In a previous post "No Phone Calls" I noted that evolution is not reserved to nature alone. Business - like life - can and should evolve.

In this series of posts I'm revisiting business policies I've either outgrown and/or have completely changed my perspective on.

Business policy revisited #2 - Weekends are Sacred.

Being self-employed is a pretty great lifestyle if you can maintain that healthy (but sometimes elusive) balance we all need to function at our best in each of the many roles we live: mother, wife, business owner, colleague, friend, etc. etc. And don't forget SELF.

Whatever your own roles are, if you're working at starting up a virtual assistant business or are in business already, chances are you struggle from time to time with striking a balance.

For me, the number one reason I do what I do (and keep doing it) is because I love being able to be home with my daughter. Family time has always been my biggest priority, above and beyond business. To me, if I worked on a Saturday I was somehow betraying the spirit of what I'd worked hard to build. I took my 'weekends are sacred' mantra pretty seriously. I'm sure there are at least a handful of posts on Virtual Assistant Forums where I'm saying exactly that...

So what changed?

Well, I'm a single mom now and although my daughter's father is an incredible dad and spends plenty of time with his little girl, I am juggling more things in my life, on my own, than ever before. With freshly divided and shared schedules and responsibilities I've had to settle in to a new normal, something perhaps a bit more 'real world' than I had become accustomed to. Now that I'm solely responsible for finances, I realize that it's much more effective to be fluid in my approach to the week.

Bottom line: I work when I can. I often work when my four year old is at preschool or with her dad, regardless of what day of the week it is. I sometimes work when she is sleeping (after hours was always a big no-no for me previously.). I work when my daughter has asked a million times to watch Tinkerbell on 'Netflakes' as she calls it, and I oblige because I do have some marketing collateral I could pull together and a forum that always needs attention.

In fact, it's 6:24 PM on a Saturday as I type this...

But I'm feeling very balanced in all of this, because the time that I do spend with my daughter is uncluttered and the time I can invest in my business is all the more valuable now, in this new normal.

What works best for you in your own situation?
How do you make sure you have time to take care of everyone and everything that makes your life special and take care of yourself, all while working toward success?