Finding time to finish everything in a day can be difficult or overwhelming. These 3 tips will help you achieve balance in your work and personal lives (and in turn find success!). Let’s dive in:
Organization is key:
The first step to finding that happy medium is to organize… everything! This will not only help you stay on top of things, but it will also keep you thinking ahead. When it comes to your work and personal lives, separate all of your accounts. This includes your social media accounts, emails, and phone numbers. Keeping these separate will both help define boundaries and make you look more professional in your clients’ eyes.
Give yourself a helping hand by scheduling out your work and personal lives. Several free digital agendas, like Google Calendar, can make planning a breeze. When planning out your weeks and months, you can add in locations, descriptions, and even invite people so you know exactly what each event entails. You can even turn on notifications so you never miss an event. As with your other accounts, keep your work and personal schedules separate. Color-specific agendas make it easy to see what belongs to each side; choose contrasting colors to easily differentiate.
In addition to your digital calendar, maintaining a quality website and booking system will save you loads of time so you can focus on your lashing! Having both will allow for less time with back and forth between you and your clients by allowing them to find answers to questions like “what are your prices?” and book appointments on their own. Encourage clients to utilize these, rather than contacting you via DM or text message, both of which can come off as less professional and tend to be quite intrusive into your personal life (no more 3am texts!). Incorporating these tools will help to keep your work and personal lives separate.
Incorporate Healthy Habits:
The next step in finding balance is to incorporate healthy habits into your daily routines. This may take some time, but creating these will have positive impacts on both sides of your life. In order for these to stick, you must put in the effort and stay consistent. Getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and creating built-in exercise are simple and easy habits that will have a positive effect on your days.
You’ve heard it before, but sticking to a sleep schedule will do you a world of good. Select an ideal time you’d like to be asleep that will ensure you get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Hold yourself accountable to this time, and start winding down an hour beforehand (that means no more checking email, Instagram or Facebook - these three things are notoriously bad for sleep!). After a few weeks, your body will naturally be ready to sleep at that time. Getting enough sleep helps you better kick start your days and give you that energy you need!
Another major factor is hydration. As a lash artist, you’re sitting for hours on end. Make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day to avoid muscle cramps, bloating, and lightheadedness. The key to drinking enough water each day is to start early. Get yourself a cute, new water bottle that is 16 ounces or more. Challenge yourself to try and drink at least 2 bottles while at work. You can even keep it by your lashing station for easy access. Fun fact: drinking a glass of ice-cold water in the morning will help jump start your metabolism for the day.
When you are between clients, take some time to move your body (whether that be walking, stretching, or even ). Even if just in 15-minute increments, getting some movement will not only help improve blood circulation in your hands and legs but will also help you avoid cramps or aches. It is important to stretch your body throughout the day. The controlled position you sit in during your appointments can be taxing on the body. Give yourself a good stretch to prep for your next client!
These tips are small but can have great impact when they become a habit. Leading to positive results in other aspects of your life (which will then contribute to finding that balance). Before you know it, these habits will become second nature!
Set aside some YOU time:
You spend your days making others feel beautiful but what are you doing for yourself? It’s easy to come home from a long day of work, scarf down a quick dinner in front of the TV, and head to bed. Easy, but not fulfilling. Finding time for the things that bring you joy is crucial for long-term happiness both at home and work.
Take time to cultivate your interests, even if it’s just for a few moments - listen to a good song, grab coffee with a friend, try a new restaurant, etc. Giving yourself that well-deserved time to decompress will in turn help you be ready and motivated when it’s time to work again. You can even schedule this into your digital agendas to keep yourself accountable by treating it like you would any other appointment.
The goal of work/life balance is to find a happy medium between the two! Once you find the balance, you will create a feedback loop, in which putting positive efforts into one aspect will lead to positive results in the other (and vice versa). In order to obtain and maintain that balance, you must be willing to put in the effort and stick to it.