Beginning around St. Patrick’s Day through about Memorial Day, I’m slammed. The final planning for ISC West starts in the middle of March, then follow-up to ISCW and preparation for PSA TEC fills April, and then follow-up to TEC… and supporting my clients doesn’t end. In fact, I hold myself to the highest criteria with my client work during this time to ensure they continue to get premium time with me.
Here’s the deal: ISCW and PSA TEC drive most of my business for the next 12 months. On top of the speaking sessions I do at these events, I have “dawn to after-dusk” meetings. When someone is referred to me in October or November, we typically have a few calls, they’ll request a proposal, then the holidays hit and push our talks to February and then one of us says “Hey, are you going to ISC West? Let’s just connect there.” Same thing for PSA TEC (but obviously much more focused on PSA Integrators). By the middle of June, I have agreements through the beginning of next year and then it starts over again next March. Of course, it’s not that homogenous, but it’s pretty accurate.
So… I’m writing this on Friday, May 8. I just flew home from Denver late last night after attending TEC all week. My face looks like Rocky’s from Rocky II… I’m exhausted. I feel like I haven’t seen my wife or daughter in weeks, I’m eight pounds heavier than I was in March, I’ve been working 70 hour weeks for two months, and haven’t participated in any fun events forever (although I admit that this is the most fun time of year for me). However, I feel great. Why?
I think the main reason is because I gave myself a break this year. I didn’t beat myself up for the extra travel, missing the gym, or the lack of calls to my friends or my mom. In previous years, I tried to hold the same balance in my life during these few months that I do the rest of the year and I never succeeded. This year, I gave myself a break, and that made all the difference. Accepting temporary imbalance helped me keep balance. So, how can you do this? I followed two rules:
- I defined two non-negotiables.
- No matter what, I committed to working out two times per week. I usually work out four times per week, but gave myself a little break for these 10-12 weeks.
- If I wasn’t traveling, I wouldn’t work at night. If necessary, I’d wake up at 3:00 am the next morning but I wouldn’t miss time in the evening with my wife and daughter.
- I gave myself two trump cards.
Monday to Thursday of ISC West and PSA TEC, I threw out all expectations. I didn’t work out in Las Vegas at all and probably ate an extra 1500 calories per day, and I only worked out once in Denver at TEC.
Balance has become a mantra for all professionals … family, work, exercise, hobbies, philanthropy, church, yoga, book club, etc… and I believe it should continue to be. However, we all need to accept imbalance during some exceptional times, and amazingly, that imbalance could lead to more balance!
