Yes, I'll Take That Call at 6:08pm on a Friday!

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Katie Hellmuth's picture
All #SmallBizDiary Entries by Katie Hellmuth
The views of this member do not reflect those of Tin Shingle.

Sabina and I were on the phone on Friday afternoon, woking on the production of our #SmallBizGoodness newsletter, when she saw an email ping into her inbox - a reporter from USA Today was asking her if we had comments on work/life balance for their Smart Small Business column in the Money section (love that section of newspapers). Heck yes we do! So I veered off newsletter production to type up some work/life balance tips and emailed them over to the reporter, Laura Petrecca, who said she may follow up by phone.

At 6:08pm on a Friday the call came, just as I was settling my kids down from bouncing around the house after picking them up from daycare. Laura's first words were: "I am so sorry to be calling you at 6:08pm on a Friday." And I just laughed more out of relief that I was going to have this call about how having personal and proessional boundaries are key to growing your business while keeping yourself and your family happy.

Pretty much, my boundaries for the press, my accountant, and our programmer are: Yes, I'll take a call for them no matter what. The press acts on deadline, and the the deliverables are life-long. Accountants are busy, and I'd like for them not to be busy with me anymore! My programmer may be in a programming zone, and I'm not going to miss that brain-wave.

Work life balance USA TodaySo when the article came out today in Monday's edition of USA Today, yeah, that was worth me walking outside with my son, bouncing him on my hip, pacing my back yard, looking like a weirdo to my neighbors, while I kept my son happy and moving, and kept my conversation with the reporter on the money.