Do you work in a fast paced environment and find yourself making excuses? When we started this business I had the dream of it taking off and making a lot of money. What I never factored in was how busy I could be after a year or so. You would think having over 60 Romantic Getaways under your business umbrella would be relaxing and luxurious and one big holiday, I was so wrong.
I also have commitments outside of the business as I am in the Defence Force which is also a very fast paced environment. So in hindsight, the bigger your umbrella the bigger the workload.
During my journey into owning our own business I have had to implement smarter processes and learn all about customer service, marketing, process improvements and time management skills in order to make things easier for my wife and I to conduct business. I have also had to do my part in the Army during the day and sometimes I would be sent off for weeks and months at a time.
I would come home during the week absolutely exhausted and it felt like I had the wind knocked out of me but I would trudge on as I had work to do. After a few weeks of doing this I felt like a zombie and I couldn’t think straight. Things definitely slowed down in my thought processes and my work would take longer to do. I felt like there was no other way so I did not stop until I finished what needed to be done. I started to make mistakes and more time was spent fixing them rather than completing my work.
Natasha could see this happening and my attention was purely on what I thought needed doing urgently. The cash book, GST returns, budget forecasts, social media posts and strategizing marketing campaigns needed to be done. She would often bug me and ask when I’m going to be finished. When I said another hour or so she had an annoyed look on her face but then went off quietly to tend to our son and cook dinner. I did this for a week and then we started to argue. These went from slightly annoying to almost a full blown battle of the ages.
Time was my biggest enemy, I just didn’t have enough of it to do all of the things that needed to be done and spend quality time with those that I loved the most, I was a tired wreak.
Before long we had a little holiday coming up that I booked a few months ago and then had forgotten about it. It was too late to cancel (I was a lucky man). It was just the two of us, movies, eating out and walking up and down Wellington taking in the sights. Holding hands, I felt like the happiest man in the world with her. I slept well that night and woke up to a kiss and a coffee, we reminisced about the old days and shared a few jokes and laughed and then the feeling hit me. I felt that same feeling that I experienced when I first fell in love with Natasha.
I decided right then and there that things would change. When we got home I spent time talking to our son about his rugby game then I kissed Natasha and told her how much I appreciated her for all the things she does. After tending to the people that I cared about I was back into the business and I actually finished my work within an hour and spent two hours improving my processes as well. Things were looking up as I put the people I cared about first and spent that quality time with them before doing the work. There was no time for making excuses, it was time to prioritize my priorities.
Spending quality time with the people that care about you revitalises you and can lead to less mistakes being made so you can work on the areas that you need to be worked on. Your spouse should never chase your love, affection or attention as it should be freely given by yourself. “Stop making excuses. It’s not about ‘having time’, it’s about making time”. If it matters to you, you will make time for the people that care about you. Being too busy to be with someone or to do something for those who care about you is not an excuse, it’s about taking the opportunity to be with them that counts. Save the excuses. It's not about having time, it's about making time.
Russell
