I once found a notebook of my grandmother’s where she wrote her shopping lists, to-do lists and telephone numbers for friends with reminders of birthdates, anniversaries, and other notes. The first thing that jumped out at me was, how many fewer things there were on any of her to do lists than on mine. At the same time my grandmother didn’t work outside of the home, so one whole section of my to-do list, the work to-do list, wasn’t there. But even in the household and social to-dos area, there just seemed to be a lot fewer. I think that technology is responsible for a good deal of this. Instead of sitting down to compose letters to a couple of people in a day, I write dozens upon dozens of emails, Facebook messages and text message every day. A phone call for grandma was a social affair that could last a half hour to an hour. She was someone who frequently visited friends in person and because she had an incredible rose garden, she often brought fresh flowers to friends in the hospital or in their own homes. In my own life, I have interactions with so many more people, but each one is shorter, less involved, and probably less impactful than each one of hers.
But when you are a freelancer or an entrepreneur or if you run a small business, there are usually far more things on your to-do list than you can possibly get done in one day. So when you are starting out, trying to do ALL THE THINGS, how on earth do you still manage to take time for yourself, do some self-care, destress and relax so you don’t burn out?
Meliss Jakubovic has a great approach to working in what many would consider self-care, by making those activities income streams for herself and her family. While she focuses much of her workday on her main income stream, Meliss Marketing, she gets her own yoga sessions in by instructing others in the evenings and on weekends. Another one of her personal loves is Traditional Israeli Dancing. She doesn’t manage to work this in all the time, but whenever there are festivals or performances in her local area she participates usually by doing the choreography and dance instruction for others. She also loves both traditional and more contemporary Israeli music, so she gets her fill by DJing events and getting paid to be there. Even the marketing that she now does for others in the health and wellness arena, she started out by doing for her own health and wellness coaching business.
When I spoke with Meliss and she told me how many different businesses and roles she juggles, along with being the single mother of two young boys, I was in awe. But when she went on to explain how much all of these different activities filled her with joy and reduced her stress, it made sense. Especially when she told me that her boys do both the yoga and the dancing right along with her so they are really family activities as well as being soul-nourishing and income producing.
What a revelation! If you are going to be doing it regularly anyway, why not get a certification and teach the sessions instead of paying to participate? It got me thinking about the things in my life that I do to rejuvenate and restore myself, wondering if I could possibly turn one into an additional income stream. The main thing I came up with was walking a few extra dogs on my daily dog walk with my two golden retrievers. At the moment this is just an idea, but who knows, if I follow in Meliss’ steps, I may figure out a way.
Do you have an activity or practice that you do for yourself but also teach to others? Have you found a way to turn something you love into an extra income stream? Want to hear my entire conversation with Meliss Jakubovic? You can find that right here. And if you would like to learn more about Meliss, click here.