Entrepreneurs are an exceptional brand of human beings. We're motivated, fearless, ambitious and powerful. But we can also be perfectionists, overachievers and workaholics.

Carving out free time to rest, play and be entertained is an essential part of a balanced, beautiful life, especially for high achieving business owners like ourselves. Let's figure out how to do it!

Want to start a business but feeling overwhelmed? Join my Finding Your Side Hustle Course and learn the step-by-step process for starting the business you've been dreaming of.

Have you already started a business or really need one-on-one guidance? Schedule a free coaching call with me so we can make progress on your dreams!

Hello.

We are diving in today on how we spend our free time, especially as high

achieving entrepreneurs or want to be entrepreneurs who love to get things done.

Sometimes we forget just how essential it is to make sure that we have free time

for ourselves and particularly what to do when we make that free time a reality.

are a business builder, chances are pretty good that you have some of

these high achieving tendencies, right?

A high achiever looks like someone who.

Value is productivity.

They value collecting achievements.

And those of us who identify in this way can sometimes be tempted

very often, be tempted to derive our sense of value from our achievements.

So if you're the type of person who collected gold stars at school, And

brought them home to show your mom and got immense pleasure of checking off boxes

and making sure you were shining star, then you know what I'm talking about.

Okay.

Sometimes high-achievers are perfectionist.

Sometimes they are overachievers.

And very often they are workaholics because they love that productivity.

Now, regardless of whether or not this is you.

If it is solidarity sister, that's me too.

Then working for yourself can actually very often lead to an

unhealthy work-life balance.

Because it's just so fun to work on our business is something we

created it, something we want to see.

To fulfillment as well.

that we gain immense pleasure and satisfaction out of working on.

And so we work on it.

Over and over and over day in, day out nights, weekends, I recently

posted a reel on Instagram with an audio that I just really related to.

The guy said something like people say, if you love what you do, you

won't work a day of your life.

And he said, I disagree.

If you love what you do, you work nights, weekends.

When your friends are partying, when your family is getting together,

you work all the time because you're so passionate about it.

So this is.

A temptation for those of us who build something that we just love.

Love.

Love.

But it doesn't have to be.

Now, if you go back to episode 13, it's all about finding the fun

and humor inside entrepreneurship.

And I highly recommend that you listen to that.

And start implementing that, finding more fun in what you do everyday.

So it is something that you love.

But it is something that many of us have to work on, especially because

we get really dramatic about our work and we start thinking, oh,

it's just such a big freaking deal.

And if things don't work out, I'm a failure and blah, blah, blah.

And it's totally unnecessary.

I want to keep things light as much as possible within my.

But admittedly things feel pretty high stakes when you were the boss and the

employee and the technician and the bookkeeper and the marketing department

and the entire sales team all at one time, it's very easy to get bogged down by.

Responsibility and big drama.

And we forget to have fun.

So that's why I But of course, we also need to remember to rest and

recuperate outside of our business hours.

Side note.

Did you know that that's a thing you can have business hours when you do

work and when you don't work right.

hours means there is time when you will not work.

So watch out for this passion of yours, trying to take over your life,

because it's very easy to do that.

So, like I mentioned, at the beginning, we've got four main ways to balance out

all the work we do in our lives as moms and entrepreneurs finding free time.

Making time for play and fun making time for rest.

And then also entertainment.

Now, each of these is very different and serves very different, unique purposes.

And I really do believe that there's a purpose for each

one of these within our lives.

But they can also very easily be confused for one another.

So let's dive into them.

Starting off with free time, because obviously you can't

incorporate entertainment or rest.

If you don't actually have some free time.

This is also known as discretionary time.

So time when you have nothing else that you need to be doing.

Or rather for those of us who always feel like there's things we need to

be doing, it's time that you have purposely set aside from your obligations

and have marked it as free time.

Now I recently was reading the book happier hour by author Cathy Holmes.

And she discusses a study aimed at determining how much is

just enough discretionary time.

It's a In other words, she decided to figure out how much free time each

of us needs and how much is too much.

So in case you're curious, she landed on about two hours a day is what most

people need is discretionary time.

Now I'll be honest.

When I first heard this, I thought.

Two hours of free time a day is a massive amount of free time.

I do not have that on a free time.

Then when I looked a little bit closer, I realized I actually did.

I made sure that I had a little bit of time to.

in the evening a little bit of time to talk to my husband a little bit of time,

maybe to sew or do something creative now on the busy days that doesn't happen.

But when I'm being very intentional about my life,

I realized she was right.

Two hours feels really, really amazing.

Now if you are a busy mom, chances are good.

That your free time might not often coincide with alone time, which is

unfortunate because when you have free time, very often, you would like to spend

it doing something that you want to do.

