Man, being a leader makes you busy. When I begin to think of all the things on my plate, I begin to wonder how I’m able to fit everything into my week.
From leading youth to leading in the workplace to writing this blog to taking care of my body and relationships, life is busy.
Do you feel the same way? Does your work ever feel like it’s creeping into your relationships even though you’d rather it didn’t?
I’m guessing that’s the case. You feel overwhelmed because of your leadership responsibilities. And you feel the strain on your relationships.
But what can you do to maintain good personal relationships when you’re busy leading? There’s a few things I want you to focus on. Applying these actions to the relationships in your life will help you maintain a balance between work and personal relationships.
How To Maintain Good Personal Relationships When You’re Busy Leading
Set proper boundaries:
I harp on this action a lot. Because proper boundaries are important. If you don’t have boundaries, you don’t have control over the activities and relationships you’re letting into your life and schedule.
By setting boundaries, you can create extra pockets of time for you to work on personal relationships. You can spend time playing baseball with the guys because you’ve created a work boundary. The work boundary you created tells you to shut off your cell phone at 7 PM and not answer any work-related issues (unless they’re mission-critical) until 6 AM in the morning.
This frees you up to concentrate on your friendships and family. The power of boundaries is powerful.
Make time for relationships:
On top of setting boundaries, you have to make time for the personal relationships that matter to you. You have to choose between certain friends, as much as that sucks, to focus on the friends you want for life.
This means saying no to after-hour work outings. Saying no to events that won’t allow you to spend personal time with your friends. And saying no to lounging around the house.
Personal relationships take time to build. You have to put in the time to grow your relationships.
Be sure you’re setting aside and making time for relationships in your life.
Call or text:
Sometimes you can’t carve out the additional time to meet face-to-face with your friends. This doesn’t mean you can’t stay in touch with them.
Send a quick text letting them know you’re thinking of them. Ask how the kids are doing or what’s new and exciting in your life.
Or make a 5-minute phone call to see how they’re doing. The sound of your voice will be a welcome sound.
You can never underestimate the power of a call or text. Especially if it comes at the right time.
When you begin to actually focus on relationships, your relationships begin to flourish. Choose to make time for your friends.
Your friends are going to be the ones who have your back on a bad day. They’re going to stick up for you when you’re being attacked. And they’re going to be the family you choose.
Never forget how important personal relationships are for a leader. Don’t be one of the approximately 70% of leaders who feel lonely in their leadership.
You can and must form strong personal relationships outside of the workplace.
