tank for you and your family?

3. Are you present in your daily life?

These are powerful questions to open the door to your reality.

Here are a few suggestions to get yourself centered:

1. Create Joy

Find 10 things that make you happy every day. These things don’t need to rock your world.  Happiness can be found in:  The sunrise, your children laughing, kindness, taste, touch, smell, etc.

2. Be Quiet

Schedule time each day to be peaceful.  Being still for even 15 minutes can make a difference in your life.

3. Get Up and Move

Take a walk with your family, go to the gym at lunch, move your body in some way each day.

4. Spoil Yourself

Plan to treat yourself to a special extravagance once each month.
This could be dinner and a movie, a massage, a weekend getaway, a chance to sleep in.

5. Make Time for Family

Create traditions, eat supper together, play together, take time to listen and learn about the people you love the most.                   

Start living an authentic, balanced life today.  Become aware of the areas in your life that may need a tune up.  Creating and finding balance is a life long process.  Why not start examining your life today?  After all, your life is not a dress rehearsal!

Reprinted with permission from Shann Vander Leek, True Balance Life Coaching, LLC. http://www.truebalancelifecoaching.com.

Did that title make you cringe as much as it did me? 

After writing my previous post about spring cleaning and getting outside to enjoy the warmer weather, my thoughts turned to bathing suit season.  After all, it is that time of year when women start to think about what they are going to look like in their bathing suit this summer.  I know I do. 

It was nice enough here in North Carolina last week that I actually put on my bikini and went out in the yard to get some sun.  Now, I’ve actually lost about 25 pounds in the past few months, but I’m still not liking how things looked.  I certainly wouldn’t put that bikini on in public.  I look like a woman who has two kids and spends way too much time sitting in front of her PC.  Know what I mean?

So, that whole little adventure got me thinking what I’m going to do about it. Since I’ve already lost most of the weight I need to lose, I need to start toning.  Exercise sounds like the right plan for me.  I’m sure that will mean me returning to my trusted ProForm Treadmill.

What does it mean for you?  Are you ready for your bathing suit?  (Come on… I dare you to post a comment and tell me about it!) 

If dieting is in your close future, I’ve made a list of the most popular online diet plans for you to compare, including the one that taught me how to lose my 25 pounds.  I would also love to hear from you if you think I’ve missed a good one or if you have a review of your own to share.

I hope that as the sun continues to shine brightly and the weather gets even warmer, that we all feel thin and sexy in our bathing suits.  Remember, we need to take time out for ourselves too.

Spring Cleaning?  Do people actually still do that?  Seems to me that’s something my mother might have done, but I’m not sure I remember details.  We were always cleaning in my house.  I learned how to clean when I was quite young.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I bought a wall decoration at a home decor party.  It’s a blue painted heart that still hangs proudly on my kitchen wall.  It reads:

Cleaning and Scrubbing
can wait till tomorrow…
for babies grow up,
we’ve learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs;
dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby
and babies
don’t keep.

So, my first spring cleaning tip is this… Don’t make cleaning a priority.  Sure, you’ve gotta do it sometime, but don’t obsess over it.  In my opinion, spring cleaning is obsessing.

Which brings me to my second spring cleaning tip… Visit the FlyLady.   Even if you are already familiar with the FlyLady, if you came looking for spring cleaning tips, then you obviously need a refresher.  The FlyLady will teach you how to clean and declutter your home in baby steps so that it is always clean and spring cleaning is no longer necessary.

Having said all of that, I love throwing open all of the windows in my house as soon as its warm enough to at least maintain the cozy indoor temperature.   There’s nothing quite like a fresh spring breeze blowing out the stale winter air.  And when you open up all the windows, there is bound to be some dust bunnies that come out of hiding and start running across the floor.  Grab a vacuum and suck up anything that moves.  (OK…  Don’t vacuum the children or the cat.  They generally don’t like it.)

When you’ve finished doing the above, Go Outside!!  It’s SPRING for goodness sake!  Wash the SUV, clean the outside of the windows, rake the yard if you must, but at least enjoy the warmer weather.

If you came here looking for real spring cleaning tips, visit the Spring Cleaning Competition hosted by “Two Moms in a Blog” and read the other entries.  Maybe some other blog writers can help you out. 

I am adding this blog post to the categories of business, life balance and website updates.  I’m willing to bet that you are wondering what on earth The Rainbow Connection has to do with business, life balance and website updates.  Well, even if you aren’t wondering… I’m going to tell you any way.  LOL!

Two years ago, March 3rd, 2005 to be exact, I officially launched my online business.  However, at that time the website was not called “Connecting Rainbows” and it wasn’t exactly about “life balance for the work at home mom”. 

When I originally created my website, it was catch-all for the direct sales businesses I was involved in.  I believe it was Discovery Toys, Tupperware and Arbonne at that time.  Basically, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I was fumbling around in the work at home world with no direction. 

Still wondering about the whole “Rainbow Connection” thing?  Good.  I’m glad you’re interested.  :) 

It’s all about Kermit and the song.  No, really!  The song inspired me then and it still does.  Check out the lyrics and see why.  Basically, it was telling me that the answer is out there somewhere and someday I’ll find it.  (Yeah… I’m a dork, but what mom do you know that isn’t a dork at least sometimes?) 

So, one thing led to another, I eventually gave up on direct sales, and with the nudging and coaching of some other awesome work at home moms, I began working as a website consultant.  Trying to handle my own work/life balance, the rainbow developed into the concept of life balance that I now share with others on my website homepage.

“The Rainbow Connection” website  also changed it’s name to “Connecting Rainbows”.  Why?  Well, because “The Rainbow Connection” isn’t only a song.  It’s associated with several different organizations and small businesses already.  I wanted something unique, but something that still held the rainbow connection concept.

So there’s my story and the history of Connecting Rainbows.  I hope it all makes sense to you now and I hope it has inspired you as well.