To find out the power of time blocking, I asked Shiela Mie Legaspi, the President at Cyberbacker, how she uses this tool to balance work and family. Overseeing Cyberbacker, a service platform that provides virtual administrative services from across the globe to anyone anywhere, and being a mom and wife, Shiela has a busy schedule. In our interview below, find out how to time block your day as she does to help with career and parenting.
Disclosure: This sponsored interview focuses on the benefits of effectively time blocking your day for work-life balance.
Interview with Shiela Mie Legaspi
Thank you for taking the time for this interview on time blocking to help with career and parenting, Shiela Mie. Let’s get to it!
As a mom and executive, what challenges do you see for mothers in the workplace?
It is too hard for a Mom to see [their] kids being sick, it is even more difficult to have to go to work leaving the kids behind. You can’t give your 100% undivided attention when you keep thinking about the kids.
What are some examples of business skills moms learn from raising their children?
The ability to over-communicate the vision and in different ways when necessary. When raising children, most of the time, we have to teach them repetitively until they get it right, and sometimes we have to be creative on how we teach them, we may have to sing, dance, or do some acrobats to make it a fun, enjoyable and meaningful experience for them.
Why is it necessary for moms to achieve a healthy work/life balance?
Moms are so busy doing everything that they may feel overwhelmed and overbooked, thus potentially leading to exhaustion or burnout. Maintaining rapid counterbalance helps them to stay productive and be the best they can at work and as a Mom.
When my work requires most of my time, energy, and effort, even on weekends, I make sure that I don’t lean too far away from my role as a wife and a Mom. We also schedule a time where we take the kids out or go on a short vacation.
What is time blocking, and how can it be a valuable tool for working moms?
Time blocking is the most productive way of ensuring that what has to be done gets done. Time blocking lets you focus on activities that matter most in hitting both your personal and professional goals.
Is this something to do daily?
It is pertinent that we do this in a daily basis. It is very easy to get sidetracked when you don’t time block your activities.
What are some tips to effectively time block the day?
- Time Block your Vacation/Time Off
- To function better, you need some time to be more rested, more relaxed and in return be more productive. Time blocking your vacation ahead of time, also gives you more time to plan about it and allows everyone you work with to plan accordingly.
- Time Block your activities which yield the highest return of your time and revenue
- We can be distracted with Email alerts, queries from colleagues, projects/task updates, and so much more. We can be busy in a day with things that do not matter, but when it does, we will be productive.
- Time Block your Thinking Time
- This is when you assess where you are currently and where you want to be. Thinking time also allows you to ask great questions and come up with great answers.
Thank you for sharing your career tips, Shiela Mie!
Achieving work/life balance is often easier said than done. It requires change and effectively using tools like time blocking. Will you put this tool into practice soon?
Connect with Shiela Mie Legaspi online
Find Shiela Mie on social media on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Learn more about Cyberbacker too, where she holds the position of President. The company provides support services to and from anywhere in the world to help business owners grow and succeed.
Top photo courtesy of Shiela Mie Legaspi.