Being your own boss gives you freedom and flexibility, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.
Being your own boss gives you freedom and flexibility, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.
Staying self-motivated and positive in environments that are often isolating, full of distractions and void of supervisors and set hours is a struggle for many brokers.
Author and life balance consultant Emma Grey suggests four ways you can keep yourself on track.
1. Remember your why
When you're in a slump, it can be easy to find ways to put off your work, or to consider what your life would be like if you decided to work a salary job. Grey stresses these are the times you need to look at the big picture and remind yourself why you got into business in the first place.
"It's incredibly important for us, as business owners, to be able to know and articulate our big why; to be able to understand what drives us and motivates us."
Grey recalls one day when she was feeling particularly unenthusiastic about her business. She sat in front of her computer with a cup of tea and systematically removed everything from her website that produced a "lukewarm" response when she looked at it.
"What I was left with was a core set of products and services that I loved and that I could deliver in a very enthusiastic and manageable kind of way. I focussed on the 'fun' stuff and that really paid off, my motivation skyrocketed."
2. Stop colouring in the title page
Remember back at school when you started a new unit of work and your teacher got all of the students to create a title page to kick things off?
You made a masterpiece, it looked great. But the real work, on the topic you were supposed to be working on, hadn’t yet begun.
Grey likens actions like dissecting plans, tidying your workspace or choosing font colours to perfecting the proverbial title page. Not only does it distract you from the real work while tricking you into feeling as though you’re being productive, it’s also extremely demotivating when you realise you’re nowhere closer to achieving what you want. Which leads me to the next point…
3. Define your goals
When you work for someone else, there is an element of direction or supervision. When you’re your own boss, there’s no one to reprimand or motivate you but you.
As well as yearly and monthly goals, which should be open to adjustment if necessary, Grey recommends daily and hourly goals – but not four page to-do lists.
“I think with that there’s a real trend for us to just tick off the easy little things that make us feel good because we’re able to tick them, but don’t actually launch us towards where we want to be at the end of the day or month or year.
“Pick a number: I find three works for me. I choose three biggish things I want to get done, and if I get them done that’s great, and if I only do one that’s also great because I haven’t been focused on the little bits and pieces that kept me sitting right where I was.”
And if you don’t trust yourself to make sure you can achieve your goals, find a friend who you can.
Grey suggests finding an “accountability buddy”. Whether it’s your partner, someone in a networking group or through an online forum, share your goals. This act alone will help you stick to them.
4. Find your rhythm
One of the best and worst parts about being self-employed is the lack of set hours.
This means you can work when it best suits you and get your most important tasks done at the time of day when you are most productive.
But it also means you may fall into the trap of “always on” business that many brokers struggle with.
“A trap that business owners easily fall into is the feeling of needing to please everyone and fit everyone else’s schedule,” says Grey.
“It’s important to have a policy of what we’re going to say yes to. Be very aware that saying no is giving more meaning to things we often forget, like our health, family, or other parts of your business’ development. We need to teach people how to treat us and educate people around us what we will and won’t accept.”
Having set office hours, and posting these in public places such as your website or email signature, can help to draw the line between work and home, says Grey.
If need be, create a ritual. Grey tells of one woman who would go through the ritual of putting on work clothes, driving around the block and re-entering her house every morning before work, and doing the same in reverse at the end of the working day.
5. End the distractions
Breaks are good. Understanding your rhythms of concentration and periods of best focus, being able to know when you need more sleep, more exercise, or just to do something different, can do wonders for your productivity.
But that doesn’t mean you can spend your day on Facebook, cleaning the house, or taking care of the kids.
Set your hours for breaks and meals, says Grey, just as you would in a standard workplace.
“If you find yourself doing something that wouldn’t fly in a traditional workplace, stop and ask yourself ‘What’s the purpose here? Am I making excuses to avoid tackling a difficult task?’”
Websites and add-ons that limit your time on time-draining websites – ie Facebook, are great tools for time management, says Grey.
If you find yourself with some downtime, don’t let yourself feel guilty for going for a walk, meeting up with a friend or whatever it is that helps you clear your head – just make sure you’re not putting off the things that will really help you achieve your goals.
Emma Grey presented these tips through a webinar hosted by the micro business community flyingsolo.com.
