Would you rather have to listen to your spouse conduct a 4th zoom meeting for the day or conduct your 4th zoom meeting of the day?
Would you rather stare at your spouse’s desk collection of dirty water cups and coffee mugs or build a wall partition so you can happily ignore it.
Sheltering in place has forced many people to spend more time than ever with their partners. Gone are the evenings of sharing your day since you mostly shared every moment already. We’re all spending so much time with our significant other that it’s difficult to find connection. If distance really does make the heart grow fonder, what’s happening to our hearts during this time of sheltering in place together?
We’re all fumbling through our current circumstances and many of us are woefully unprepared for the strain on our relationships. But, it is possible to leverage this time of extreme togetherness to create stronger partnerships, businesses, and careers. When your personal and professional lives intersect, it’s time to look to those who’ve been doing it for a while.
Liz and Ben Bohannon have been married AND working together full-time building Sseko Designs for over a decade and have discovered some tips for creating space for connection when space is hard to come by. Here are their top three tips for building a business and a marriage in quarantine.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
We all have personal and professional strengths, but our partners don’t always get to see the professional side of what we’re good at. If you and your spouse are working together in a professional capacity, it’s time you get to know where they can naturally pull the most weight and cater each of your roles to those. Know the areas of your expertise and the areas where you might be better suited to play a “consultant” or advisor role.
ESTABLISH SOME BOUNDARIES
When you work and live together, it can feel as if the work never ends. It will help for you both to establish some boundaries around when tasks, work conversations, and professional decision making is appropriate. Maybe you create a “No work talk at the dinner table” rule or a “No work meetings past 7 pm” rule. Whatever this looks like for you, finding some safe place to disengage together is important. Asking for permission to talk about work during non-working hours has been a good rule for Ben and Liz and helps them know and respect one another’s boundaries while also acknowledging that sometimes you can’t control when certain topics or issues arise.
BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT YOUR QUALITY TIME
Don’t mistake time for quality time. Just because you’re spending all your time together doesn’t mean that it takes the place of intentional quality time. Even when you’re in the same space, your minds and attention are elsewhere. So, carve out a bit of time to completely focus on your partner. Try and find something exciting to do together that is completely different from your jobs or business. Even if it’s cooking a meal together, playing a card game, or talking about a book.
DREAM BIG
One of the most exciting things about building a business with your partner is the shared excitement for the future. Your business “why” can be shared and your determination and commitment to building a successful business is mutual. When you have a shared vision and you know that you’ll be able to experience it together, the work, sacrifice, and effort all becomes worth it.
If you’d like to hear from Liz and Ben directly, they’re going live on Facebook TONIGHT to share their practical tips for staying connected, playing to their strengths, and creating boundaries for work and life.
They’ll also speak to how many couples are running a Sseko business together from their own home and how you and your spouse can do it too!
Join us for this candid conversation on how to create space for a successful business and marriage when it doesn’t seem like there is any.