Mary is a typical small business owner, she keeps herself busy doing the 'hands on' work.  In her case it is doing beauty treatments and she told me she keeps doing this because she really enjoys it.

Her clients constantly told her how great she was, which made her feel appreciated. However it trapped her into staying 'on the tools'.  Mary had 5 people on her team, and she struggled with letting them handle her clients.

Only problem is Mary stayed up late most nights working on her business doing the basic administration and 'trying' to squeeze some time in for marketing. There was barely any time for her to spend with her husband.

The reality is her self-esteem was constantly being boosted through her clients.  At home she didn't receive the accolades and compliments.  She avoided the problems she had in her marriage, that's why she kept herself busy.

Mary told me she wanted to free up her time so she could have more time off, yet when I showed her how easily she could do this, she resisted making the changes.

If you do want a life here's what you can do:

1.  Schedule time in your diary for your personal life and stick to it.

2.  If you want to finish work by 5.00 p.m. start clearing up at 4.30 p.m. not at the last second!  This will guarantee you'll be late.

3.  Be disciplined and say 'no' more often (you can't please them all)

4.  Unless someone's life depended on it, near enough is good enough.
     Perfectionism will prevent you getting anything done because it's never perfect!

5.  Stop doing everything yourself.  Get over yourself, other people can do the job

So next time you say you want more time for your personal life, take a close look at why you are so busy.  If something is really that important to you, you will make the time.


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