Spiders, productivity, and I guess I’m writing about entrepreneurship after all
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged with multiple income streams, productivity, self-employment on 06/11/2010 02:35 pm by NicoleOkay, this is not the follow-up post to my previous post about entrepreneurship vs. the 9-to-5. Sorry. I know I promised it like, a week ago, to be written the next day. And yes, Aly, I know you’re dying for the next installment. Mom and Barbara have been haranguing (how is that even supposed to be spelled? I’m a former spelling-bee champ, but I have no idea. And it’s Friday afternoon, so, no, I’m not going to go get the dictionary to look that one up,) me about it too. Sorry ladies. And everyone else. I’ll write it early next week. Finger-crossie promises.
It’s my blog. I can write about what I want.
And what do I want to write about?
I don’t know. Stress, I guess. It’s been a terribly. stressful. week. Which I didn’t know that you could have when there are neither bosses nor deadlines present in your life, and your family isn’t nearby, and your life is primarily filled with beautiful weather, bicycling, and your sweetheart.
Actually, I think I’m stressed because of the lack of both. As referenced in my post about why I need a boss, I find one of the biggest challenges to trying to start my own business/freelancing is being my own task master. (Okay, so I guess I am going to write about entrepreneurship today. Who knew?) It’s really a struggle for me to get stuff done. Like write promised blog posts. Or do things I know I need to do for my business but OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE LAWN. IT NEEDS TO BE MOWED. NOW. See?
Barbara Winter talks about this in her workshops. It’s really easy when you’re working form home to feel productive because you cleaned the entire house, organized the last 10 years’ tax documents, or made your sweetheart a gourmet dinner and mowed his lawn. (Not a metaphor. And yes, I’m really excited that the freaking lawnmower is fixed. Apparently.) But the reality is, you’re not working. You might be being productive, but it’s still just productive procrastination.
And hence, an entire week has gone by without an article written or a blog posted. I did a couple of interviews. And, admittedly, I had to deal with things like a broken car and spider infestation (hence the stress. Like whoa. SPIDERS. EVERYWHERE. IN MY BEDROOM. NOT OKAY.) and these things take up time and energy. Oh, and money. That I don’t have. More stress. (Shout-out to Jon: thanks for the help on the car, bro!)
But I also know my lack of work-related productivity is primarily due to the fact that I haven’t given myself a schedule, or an editorial calendar, or even written down goals. So, starting Monday, I’m going to try doing some of those things. Why not this weekend? Well, as luck would have it, there’s a wedding. No, not my wedding. (Karl, deep breaths.) And the rehearsal dinner is at Karl’s folks’ place. And I am now apparently coordinating it. So, little busy. Lots of fun. Also the World Cup starts like, now, so productivity is at a standstill until that’s no longer a novelty.
If you have ways to schedule, keep yourself on task, etc. I would love to hear them. Help me out readers, PLEASE SHARE! What do you do to manage your time and productivity?
June 11th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Ok so… This is even better than a followup to the last post because I just quit my job and I’m really worried about my time management when I’m self-employed again. Especially being in Peru, I have a feeling I will justify everything since i’m well, in Peru. But you’re right it’s productive procrastination! Maybe not even! So please, readers of Nicole’s blog. What are your time management secrets!!!
June 11th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Ah, Nicole. It’s always a pleasure to watch the evolution of entrepreneurial thinking. And you may also recall having heard me say (or not) that one of the gifts (not always welcome) of self-employment is mastering self-discipline. And self-esteem. And self-motivation.
Here’s something that will make it easier. Start a list of all the rewards you anticipate will be yours as a hot entrepreneur…you could even add things like, “paying someone to mow the lawn.” When a distraction shows up, grab your list and realize that giving in to the distraction will only postpone those rewards. That usually gets you back in touch with your real priorities. In other words, a sparkling bathroom may not be at the top of your rewards list.
June 11th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Thanks again for helping us out this week. I know the story of productive procrastination all to well! When I feel myself slipping into this trap, I gently remind myself that my business is what I want to do, and what I enjoy doing. Otherwise, I would still be working for someone else. This usually is enough to motivate me to get back to designing. I also keep running lists of project and tasks for my business taped to my computer, that way they are always in front of me. I also keep my most pressing projects on my everyday list to remind me to actually do work, and not just housework. I have learned not to feel guilty about doing work over housework too. You can’t let yourself feel guilty about dishes, because dishes will be there. Your creativity and passion are what feed your spirit and make you, you. If this part of YOU doesn’t get “fed” then you certainly won’t have energy dishes at the end of the day.
Looking forward to your upcoming articles
June 12th, 2010 at 12:00 am
Barbara, great advice! I too struggle with keeping on track to complete projects. (Sorry daughter I think you inherited the ENFP personality and its challenges from me.) I like Barbara’s idea of listing the rewards you will reap with your entrepreneurial success.
I use a 3 month at a time white board calendar and plot out the various projects and give them due dates. That way I can see my progress from week to week. Maybe a large visual like that would be helpful for you. Every time I walk into my home office, I see the board and it does motivate me to work rather than get distracted on household chores or losing myself on the internet.