And admittedly, it may be a battle to find any free time at all.

As a busy mom, it takes a lot of work to run a household, a

lot of work to keep kids alive.

And not only that, but the emotional.

Responsibility of being available for your kid when he needs to talk or when

you want to connect with him or her.

free time really is essential.

Now, let me say that again.

As a business owner who might be tempted to do.

business a lot because she loves it so much.

Be aware of using that free time that you've marked as

such to work on your business.

to play with your kids or to do anything that doesn't feel relaxing to you.

Now, if playing a board game with you, with feels really relaxing to you,

then please do that in your free time.

There are a few things I really enjoy doing with my kids that

I consider that free time.

But if it is something that you feel obligated to do, don't

count that as your free time.

Because Because your brain and your body need time to rest and relax.

It's essential that both of them get that time.

So that brings us to rest in our free time.

We have got to find time to rest.

am so grateful for a merciful God who gave us bodies that require resting like.

Over a third of the time that we're alive.

Think about that for a minute.

Just how much.

Time in our lives is spent asleep.

I think it's a miracle.

I think it's such a blessing that we have to lay down and basically go unconscious.

Four.

Seven to eight hours every single night in order to function.

We think of this as physical rest, but I would also encourage

you to seek out mental rest.

Now you do get mental rest in your sleep time, but I have noticed.

That if I do not schedule in mental rest during the rest of the day.

It actually affects my sleep.

So you've probably had this happen.

If you've ever fallen in bed exhausted like 11 o'clock at night.

Only to have your brain just start spinning out of control and thinking

about everything under the sun.

Oh, I forgot this thing.

And oh, what about this person?

And, oh, I was going to tell somebody this and making connections and

ideas are coming it's maddening, especially when you're exhausted

and you just want to sleep.

But in my experience at this happens because I am not allowing

adequate mental rest during the day.

So it's true that every brain actually needs time to decompress and make

those central neural connections.

And if we don't allow that during the day, cause we are just jam packed with

stimulus and stuff and go, go, go.

Then our brain, I think actually functions at a lower level and cannot be called upon

to be extra creative, be very efficient.

It starts to forget things.

Things start to fall through the cracks because it is not

allowed enough rest time.

So I know you're thinking, well, how do I do that before 11 o'clock

at night when everybody's asleep.

And I finally have a chance to lay down.

Try to leave mental blank space during your day.

So that could look like doing something that is very monotonous, that you

can do kind of half unconscious, like walking or even driving.

Resting, you can go lay in a hammock and just clear your

brain or cleaning your house.

Right.

I don't really need a lot of brainpower to pick up my house or sweep or vacuum.

But try to do it without listening to anything.

Now, again, if you're a high achiever, This is very difficult.

You always want to be learning and growing and entertained and having things come in.

And that is wonderful, except for when your brain needs to make some connections.

And.

Slot things in the appropriate file cabinets, right?

do that with constant auditory stimulus.

So try to find quiet time and and try to capitalize on it by not

putting anything else in your ear.

So I personally like to do this when I'm driving.

Um, always, always a temptation for me to put in a book or a podcast

because I just love to learn and I just love to be entertained.

So.

Try to carve this out for yourself.

I promise it will be a game changer, especially if you're the kind of person

who fills every last minute with stuff.

And then of course there's physical rest.

So what does that look like again, apart from sleep?

I think it's also necessary.

I know there are days when you wake up and you go, go, go all day long

and then you don't even sit down until you finally crash in bed.

But those are not ideal days, as you can probably tell by how exhausted you are.

Right.

I try to find time to do this before bed.

Like again, lying in a hammock.

We're sitting on the couch with a kid.

Or rocking someone in a rocking chair.

Sometimes I will only get to this when it's time to put little ones to bed

and I'll just lie down with them for a little bit and allow my body to rest.

my favorite phases of life is when I have a nursing baby, I've had 10 of them.

So I've had quite a few experiences like this, and I firmly believe that

that is a gift given to new moms.

For the opportunity to sit down and put your feet up and rest with your baby,

because otherwise you could just go crazy all day long, especially if you

have other kids to take care of and never be able to sit down and rest.

So.

Try to take time as if you would to feed a baby to sit down just

a couple of times during the day.

Now meditation is a really great way to try both physical and mental rest.

But admittedly it takes practice.

If we're you're used to that, go go, go lifestyle.

It's going to take some time and effort.

To be able to clear your brain, to be able to sit there and not be fidgety in antsy.

But make it a priority to schedule that rest and try some meditation if you want.

Want to.

we're going to talk for a minute about playtime.

Okay, you guys, I think you've probably noticed that adults are really

stink at playing kids are naturals.

