Fresh Perspective for 2015 | On "Doing It All"
Some Fresh Perspective
Q & A from the field
Engaging Inspiration & Santa Barbara Wine Country Weddings & Events Founder Kerry Lee Dickey answers some questions from industry professionals.
Q: What can I do to be the most productive I can during my day? There are never enough hours in the day. I am juggling my personal life (raising a family) and our event business and when I am focused on one, I feel the other is suffering. How does one "do it all"?
A: The
reality is - and few will admit it- you cannot "do it all" and do it
all well 100% of the time, 24/7. As a business owner and entrepreneur as
well as mother to a young child, I constantly face this challenge every
day. I feel the better question is this: How do you define success at the end of the day?
For some, it may be accomplishing everything on their to-do list or
having lunch with that potential client. For others, it may be to
simply make it home in time for dinner with the family or it may be
about dollars brought in. While some may define success
by the number of published weddings they have produced, others may define success by just being able to keep a roof over their head for one more day. Whatever it is, define it daily and be willing to have it change from day to day. And most importantly, you must get comfortable saying "NO" to those persons or projects that "pop up" that do not fit in you priority list for the day. The reality is, in our industry, there are always "pop up" tasks and events. There has to be a line drawn somewhere. At what point will you stand up to take charge? If not now, when? Those pushing you to be added to your "to-do" list are not living your life with your unique set of life dynamics and demands. Only you know what is best for you and your personal and professional well-being. Say no, mean it, and don't feel you have to justify it, or worse, feel guilty about it.
Personally, I define my success by how I made my core values a priority that day. My core values include family, my health and spirituality. These get the priority daily. I have to work, of course, so my projects revolve around my core values, not the other way around. I designate specific time allotments to each core value and work task. While I can shift work tasks around, I rarely shift core values around (and yes, I actually "schedule" core-value tasks/commitments before I do anything else). They are, for the most part, immovable in my schedule and at the end of the day, while some work tasks may have had to be shifted to the next day, I always feel the most successful when I have connected with my family, got my cardio and strength training (also my therapy) in, and taken a few moments to pause. I also tend to accomplish about 3x as much work when I have taken care of the very essence of who I am and what's important to me first (core values).
by the number of published weddings they have produced, others may define success by just being able to keep a roof over their head for one more day. Whatever it is, define it daily and be willing to have it change from day to day. And most importantly, you must get comfortable saying "NO" to those persons or projects that "pop up" that do not fit in you priority list for the day. The reality is, in our industry, there are always "pop up" tasks and events. There has to be a line drawn somewhere. At what point will you stand up to take charge? If not now, when? Those pushing you to be added to your "to-do" list are not living your life with your unique set of life dynamics and demands. Only you know what is best for you and your personal and professional well-being. Say no, mean it, and don't feel you have to justify it, or worse, feel guilty about it.
Personally, I define my success by how I made my core values a priority that day. My core values include family, my health and spirituality. These get the priority daily. I have to work, of course, so my projects revolve around my core values, not the other way around. I designate specific time allotments to each core value and work task. While I can shift work tasks around, I rarely shift core values around (and yes, I actually "schedule" core-value tasks/commitments before I do anything else). They are, for the most part, immovable in my schedule and at the end of the day, while some work tasks may have had to be shifted to the next day, I always feel the most successful when I have connected with my family, got my cardio and strength training (also my therapy) in, and taken a few moments to pause. I also tend to accomplish about 3x as much work when I have taken care of the very essence of who I am and what's important to me first (core values).
Engaging Inspiration provides sparkling training, marketing and social media solutions to the hospitality, catering sales and wedding professional.
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