Have you ever realized that it has been months since you saw your favorite friends? Or that a week has gone by without a real conversation with your partner? One of the greatest challenges of a successful executive’s social life is the logistics and prioritization.
When our twins arrived and our oldest daughter wasn’t quite two years old, my husband and I knew we needed to take ruthless action to save our sanity. Parents of multiples find it is easy to lose touch with their friends just when they need them the most. Ongoing work deadlines can have the same effect.
My three daughters have taught me to put my social life on autopilot. I did this with a close group of friends. We decided to meet for dinner the first Monday of every month; whoever could make it that night would show up. We picked the venue for the following month at the end of each dinner. It required zero planning or follow-up e-mails and the reward was a regular evening out with friends that energize me and make me laugh until I cry.
I hear phrases like this from busy executives all the time: “I owe my partner.” “I need to pay him [or her] back for the last six months of my crazy work schedule.” “My partner isn’t happy with how much time I spend at work.”
It’s okay to need some alone time with your partner. It’s okay for your partner to need that from you. There. I have said it. I love my kids, and I also love my husband. Sometimes our conversations revolve solely around tasks, schedules, chores, and parenting. That can frankly be monotonous and no fun. We now prioritize date nights once a month and date weekends twice a year.
It is easy to allow business and life commitments to take over everything. Rather than sitting back and letting that happen, consider how you can schedule your social and personal time as efficiently as you schedule your work commitments.
Who do you wish you could put on autopilot to see today?
Dedicated to growing your business,
Val