How to Achieve Life-Work Balance with @SabrinaCadini #VCBuzz

For a busy entrepreneur, freelancer or small business owner, work tends to come first.

It is hard to maintain work-life balance when you know that you really don’t have business hours and you are earning money only as long as you are actively doing something at every moment of your life.

Yet, life needs to come first because you only have one. So how to put life on top of your priorities? Let’s discuss!

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About @SabrinaCadini

.@SabrinaCadini a certified Holistic Life Coach, Brain Fitness Coach, and Life-Work Balance Strategist.

She is coaching busy professionals like you on Life-Work Balance (yes, life comes first!), a lifestyle program with proven strategies based on the body and mind connection.

Follow @SabrinaCadini’s musings on her blog.

Questions we discussed

Q1 How did you become an entrepreneur? Please share your career story!

think I was born an entrepreneur! I love being my own boss too much

I started an event and wedding planning company back in the ‘80s and I was so passionate that I prioritized clients and business deadlines but ignored my personal needs. This caused stress, then burnout, then health issues that no doctor could fix. I became a knowledge seeker and discovered the importance of nutrition, sleep, movement, and self-care in order to thrive in life and be successful in business.

I changed my lifestyle, health issues disappeared, my business increased. Life before work, not the other way around. We are human beings, not human doings.

My newfound knowledge inspired me to pursue a career in coaching and help others succeed in life personally and professionally by improving well-being, focus, positivity, happiness, productivity.

I became certified in holistic life coaching & brain fitness coaching so that I could focus on my clients as a whole, combine neuroscience, biohacking, positive psychology, and mindfulness techniques to implement effective behavior changes.

And I think this is part of our life journey: the more we learn about ourselves, the more we thrive #VCBuzz
— Sabrina Cadini, CHLC, CBFC (@SabrinaCadini) March 10, 2020

Q2 Why is achieving life-work balance so challenging these days? Has it always been so difficult? What has changed and why?

Modern society prioritizes work, being always on the run, being always productive. It celebrates busyness to show we’re successful. Also, the fast-paced environment forces us to speed things up by rushing through our daily routines and tasks.

I think we've lived in environment / society that glorified hustle and 24/7 grind in a very aggressive way, that we've lost our ways a little bit. When you work ALL the time, it will impede other part of your life & health, sooner or later. #VCBuzz https://t.co/1fqC6I8MM4
— Zala Bricelj – ?? ? #edutech is my jam (@ZalkaB) March 10, 2020

It’s very difficult for us to enjoy life’s precious moments: we’re always chasing the next dream, the next goal. We are usually last in our to-do list, but this behavior is taking a toll on our health and well-being.

It feels like we can’t afford to have time for ourselves, but it can be done. We need time to slow down and rest. When they have the time to recharge, our bodies and our brains perform much better.

A2 Too many times we're wired to think that only when you're active & productive, there's worth in it. And that that's the only acceptable way. Yet when you know how to be effective, how to work smart & put importance into self-care & time off – that's success in my ? #VCBuzz
— Zala Bricelj – ?? ? #edutech is my jam (@ZalkaB) March 10, 2020

A successful person, in my opinion, is not a “hustler”; instead, it’s someone who is able to work smart (body and brain are optimized, we’ll see how) and utilizes precious time for personal life.

A2: Work is integrated in life – but is not life. Our need to find value based solely on work has made us angst-y, unhappy beings. And worse, we have passed this to our children. #vcbuzz
— Drea #UnapologeticallyMe (she/her) (@DreaVilleneuve) March 10, 2020

Q3 How to put life first? How to motivate yourself and make life your actual priority?

People try to achieve #WorkLifeBalance but they don’t realize that it should be the opposite: take care of yourself first in order to increase productivity at work, and you will have more time for what you love to do.

We may be most evolved and sophisticated species on this planet, but we’re still an animal species and our genes are still the same from thousands of years ago. We have to respect the basic needs of our body first: nourishment, movement, rest.

Our body is a very sophisticated system where everything is connected: when we use the right “tools” (nutrition, sleep, movement, self- care) we can improve our cognitive function and productivity exponentially.

Eat whole foods rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. Real food is information for our genes, can reduce inflammation, strengthen the immune system, facilitate detoxification, slow down oxidative stress & cellular aging, improve microbiome.

A3 (5/9): Sleep between 6-8 hours every night consistently. Our circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle) is closely linked to hormone production, weight maintenance, stress management, and more. #LifeWorkBalance #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/MEZFzwAWtx
— Sabrina Cadini, CHLC, CBFC (@SabrinaCadini) March 10, 2020

Move daily to improve blood flow, lower stress, promote detoxification, regulate hormones (and to stimulate new neural connections in the brain when you run).

I don't schedule anything in the morning. That way, if sleep gets interrupted, I can just sleep in. And I never feel guilty about it. Health first. #vcbuzz https://t.co/5lHQDwJ7d8
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) March 10, 2020

A3) I've never been a big champion of self-care on my own behalf until my doctor got my attention. He said that the FIRST symptom of heart attack in 80% of people is death! The FIRST SYMPTOM IS DEATH. I confess, that got my attention. #VCBuzz
— Tom Reid (@_TomGReid) March 10, 2020

Don’t forget self-care: it’s not a luxury or a sign of laziness, it’s necessary to thrive in our personal and professional life.

A3: Learn to find joy. Choose self care, so you can properly care for others. Live in kindness. Make choices for health, as well as healthy choices. Give. #vcbuzz
— Drea #UnapologeticallyMe (she/her) (@DreaVilleneuve) March 10, 2020

As a result, you’ll increase:

Positivity
Creativity
Productivity (you’ll accomplish more in less time)

What does this all mean?

More time for you, your family, your friends
Goals achieved faster
No more multitasking
More sales for your business
A happier life!!!

A3 I definitely agree with this. Eat REAL food. Mine is still alive when I harvest it for my daily salads. #vcbuzz https://t.co/PMK9ShNPrt pic.twitter.com/N3E3C3RusP
— Gail Gardner (@GrowMap) March 10, 2020

Q4 How to deal with burnout?

Burnout happened to me years ago and it wasn’t fun. Maybe you experienced it (or you’re experiencing it) too. Some tips:

Give priority to self-care
Set clear boundaries between life & work
Schedule everything
Learn to accept and let go.

I recently wrote about burnout, how to recognize the symptoms, and how it differs from stress & depression.

A4 (3/3): In the post, I also listed tips to prevent or reverse burnout. Burnout always results from prolonged stress (usually at work), I hope you’re able to recognize its early signs to avoid negative consequences. #LifeWorkBalance #vcbuzz pic.twitter.com/WYZ0VXEHtR
— Sabrina Cadini, CHLC, CBFC (@SabrinaCadini) March 10, 2020

Yup, great advice, Anna!
Step by step, one at a time ?
And for me, it's been crucial to start sorting issues and challenges abd problems to 2 groups: important / urgent / life-influencing and non-imprtant. #VCBuzz
— Zala Bricelj – ?? ? #edutech is my jam (@ZalkaB) March 10, 2020

Q5 What are resources and tools you can recommend for our community to start building life-work balance?

First of all, I would love to share my “How To Achieve Life-Work Balance” ebook as a “thank-you” for being here on the chat with us today.

I have a list of favorite apps on my website.

Also, my favorite books (come back often as I constantly add new ones)

And, if you’d like to chat with me, feel free to schedule a FREE Clarity Call for a quick #LifeWorkBalance assessment