Work-life balance is really a mindset issue and a boundary issue.
–Aimee Greczmiel
Is work-life balance all in our heads? Aimee Greczmiel is a coach for corporate moms and recommends thinking about mindset management rather than time management when it comes to balance. After 18 years in corporate, she became an entrepreneur and helps working moms reach their goals and bring balance and “being” (as opposed to doing) energy to their work lives.
Before kids, Aimee felt she had complete control over her time and where she was focusing her energy and attention — then she became a mom. It wasn’t just that she had less time. She had an awakening and found there were parts of her ambition and her achievement that didn't serve her in motherhood. Motherhood was more about slowing down, savoring, being instead of doing.
So she took a deep dive into something so many of us struggle with: work-life balance. One big take away: if you don’t have any boundaries around your time, work will consume all of it. That’s true whether you are in corporate or an entrepreneur.
We talk about:
- Developing a mindset of being present with your family (not thinking about work when you are not working)
- Communicating your priorities to leadership at work
- Thinking about mindset management rather than time management when it comes to balance
- Using the TFR model to deal with feelings and release mom guilt
- Focusing on the positive instead of always scanning for problems to solve
- Going to the mental gym with tools like meditation and journaling that don’t take much time each day (and how it’s hard to see the benefits until you engage with the practice for while)
BIO
Aimee Greczmiel is a former Fortune 500 VP who has taken her passion for mentoring and personal growth to help working mothers experience more patience, fulfillment, and ease both in and outside of work. Aimee guides working moms to get clear on their desired outcomes, so they may leave a lasting legacy for their family. Aimee is an action-oriented mentor who has helped hundreds of individuals reach their goals, while overcoming personal and professional challenges.
LINKS
Doable Changes from this episode:
- BE CLEAR ABOUT PRIORITIES. We talked about communicating your priorities, but before you can do that you need to be really clear about what your priorities are. If you say my family is my priority, what does that mean? How do you want to make family a priority? What does that look like to you? Put aside what you think is expected at work and think about what really matters to you. Write down what that means to you.
- FIND A POSITIVE. In FLOW365, we celebrate every Friday. We’re conditioned to scan for problems, move on to the next thing we need to do, but when we take time to celebrate, we acknowledge what we have done and we build a different energy and way forward. Find one positive at the end of the day. Write it down and share it with a friend, colleague, or your community (pick somebody who will celebrate with you)!
- TRY MEDITATION. Meditation has a lot of known benefits, and you don’t have to meditate for a long time to see benefits. Try a mediation app and commit to 5 minutes a day. This isn’t a quick fix, but one that builds over time.