Kelly Carthy is a self leadership and well-being strategist who has worked all over the world coaching people and businesses to help unlock potential. Here she looks at how we can balance work, family and self, by optimising our capability to contribute to the world in a more meaningful way.
In my work I support women through change. Often it is only after re-evaluating how they choose to approach each day, that they can start to lead their life on their terms and achieve a balance. They are considering how they can find a way to live a life that reflects their own core values, whilst managing their commitments to others but importantly, looking after themselves.
What’s your passion?
So, is it realistic to expect to have a career whilst also having the joy and freedom to raise a family, and experience more fulfilment in life? If this question sounds familiar, now is the time to address your life and ambitions with the following questions:
- What are your goals and priorities?
- Are you filling your schedule with ‘being busy’ – where can you create more space in your day?
- What are you passions and ethical values?
Finding balance
Encouragingly, I am seeing how women do have a choice. Instead of continuing to fit into a system that doesn’t seem to work, more women are creating a life that fulfils their ambitions and balances their life like never before.
Whether it is working online, job sharing or creating a business that leverages time and values your worth, more women are choosing a life of purpose and impact.
I have recently worked with one client to uncover her core values, having transitioned herself from a full-time mum managing her husband’s business to launching an innovative and successful business that will impact climate change for future generations in rural Australia. She has created a way for her business to fit into the 9am-3pm space, whilst continuing to prioritise her family.
Another client has freed up more than 20 hours per week and cut down her carbon footprint by changing her meetings to phone conversations as opposed to travelling all over the city to meet with her clients.
What changes can you make?
Take a moment to review these top tips and understand what changes you can make.
- Creating realistic space in your day without causing more stress: You may not be able to take half a day out, but a walk and a coffee could create the window of space needed to feel like you have taken time out.
- Take a reality check: How will you be remembered? If your life was to end tomorrow who would you like to be remembered as? Would it be the women who poured blood, sweat and tears into working tireless hours to prove her worth or the woman who valued herself enough to make a choice to live each day of her life?
- Audit your current life: Take time out from your life to assess your current position and what’s working and what’s not working. How much of your life is being lived from choice and how much of it is an obligation to others?
- Gain feedback: Find a coach or mentor who values you as a person and supports you in designing a life that serves you. Get clear on the kind of life you would like to live and then get the support and accountability to take the daily steps to make it happen.
- Delegate: Where can you ask for support? Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should be doing it. Are there areas of your life that could be more efficiently done by someone else and create space for the areas of your life that really matter?
- Create space: We spend a lot of time in the action of life but we find the answers in the space between. When you are cramming your day with activity you will rarely find inspiration. Make space for inspiration to find you.
- Slow down: Like my 4 year old says, “There’s no time to rush.” When we rush we miss so much, we are more prone to mistakes and our adrenals are overloaded. Slow down and do things once well, not many times over with mistakes.
Information in this article was provided by Kelly Carthy. Click here to find out more about Kelly Carthy Wellbeing
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Finding time as busy mothers, fathers, wifes, husbands and parents is a timeless issue I think. We are always striving to find more time to do this and that. A friend of mine is a mother to 3 children under 5 with a husband who is away on work overnight regularly, another friend is a mother to 2 whose fiance is away overseas for work weeks at a time – I am in awe of these women and what they can achieve. Another friend of mine works, has twin children and is an active parent helper – I don’t know how she does it all but she does. We all need to try and take time for ourselves too somewhere in this mix but that can be hard.
It is definitely a difficult one but I’m always looking for ways to save time. I wish I could slow down but as a single mum with two kids and only one income I have no choice. I am sure I could do better though and want to find a mentor to guide me Im just not sure how you find one?
Great article, I raised a son on my own whilst working full time (he has just turned 25) and I’m still working full time and now have a daughter turning 6 soon. I really don’t have much rest tbh, I also have hip displaysia and am currently waiting on a hip replacement for 1 hip. I did change jobs at the beginning of the year to a place right across the road from where we live. This makes things a little easier but I still need to take a good look at my life and the busyness of it 🤨☺
I recently just started part time work too. Coming from being with my 3 year old 24/7 at a time (except for kindy) was an adjustment. I had mom guilt. Balance is indeed important. Hence I wanted to make sure it was just part time, and still have 2 full weekdays just with my son especially during this early years.
I think many of us fall into bad habits of busyness and also doing much of the emotional lifting for the household. So today I got up, made lunches, breakfasts got myself out the door to work. When hubby got to work he asked about togs. No one at home had remembered if they had swimming or not. One did and she missed out. I could say that was on me for not packing her togs but honestly, when do they stand on their own two feet (I mean the family as a whole not just the kid!). Carving time out is so important but to do so we need to be able to step out and away without worry.
This is a great read. I found this really interesting. For the past 5 months I’ve been studying pre health through distance at ara aswell which was a full-time course aswell as working part time and feeding and cleaning up after my family. Trust me some days I’d have so much to do I would be panicking and still awake at midnight trying to cope with everything. But guess what I made it due to my stubborn side and motivation. And yup my kids wanted to go for bike rides after school etc and still I managed. I felt like wonder woman some days ♥