This morning I woke up and just didn’t want to do anything related to business.  The past couple of days have been hard on a personal level.  Actually my knees have been knocked out from under me.  This happens.  Our personal life comes up and whacks us on the head.

A member of my family has a terminal cancer diagnosis.  The diagnosis came this fall, and we have had some time to get used to the idea, but Tuesday it became REAL. Chemotherapy was withdrawn and the doctor’s office called hospice.  It shouldn’t have been a surprise.  We spend time together, and the increased fragility and decreased strength was very evident.  But it was still shocking.  I just wanted to wallow.

How can I run a business while wallowing?  Hmmm.  I took a minute to think about what my goals and priorities are.

1. My number one priority is spending time with my family and being connected to my family.  My husband and children need to have space to deal with this loss.  How can I help them with that?  I can make sure the bills are paid, and that I have time to spend with them.
2. My second priority is my spiritual life.  Taking time for my spiritual walk is key to handling times like this.  I need to exercise and meditate.  I did that and life looked a little less grim.
3. My third is to those I serve in my business.  I need to be creating quality services and products for my clients.  They don’ deserve the dregs, just because my life is imploding.  Luckily I have processes in place, so on days like today, I don’t have to be at 100% for my clients to be getting good service.

When I get stuck, I take a short period to wallow.  Take time to feel the crap.  It is real.  We need to process it.  Having a daily routine can pull you back into life, for at least a few minutes.  My calendar is my anchor and helped me to recenter today.  I am slogging through the mess.

Having systems in place allows that to not completely derail the business when you have to hit the pause button.

More polished thoughts on this topic will come soon.