I Rock My Heels With Pant Suits!

This post comes to my FAB dolls in response to a great deal of attention both culturally and nationally on the highs and lows of being a 21st century working woman! Being of African decent, the importance of education, independence and success has always been stressed. However, as some of us enter our career fields we begin to realize the challenges of balancing our careers with 'everything else'.
A coworker recently told me; "It's interesting, because women today have grown up to be just like their mothers AND just like their fathers"

With the challenging economic times, many people are not only relying upon their 9-5 to make ends meet but are often taking the entrepeneural route to invest in or start up their own businesses- aka you now have a second job from 5pm-2am; you are now working weekends; and thanks to technology you are now working at the dinner table, in the bed and on vacation! Many of us have come to accept that; "There's no such thing as a work-life balance, there's work and there's life, there's no balance" (Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook)

But, can we make it work? In response to this article based on a discussion with Alexa Von Tobel (CEO of personal finance company LearnVEST) I decided to make a few simple rules to help me find a balance and would like to share them with my FAB dolls who proudly rock their heels with pant suits!

1. Create a 5 year plan! Make one that is not only career driven but also takes into consideration your personal life. I created a vision board as well to keep me motivated along the way

...This isn't my board, but you get the idea!


2. Find a hobby! Whether it's running, writing, reading or volunteering- find an activity that can keep you grounded and forces you to step away from the 'work' (try to avoid hobbies that are harmful to your health such as drinking or the consumption of copious amounts chocolate!) My mother and I signed up for kickboxing with @TigerSchulmanns
at the beginning of the year, it's a great opportunity to bond, relieve stress and get in a great workout!

3. Make a schedule! Just as corporate America functions on the '9-5' concept (even though most of us end up working 8-6) Select a consistent time frame to take care of your investments and additional business ventures, and make sure you close up shop! (switch off the Blackberry) Select a time frame such as dinner time or a day over the weekend to spend time with your family and friends. At that time they should be all that you're thinking about (iPhones are allowed, for instagramming purposes only). It's all about time management and balance! My girls and I take an annual girls trip once a year, we love going abroad especially because none of our phones are on!

4. Live within your means! Half of our stress tends to be financial, and although retail therapy is a great stress reliever, make sure you stay within your budget. Mix and match a few items in your closet instead of buying a new outfit every time you go to a party, accessorize differently, buy transitional outfits that can be worn in any season, AND avoid posting EVERY outfit you wear on Facebook (you can wear it again as long as noone's seen it). But, the main point here is BUDGET! Sit with a financial advisor and create your financial goals, a savings plan and a loans/credit card repayment plan! If you have a significant other, make sure he's on board with your financial plan as well!

5. Take a spiritual journey! I think that we are often moving so fast through life, that we tend to forget to look within and humble ourselves. Whether it's through prayer, meditation or simply taking a moment to appreciate your blessings...Take it all in...Eat, Love & Pray! We learn so much about ourselves when we look internally.

....Not like this.


More like this ....

...Or this...

6. Be present in the moment! If you say you are going to be somewhere, BE THERE! You have to set the boundaries in your life otherwise you will wear yourself out before you can even reap the benefits of your hard work.

Let's try not to be too much like Diane in Tylers Perry's "Why Did I get Married?"

...Clearly I'm still working on this one.

I would never tell my FAB dolls to slow down, because frankly the world is not going to slow down for us. You have to take the time however to draw your own picture as to how you would like your life to look and only you can create the plan to get yourself there. "I think where balance comes from is actually liking your job, because then work blends with play, and play blends with work, and it makes it a lot easier. I feel like I have a life because I really like my job."-Alexa Von Tobel

FAB dolls continue to aim high and base your vision on how you want to live & not on what you've learnt to live with!

Stay FAB!
Love&Light,

SiSi