In fact, they learn through play.

But we don't dig in sandboxes.

We think it's gross.

You know, it's, it is.

Don't take it as sandboxes gross.

Swing on swings.

We don't build Lego's generally.

We don't do a lot of fun things.

We do a lot of things that have to get done.

I was recently chatting with a group of friends, specifically about

this concept about what we do for fun and the things I came up with.

Were things that I actually limited to doing.

Just a couple of times a year.

Things like going to a waterpark with my family or an amusement

park or Disneyland, or, you know, something that was like a big to do.

But I really don't think that that's necessary nor do I think that's healthy.

I think we need to make time for plate in other parts of our life.

Daily if possible.

So, what about you?

Do you allow for playtime?

And not just grudgingly what your kids want to do, but things that you

want to do that you find are fun.

we were told that we needed to incorporate, play and fun in our

everyday life, what would that look like?

And how can we do more of it?

So ask yourself that maybe do a little bit of journaling, ask your husband, ask your

kids, what do they like to do for fun?

Maybe you can borrow some beliefs if you need to.

Some ideas.

And it is okay.

I will say here again, for those of us that love productivity.

It's okay.

If this play feels productive.

So for me, I believe that sewing is something I do for

fun and for play it's enjoyable.

To me, it also feels productive, which is probably another reason

that I really enjoy doing it.

But generally I would say that.

Your play or fun time should produce.

Laughter it should produce smiles.

It should make you feel rejuvenated and like you're able to better

function and take on the world.

about it a little bit longer and decided I had a list of more things that could

incorporate fun into my day to day.

And they're things like playing card games with my family.

I really enjoy that.

Riding my bike for fun, not exercise just for fun, especially

when there's a nice breeze out.

Playing in the pool with my kids.

So these are things that really are fun, but for me, they are hard to prioritize.

If you are a person who values fun more than me, this might

not be as big of a deal.

Maybe you struggle a little bit more with the productivity.

struggle with fun, because it doesn't feel productive or like an

achievement, then remind yourself that fun is still important and

that it does two main things.

Number one.

Fun reminds you that life is meant for joy.

It's meant to produce joy.

And secondly, it allows you to tap into that inner child that loves fun.

And I know my kids connect with me so strongly when we were having fun together.

I think it's like the inner child in me sees the child in them and

they can play together, you know?

And it's always such an enjoyable experience that when I'm done,

I think, gosh, I should really make time for this more often.

Right.

So there's just a little reminder to make sure that play and

fun is a part of your life.

If not every day, at least once a week.

Okay.

Finally, let's talk about entertainment for awhile.

Now I saved this one for last, because it is often the first thing

we do when we're feeling overworked or exhausted and we have free time.

However it actually yields the smallest amount of benefit.

Now entertainment.

I'm talking about generally media, right?

Scrolling Instagram, or watching TV, watching a movie.

It's not all bad.

Being entertained.

Being passively entertained is not all bad.

It can be really fun.

It definitely allows for some of that mental relaxation that we're looking for.

However, because there is still stimulus coming in your brain actually can't make

some of the connections that could make.

If your blame blank slate.

If you were just lying in a hammock or walking down the street,

You're still left with a lot swirling around.

Even though you've kind of checked out for a while.

I kind of view entertainment as like going unconscious for a little while

and sometimes that's necessary.

Sometimes I really enjoy going unconscious with my husband and a TV show.

In the evening.

But there are some downsides entertainment can actually quickly become addictive.

If it's late at night.

TV is a surefire way to make sure I will never get to bed or I won't

sleep for another hour or two.

Right.

If I a book, my eyes can get tired.

I'll read for a chapter or so, and I'll put it down.

If I start a TV show, I'm there till it's over.

Maybe you're one of those wonderful, magical unicorns that

can fall asleep while watching TV.

It's not me, unfortunately.

And it's much harder for me to turn off and walk away.

TV or a movie than it is a puzzle or a book or something that is

relaxing for me, but not as addictive.

So again, while there's totally a place for entertainment

in a healthy, balanced life.

Just be aware of it taking over your free time and crowding out the rest

or the play that you crucially need.

So.

were trying to fit in more free time and more rest play and

entertainment in that free time.

Start taking a note of where you are spending your time.

If you do have free time in your day already.

Good job.

Take a note of where, how you're spending it is always on TV or on social media.

Are you spending any time for some of that active rest?

I know that sounds silly to call it active respite where you're purposely making time

for a nap or for lying down somewhere.

Are you making time for that play and having fun, especially

with those that you love.

ask yourself, what do you need more of in your life this week

and how do you plan on getting it?

Okay out there and have more fun.

Take more rests and come back.

Rejuvenated.