Not quite firing on all cylinders

We can have it all right? Well... maybe... just not all at once!

Many of you have read the famous Anne-Marie Slaughter article where she was one of the first to come out and say women can't have it all.

There was lots of pushback and dismay that we have to make sacrifices... and yet many of us pushed on.

Here is another take on the same message, albeit written by a man.

The Four Burners Theory asks you to imagine that your life is like a stove with 4 burners on it - family, friends, health and work. 

It suggests that in order to be successful you have to turn off one of your burners. And to be really successful you need to turn off two.

The premise being by putting your energy and focus into a smaller number of areas you'll make greater progress, faster. Trade offs and compromise is what will get you results.

Yes, you can try and outsource, you can change your mindset around the constraints or you can take a seasonal view, knowing that where you are today isn't where you have to stay forever.

The most common burners to be turned off by women have to be friends and health. We almost always put ourselves last. We rarely find time to exercise or for self-care. We catch up with friends over text on our commute while we're also sending emails in another beautiful example of multi-tasking craziness.

How long can we go on like this ladies?

How long can we keep pumping in more gas before we, literally, burn out.

Although I can see merit in being realistic about our circumstances, I'm a believer that we need to assess these burners as an entire family unit. Rather than it, once again, being the sole responsibility of the women to do everything, what if we found balance between two adults, or even more if you have a supportive family.

What if your partner gave a large part of his gas to the family burner? I'm not talking about taking cuddles away from you, but instead doing more pick ups, drop offs, lunchboxes, taxiing here there and everywhere.

What if you could restructure your work day, so your health became a part of it, rather than a competitor to it? For heavens sake if Barrack Obama, as US President, could find time in his schedule to make it to the gym every day then surely you can too!

It's a matter of being in control of your mind and building the life you want, on your terms.

Isn't it time you took a step back and took stock of where your burners really are firing?

Book a call with me and we'll talk about your gas levels in all facets of your life, before you literally, burnout.