Ready, set, go!  June 20^th was the  first day of summer.  It actually officially began at 7:23 pm EDT.   And, as a BONUS, it’s the longest day of the year. 

I’ve been blogging a lot about summer because there’s a lot of conflict over this time of year.  If you’re like me, part of you wants to play and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful weather and the other part of you, knows you still have to focus on your business. 

So, how do you combine both?  How do you have focus on your business so you continue to bring the money in that you need and want, while allowing yourself time to enjoy the beach, cookouts, bbq’s, hiking, biking, picnics, vacations, camping, hiking,  and so much more.  (Did you notice how the list of summer activities is so long?) 

When I worked in the corporate world doing Business Development, I worked a zillion hours each week (no exaggeration!).  I was actually proud of myself for arriving at the office by 6 am (yikes!) and spending my weekends there, too.  Due to my position, I was required to have vacation coverage in the office so my absence would be seamless to my clients.  One time when I went away, the person covering me said she would not cover my business if I called in from my vacation.  She said vacation meant to go away from work.  When she said that to me, it was actually a bit scary.  I was so used to always being in touch with the office.  I went through withdrawals during that vacation but didn’t call in.  The most interesting thing happened.  My work performance actually increased and the relationship between my clients and I improved.  The reason is I had a new outlook and was feeling fresh and inspired. 

I made a promise to myself when I started my business that I would never let my work/life get so out of balance again.  Since then, I also make time in my daily and weekly schedule to do something nice for me.  Whether, it’s a vacation, long walk, hike, visiting friends, going to a movie…whatever…but it’s for me and it’s fun!  It’s been so hot in Boston (100 degrees) so this morning I got up at 5:30 am to go for a run because I wanted to make sure I did something nice for myself before my busy day of work began.  

But, if you go to the other extreme, like one of my clients, Sara, who took the whole summer off, sitting at the beach every day.   She contacted me in September in tears, because she didn’t have any money coming in.  She was frightened and didn’t know where to start.  Her bills were mounting and her list wasn’t responding to her promotions.  We had a lot of work to do together to get her business back on track.  We did it, we set up a strong game plan, but she worked very hard to accomplish this.   

The best thing to do is to find a way to balance your work and your personal life on a daily basis.  Here are a few Success Tips to get you on track so you don’t go to either extreme this summer.

1. Make a list of all of the activities you want to do over the summer.  Some will be small, easy to implement, perhaps, going for an evening walk.  Some will involve more planning:  a day trip to the beach, traveling to visit friends.  Take your calendar out for the 3 months of summer and schedule all of those activities in.  Since the days are longer, try to plan something nice for yourself every day or every other day.
2. Schedule summer hours, whether it means working 9-5 every day, or working a 4 – day work week, or whatever it looks like to you.  Stick to that schedule.  It’s too easy as a solopreneur to let the day get away from you so you want to make sure you close up the computer at a certain time and give yourself time to “play”. 
3. One of the reasons my client, Sara, got into a “BIG” problem is she removed herself too much from her business and wasn’t bringing any cash in.  I’ve created the Quick Cash Infusion Summer School to help you be able to put the control of cash at your fingertips for whenever you want it.  Let’s work together to keep you on track with your cash over the summer (actually, what you learn in this course will help you anytime you need to manifest money) Check out the Early Bird Specials Ending Soon : http://www.successcoachingwithKate.com/qcisummerschool

Please post below and share how you’re going to keep the balance between your work and personal life.

Be Brilliant,

Kate