How do you find the time?

I spoke at the Ragan Corporate Communicators conference recently and although the topic was on social media and PR, one of the biggest questions posed to me during the session was “How do you find the time?” One woman asked me how I find the time to run a company, execute client work, train for a marathon and be a mom and wife.

Hmmm. That is a tough question. I’d like to say “I just do.” But that isn’t totally true. I think the truth is closer to something like, “Well on one day I’ll give up sleep. On another my kids will be with their grandparents so I get extra time to work. On another day my husband might be traveling and I ask the nanny to stay late so I can go run.”

So I guess the answer is – I barter. Every day I barter with my time for friends, family, clients, employees. Some days any one of those very-important-constituents gets more of my time than others. It’s not always good. My husband gets frustrated, I miss out on some of my children’s events. Sometimes clients wonder why they haven’t heard from me.

I saw a quote tonight that I thought fit in well with this struggle we all have. It said something to the effect of “we try our hardest and then say to hell with it.”

All we have to do is keep trying. And don’t feel bad about bartering once in a while.