Taking Back Sunday

I had almost forgotten what Sundays were for.

For most of this year my Sundays, especially Sunday evenings, have merely been a prelude to Monday morning. Overworked and struggling to generate new business for our home care company in the middle of a recession, I woke up each Sunday morning with a list of items that I needed to accomplish before closing my eyes again Sunday night.

This list rarely included things like “spend time with kids,” or “take dog for a walk.” Instead I loaded it up with plenty of marketing tasks for Homewatch CareGivers (the home care company) or writing tasks from my freelance projects.

I rarely got to these items before 8 p.m; too much life got in the way. By the time we went to church, washed clothes, spent a little time with kids, went shopping and did whatever else couldn’t be ignored, it was time to cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed. So I spent most of Sunday stressed out about all the work going undone, all the time I wasn’t spending with my kids, and still accomplished very little on my list.

By the time I got to any list items post-kid-bedtime, I had at best three or four hours available before falling into bed myself. If I pushed myself to work until 1 or 2 a.m. I may have accomplished a little more (although my relative productivity at those hours remains suspect) but I set myself up for weeklong fatigue and a thoroughly unenjoyable Monday morning.

All that changed about two weeks ago. I’ll elaborate on the reasons behind the change in future posts. For now, its sufficient to say that Sundays are once again full of family time and yard work, laundry and honey-do lists. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, it’s too easy for us to live the work instead of working to live. When we ignore our need to rest and recharge for too long, we become susceptible to health issues, business mistakes and errors in judgment.

Yesterday, I rode five miles on my bike and then went shopping with my family at Sam’s Club. I spent the afternoon mowing the yard and mopping the house to which we’re about to move. By the kids’ bedtime, I was exhausted and contentedly watching season premiere television on the living room couch.

Best. Sunday. Ever.

Tags: Balance, family