How does Lisa Rusczyk balance family and business?

 

I recently was asked this question from the internet. I don’t really balance family and business. I think balance sounds like everything gets the same amount of time and attention every day, and that is not how real life works for me. Some days my family needs more. Some days my health needs more. Some days the business gets more of my energy. Instead of trying to make everything equal, I have tried to build a business and a home life that are flexible enough to move with my real life.

One of the best decisions I made was creating work that does not depend on constant meetings. I do not like having my day filled with scheduled calls, and honestly, family life changes too much for that. Kids get sick. Activities change. Someone needs picked up. Someone needs help. I need to take care of myself too. So I mostly use email, messages, and one-on-one communication. That lets me think, respond when I can, and keep the work moving without having to stop everything for a meeting. Also, my husband is the one with the health insurance so we decided from the beginning that I would pick up these little things that his job is not flexible enough to do. 

The people I work with are all around the world, and I try to respect that they have families, schedules, time zones, and real lives too. I do not expect everyone to work the same way at the same time. We communicate through messages, email, and sometimes private Facebook groups where we can share ideas and updates. It feels more like a team than a traditional office. Believe me, sometimes people get upset they I don't communicate online, but that is not my prefered method. 

I also use technology and systems as much as I can. Walmart brings a lot of the food we make, and sometimes I buy more prepackaged food even though it costs more, because it saves time and energy. I have robot vacuums for each floor of my house on timers, an automatic pool vacuum, an automatic lawnmower, and even an automatic window washer. The lights in our house turn on and off automatically. Our garage door can shut automatically too. These things may sound small, but they add up. Every task that technology can help with gives me back a little more time and energy.

I also believe in getting help where it matters. I have people help clean the bathrooms and kitchen once a month because those are jobs that take energy I might need for something else. I would rather use that time to rest, take care of my family, or work on something creative than spend every free moment cleaning. That does not mean the house is perfect. It means I have accepted that I do not have to do everything myself.

I am lucky that I created a business that allows this. I can work from home, help my daughters, take care of my health, support my husband, and still keep creating books and ideas that help other people. It is not always neat. It is not always balanced. But it works because the business and the house were built around flexibility, systems, and support.

Family changes all the time. Children grow. Their needs change. Health changes. Activities change. What worked one year might not work the next. So I try to build systems that can change with us. That is really how I manage family and business. I do not try to balance them perfectly. I create space for both, and when I have to choose, my health and my family come first.