How To Suck At Being Self Employed!

in #life7 years ago

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Being self-employed is harder than I imagined. Watching business go from making the good profit to rapidly failing. I have learned a lot, And not necessarily all of the things I learned involve my businesses.

When you become self-employed, you become more aware of yourself, Your habits and thought process. You no longer have a supervisor shoving things down your throat, Whether they are beliefs or other influences. You think you'll be the same person when you are self-employed? Think again!
While my core values and goals in life are the same, It's amazing how much my habits and the way my brain works has changed.
There are some bad habits that I saw myself picking up over the past year That you should avoid.
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AVOID SNACKING

This is a bad one. You are at home working, and you have access to an endless supply of food. You can stop at any moment, Cook yourself something and eat it. you can run the store.
Not only is snacking incredibly distracting, But It can lead to excessive weight gain.
Plus when you are self-employed you can "leave" work anytime you want. Which I'm guilty of. It's so easy to grab a container of peanut butter and munch on it while you work.
Be mindful of how much you are eating in the day. I've resorted to using "Prep COntainers" which I put my meals in. I'm allowed to have three a day right now, But I'm going to eventually cut it back to 2. (Eating Breakfast and lunch Help me lose weight and sleep better).
You need to decide what your dietary needs are, And try to avoid snacking when you aren't supposed to.

Structure, Structure, Structure

Wait... You quit your job so you could get away from structure?
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Well too bad.
The structure is the best way to have a productive day. For those of us who can't handle the structure, Plan to have a couple of days of ultimate freedom where the structure doesn't exist.
I made a mistake when I changed my sleep schedule. So I figured since I'm self-employed I can do what I want right?
So I started staying up AS LONG AS I COULD working. Everyday. Each day I'd stay up a couple of hours later. I'd then get so exhausted I'd "Crash". It was so exhausting, and I thought I was more productive. But it turns out I wasn't. Not only did I wake up extremely tired, But I also couldn't get myself working for a few hours after I woke up. When I have a normal sleep schedule, I can usually start working within a half hour of waking. I realized that Having a structure and a plan for the day made it much easier for me to get things done.

Have A Routine

This is pretty much the same thing as structure.
Routines get boring after a while, but they allow you to save your willpower for the more important aspects of your day. So you aren't wasting time on unimportant things. Such as what you wear etc.
My routine involves getting out of bed and changing into a tank top and shorts which I wear for the day. This outfit is already laying out for me when I wake up, And I have 3-4 Identical outfits for everyday.
It's easy, and I don't have to think about it.
I also go for a run everyday; I don't have to think about it. I just put on my shoes, Change into a short sleeved shirt and go. It's easy.
The routine of doing these things allows me to get the benefit without thinking about it.

Leave the house!

Remember: When you are self-employed. The projects NEVER end! You could write 1,000 books and still have things you want to do. But in the end, You need to have a social life, And you need to get out there. It's not healthy for you to stay locked up at home all the time.
So get out, Go for a walk or meet up with friends. Just do something.
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@lauralemons Drew me!
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Once again, I'm finding your post completely relatable, timely for my current life moment, and super on point. Thank you!

I'm going to take the opportunity, as the boss of myself, to rate my employee (me) in the areas your post outlines:

AVOID SNACKING: Fail (though for good reason)
I seem to be fully in the Obsessive Phase, and though the points you raise about streamlingin time are completely accurate, if I were to limit my snack intake, I might shrivle up into malnourished nothingness, because I'm hardly remembering to eat half of the time.... so maybe I've taken this same issue to the other extreme....

STRUCTURE:
Yeeeeeeah.... this is the area in which I need to regulate my approach the most (is it ironic that this is the overarching regulation area?).... I'm a total link-clicker-wanderer, and I'm constantly diving into something new super in depth instead of focusing on the project at hand. Though, with this awareness, I have been improving slightly each day...

Have a Routine:
See above..... hahahaha :) I'm learning to reward myself, as in yes the dishes need to be done so I'll wash and watch You Tube as my coffee is brewing, and then it's into the Captain Seat (read: orange velvet armchair from which I orchestrate my universe).

Leave the House:
Oh. Yeah. Ummmmm..... sometimes I go outside on the deck....?
I might be overindulging my inner hermit with the excuse that I'm "Working From Home".
Luckily I have dogs that remind me to get the F&%$ OUTSIDE because they don't have the patience for my Cave Dwelling tendencies...

~Stirling

good reply.
Please follow me @patricksanlin and upvote. Thanks

A great post, thanks! I'm in the same position going from a chief-position into self-employment. The responsibilites did not drop and the tasks did not decline. Yet I'm missing one great lesson I have learned in your list:

You should strive to love all the parts of your work. Being self-employed means at least in theory that you can prioritize yourself - therefore I think it is possible to learn to have more fun, and a good way of doing it is to learn to love even the boring parts of being self employed. I have done progress and think others can do to!

I am currently in the middle of deciding whether to shut my business doors or to attempt to sell it. After 12 years of blood sweat and tears, this is an enormously difficult decision... but i feel the time has come for the next chapter in my life... and my writing is definitely high up on that list. Less stress, more passion and happiness all round.

Most people have no clue how hard it is to run your own business. How massively self motivated and controlled you need to be!! It is a wonderfully rewarding but often taxing challenge.

As always... a brilliant read.

Another great post. It's easy to see why your posts are doing well on here. I've been self employed my entire life up until the past 4 years. 4 years of hell lol. Now I'm back on my own business and couldn't agree more with what you've said here.

Especially about structure and routine.

When you stay up thinking you are getting more done it really does hurt the next days productivity.

Great post!

Bad habits that are hard to kick, I am actually building a work out area outside of the house instead of a bedroom just so I can get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air and sun. you would be shocked the amount of time is spent sitting here at the desk (another investment I am making is in a treadmill desk and standing desk) Just flat out sitting for long periods of time is havoc on your body day in and day out.

As per structure I use Trello and just writing a daily to do/ things I need to get done that day or the next on a daily planner (small $20 investment per year makes me 1000% more productive with my time)

So true! Being self employed to me is all about structure and not forgetting I have a life to live and enjoy as well! Well put!

Thank you : )

Exactly, Resteemed!
I too am self-employed and know how that goes! I take my breaks by going outside getting that good vitamin D from the gorgeous sun ;)
Followd
EDIT:
aND in regards to over-snacking, I wish I could ha! I'm so into what I do that I tend to starve myself SMH
I have to force myself to eat. The forex-market has me up on the screen first thing when I get up to then going over all of my accounts and what not. 0nce my work flow settles down, I can start to take care of myself a bit better then what I currently do.

Nice thoughts and tips there. It's my goal to be self-employed in 2 years when my youngest graduates and I can totally see myself slipping into some bad habits. I assume at the end of the day though you are happy you made the change?

I love to be a selfemployed, I wish that i can be boss on myself haha

Definitely not for everyone. And it's not better or worse. Just different than.

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