A friend recently said to me, “I know you work. But I’m curious as to how that actually happens.”

The way I work is so second nature to me and so seamlessly integrated into my life that I take it for granted.

But her question made me realize that knowing how I actually work on a day to day basis might spark your little campfire of inspiration to craft your ideal work day and week.

That’s why I created this snazzy printable Perfect Week Planner for you!

 

 

I’ve gotta admit, getting anything done with a baby in the house is challenging. There are many days when I start twenty different things and forget or don’t get around to finishing any of them.

No matter how many times I fall off track (which is a lot these days), I do have a perfect week in mind that helps me organize my work and my play. (Though I must say, my work often feels like play.)

While I know there’s no such thing as perfect, I have to agree with this sparkly quote:

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.
~Norman Vincent Peale

So, how do I actually work? Well, I’ll tell ya!

• I batch things. I have childcare an average of 10 hours a week across three mornings. I’ve dedicated Tuesdays to calls and appointments, Wednesdays to content creation, and Thursdays are flexible for administrative work or hold-over content creation. Not switching back and forth from a call to writing a blog post to clearing out my inbox helps me stay on track.

• I say “no” a lot. I know that I only have 10 hours a week of dedicated, child-free time. I’ve chosen to spend most of my time with my baby girl because I can. Limited childcare time has made me super clear about my priorities. Something has to feel like there’s no way I could turn it down in order for it to make it into my schedule.

• I work while Penelope naps. Other than the adorable smiles, the emerging giggles, and the endless cuddles, the other great thing about babies is that they sleep a lot (on good days). I know that I’ll have 3 chunks of time throughout the day, even if it’s only 30 minutes, to crank something out. I do a lot less aimless social media surfing these days. Baby goes down, I get to work. No screwing around.

• I only have one essential thing to do a week. When I look at our business and what moves the needle the most to nurture and grow it, it’s my writing. So, no matter what happens in a given week, I know that I’m going to write my weekly blog. I organize the rest of my To Do’s so that they fall in line after the blog. Every time I finish my blog I feel like a rock star because I know I did the most important thing I can do for our business. And anything else that gets done that week is gravy.

• I pay attention to what I’m excited about. A few weeks ago I suddenly got incredibly inspired to create a Spa Basket of the skin care products that my product partner makes. It’s an at-home pampering experience that launched with my business when I was just a little nipper of 18 years old. I didn’t know why I was suddenly so excited about doing this, as it’s been 14 years since I grew my business this way. But I trusted my enthusiasm. I now have 3 Spa Baskets in rotation, my enrollment rate for those who’ve taken the Spa Basket home is 100%, and I’m having the best time.

• I have non-negotiables that keep me happy. A happy business owner is a prosperous business owner. {Tweet it!} I know that in order to function optimally I need to rest, eat well, take my supplements, talk to my girlfriends, and exercise. Often these things take priority over my work. I’ve been known to schedule a Skype chat with a girlfriend the same week as a big launch. Some would call that having my priorities back-asswards. I would call it self preservation.

 

• I don’t work that much. In 2015 I worked less than a quarter of the amount that I’d worked the previous year. And we brought in just as much revenue. I finally proved to myself that I could do less and net more. We took a 4-week honeymoon. I spent a lot of my pregnancy sleeping. And I took a 3-month maternity leave. It took a while to set our business up to make this possible, but it was worth it.

• I bow to the white space. When I look at my calendar and I have nothing planned I get so excited. It used to be the opposite. I used to get anxiety when I saw white space. Now I breathe deeply and get excited to spend the day following what I truly want to do and how I truly want to feel. The amount of white space on my calendar is one of my most important metrics of success.

So that’s how I do it on the daily these days!

Now I’d love to hear from you!

What does your ideal week look like? How do you organize your time? I could geek out on productivity and planning systems for hours, so please share what works for you in the comments below!

And don’t forget to grab your printable Perfect Week Planner here!

 

P.S. Let’s talk business! Join Marie Forleo, Mike, and me for a Live Q&A. You can ask us anything your heart desires. Got questions about how to turn your dream business into reality? Bring ‘em. Want to know how to up your money game? Join us! It’s also a great time to talk with us live to see if B-School is a fit for you. Register for the free call Feb 18th at 4pm EST here.

 

P.P.S. I’m hosting a free online workshop called How to Build Your Business to Feed Your Soul and Fund Your Life: 7 Strategies That Work on February 23rd at 10am PST/1pm EST. I’ll lay out the fundamentals that have made the biggest difference in our online business: how taking our business online increased our revenue by 750%, the most important financial question to ask yourself when starting or growing a business, how to not feel guilty when taking time off, and more. I’ll also give you the specifics on how we’ve implemented B-School to grow different parts of our business. You can register for the webinar here.