So what it is it that working for myself gives me that (I think) I might not get from working for someone else? My ‘Why?’
I based my decision to work for myself purely on my own experiences. Back when I worked for a big corporate, both my husband and I worked very long hours, lots was expected of us in fairly big jobs. This meant lots of time spent in the office (pre-COVID of course), and away from home, including some business travel both in the UK and abroad.
My memory is of good times, but lots of stress, pressure and change (sometimes which felt just for changes sake). Days spent in the office were not necessarily as productive as the number of hours I was present for. Time was spent (some might say wasted) celebrating colleagues birthdays, whether that was eating cake or going to the pub for lunch. Chatting about what was on TV the previous night, and many other conversations you might choose not to have, if you thought you could leave a little earlier, than you might otherwise. It is all the stuff I guess in some ways I miss now I work for myself.
At the time it was fine, we lead a very adult focussed life. And even once I was made redundant from the large corporate and started working for myself, I didn’t really change my work-life balance, it remained the same, to an extent. Albeit, I had less worries and far less stress, which was the release I needed. And I believe to this day definitely helped my chances of falling for a family – which was my priority, and perhaps perfect timing (even if I was a little older than I’d have ideally liked to be).
Success! I became a Mummy, what a journey it had been, and once I had a baby/child my priorities changed completely, and so my ‘why?’ changed too.
Initially I took time-off from working completely. Working for myself, in control of all of the decisions, the length of time which I took off was entirely up to me. Yes, statutory maternity pay would only be for N months, but then it was up to me whether I chose to pay myself from the business, whether I worked or not. Or whether I went back to work / took on clients, and how many client hours I committed to each week.
I was my own boss. I made the decisions. I was in control. For me now, and back 8 years ago, when I made the decision to go back to work, it was all about flexibility and most importantly getting the right work-life balance. I wanted to spend time with my daughter. They are only little for such a short period, it was very important to me that I was present. To enjoy the little bundle of joy I had waited so patiently for. And I was in the fortunate position where I could choose how many client hours I took on.
It was a balancing act. And continues to be to this day. I need to remember the phrase “work to live, not live to work”, which when I was working at the large corporate I never considered. Back then, whilst I earnt good money, I didn’t get overtime, so my hourly rate could have been re-calculated as being much lower than it should have been, with the hours I spent in the office. Often the extra hours in the office were as a result of ‘wasted time’ earlier in the day/week. But it was those ‘wasted’ times that made the role fun, and how I managed such a happy team. It wasn’t just about the work.
As well as attempting to achieve a good work-life balance, working for myself also means I can set my own priorities. This was very important to me, once I had the life outside of work that I wanted to prioritise. Which previously I guess I didn’t have. Coming home, to just my husband, no disrespect, but not to the child or children I yearned for, was not the life I wanted. This no doubt distorted the way I prioritised work, and being in the office, over life outside.
Holidays were my driver for working hard back in the day. I worked hard, so I could have nice holidays. And we did that. For some years we were lucky enough to be able to have several foreign holidays/weekend breaks abroad away each year. Life at home, when not on holiday, was not what I enjoyed / where I wanted to spend my time. It just highlighted what was missing.
Today I take on both clients who need regular tasks and others with one-off projects. This means each week and month vary, sometimes considerably. I love the variety and love being in charge of my own time. I try to minimise my working hours in school holidays. I arrange my diary around sports day, nativity plays and assemblies at school, amongst other things that crop up. Including volunteering with the primary school PTA.
This gives me the balance I look for in my life.
I appreciate that since COVID, with so much more opportunity for hybrid working, more people working from home and more companies appreciating the need for their staff to have a work-life balance. Life in big corporates has no doubt changed in the last 12 years. But I don’t see me going back.
I pride myself in managing (juggling) my diary. Often around my daughters social life nowadays, as opposed to my own. What with all her clubs and play dates etc. we have a pretty busy week. And any parent will no doubt know how this feels.
I need to be very organised. I run several diary/calendar systems to keep a track of everything. I keep some details online, others I track manually with pen and paper. One of my systems is a bullet journal (BUJO), which I absolutely love. I spend a fair amount of time updating it, which gives me pleasure, as it is an opportunity for me to express my creativity, as well as keep me, my work and my family (and volunteering) organised. I can also use it to monitor that I am getting a good work-life balance.
I don’t have to have the conversation about going part-time, or changing my hours, or asking for time off, or more being expected of me. Or do I, maybe it’s just that it’s a conversation with myself, as it’s all a balancing act. When a new client comes along, or an existing client has a new deadline or project, I do have to look at my current commitments, work out how many available hours I have and agree what else I can take on, by when. Then I have to work out how I can fit it into my schedule. But it’s up to me. And that’s what I love.
That’s WHY I work for myself, and WHY I am a virtual assistant (VA). It gives me the ability to decide on my priorities, and get the flexibility and work-life balance I want. All things important to us all I’m sure.
My own services also enable other business owners to improve their work-life balance, by outsourcing tasks to me. If you are interested in getting the balance you want in your life, that is lacking, and think I can help, please get in touch.