4 Ways to Cope With The Unexpected

Working for yourself can be so liberating; you make your own hours, you choose who you work with – there are so many upsides! But, like everything, there are trade-offs. When you are a one-woman show, there is no understudy to step in when you have an unexpected need to take time off. Sometimes you can feel stuck, it seems like you can’t do anything more because there is already too much on your plate.

I found myself in this situation recently. My daughter fell ill on a day that I had a ton of work stuff scheduled and a to do list that was running over. Obviously I had to care for my child, but the mountain of appointments and tasks was really stressing me out. I’m sure you’ve found yourself in a similar situation, so I wanted to share some of the ways that I cope…

Ask for help

Most of us have the great fortune to be surrounded by people that care about us. It is okay to ask for help. If there was a meeting that absolutely had to happen that day, I could have called a friend or relative to come stay with my daughter. Help also comes in the paid variety, in order to keep growing my business, I have to harness additional resources, which means finding an additional acts for this circus of the assistant variety.

Decide what is important

The list of stuff that needs my time & attention is never going to get shorter. The best thing I can do for myself, my business and my family is to sort out what is important and focus on that. The rest I have to let go of. If it is something I’d really like to get done, then I need to find a way to delegate it. Shuffling things to someone else’s list isn’t something that comes naturally to me.

Embrace flexible expectations

The best way to have a completely miserable day is to refuse to adjust your expectations. Life happens, not all days can go as planned. I’ve found that flexible expectations and finding the best outcomes in all situations has a fantastic effect on my attitude and stress-level. Additionally, I find the most fulfillment in my day when I’m

My kids & their friends after teeth cleaning

focused on serving others. Putting someone else’s needs ahead of my own feeds my soul and helps me keep perspective. When I had to stay home with my sick daughter, I really enjoyed spending some cuddle time with her. I was only able to do that by deciding to change my expectations for the day.

Work in the margins

Routine errands can be really time consuming, but with a little planning, I am usually able to get some work in too. 4 kids means 4 sets of teeth and a significant amount of time at the dentist for routine cleanings. This latest trip to the dentist my kids ended up bringing some friends to hang out in the waiting room while they were in for their appointments. I did some work, the friends enjoyed the movie playing in the waiting room and we all had a little bit of unexpected fun together.

How do you cope with the demands on your time? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.