Tips to Balance Back-to-School and Back-to-Work

Everywhere you turn is back-to-school shopping, back-to-school rushing, and back-to-school anxieties. Over the past 20 years I have seen so many small business owners literally fall apart during the Fall, so I have created a cheat sheet to help you stay on top of this time of the year.

First and most importantly, instill the love of learning...in your child. Talk about how much you love learning and how, as a business person, you must continue to learn all the time. Certainly, learning is the key to all of our successes and failures, which make it possible for us to grow in the work we love that uses our unique talents. I boycott all stores that show children dreading going back to school. I talk to my children (18, 19, and 21 - not so little anymore) about being open to learning and how learning is awesome! 

Second – be sure to sleep. So many of us have stopped prioritizing sleep and we walk around like zombies.  Teach your child to go to sleep and wake up embracing a new day. Adults need 8 hours and most children need at least 10. As a former teacher, I saw many students fall asleep in class. I do understand that we keep our kids up later so we can see them when we get home from work, but that is purely selfish. Nip that snooze button habit in the bud. That is a total time waster. Everyone should get right up in the morning ready to embrace the day.

Next, shop strategically. I never understood why parents make a big deal about back to school shopping. We are all on a tight budget and recycling materials is good for everyone. Really, what does your child need? Certainly not a new back pack every year. I just finished reading The Power of Many by Meg Whitman and she talks about running a frugal business. Teach kids early on, to know the difference between what they need versus what they want.  As far as clothes go, it stays hot for many weeks into the Fall so, summer clothes are fine for quite a while. If you must shop for school uniform clothes, feel good about how much uniforms usually save in clothing expenditures.

Lastly, get organized. Get a school calendar and sync it to your PDA. There is no excuse to miss something really important because you just didn’t plan. I had one client "freak out" because he scheduled an important client meeting at the same time as his child’s graduation.This was avoidable stress. I suggest you plan for vacations, half days, back-to-school nights, and parent/teacher conferences NOW. I take one hour on a Sunday night and go week by week until the school year and my business calendar are good to go.

I am wishing everyone a wonderful, easy, exciting school year and by the way, it all goes too fast anyway!