Is it time to fire yourself?
I went out to dinner last night with a couple who owns a computer technology service company. The first comment out of the owner’s mouth was “I work for the meanest man alive (myself). I don’t get days off or even weekends off. I’m always worrying or carrying the business with me.” Can you relate? Owning a business can feel like having a child. You are constantly thinking, working or worrying about it all. In the end, you end up being harder on yourself that any “boss” you ever had.
Well, during this week of Valentine’s love, I thought I’d show you how to love yourself more. So that you can become the best boss you’ve ever had. I mean really, didn’t you start the business because you wanted more freedom, more time and less stress? Now, realistically, it’s not always possible to live that way, but I’m going to give you my “renew your business love” 2 time saving, income-generating strategies for easing the pressure on yourself so that you can start to enjoy your business more and have the energy and passion to go the long haul. Not to mention, you’ll be much more successful this way.
1. Start your day with a “self-loving” morning ritual. Ok, so I have to be honest. Most days, I roll out of bed grab my I-phone and scroll through my e-mails. And it takes everything I’ve got to not get out of bed and start immediately answering them. But here’s the thing – if you check e-mail first thing in the morning, something starts to grow inside your belly, small at first, but then larger – RESENTMENT. Resentment because the first thing you are taking care of is your business and not yourself.
I suggest you create a “morning self-love ritual”. This means that you start your workday firmly at 9:00 or 10:00 AM. And before that hour is all you time. This is a rule you never break – no special meetings, client requests or anything like that. Then create a ritual that you do for yourself every morning. I personally wake up sometime around 7 or 7:30. On some days I putter around, make breakfast, drink lots of water and read chapters from one of my favorite books. On other days, I go to the gym or for a walk. And on other days I stare out the window and stay under the covers. I always spend five minutes deep breathing and meditating. It’s me time and I try to keep it that way.
Here are some other suggestions:
1. Physical: Go to they gym or for a walk. Listen to motivating podcasts or classes while you are moving. I do this one all the time. It’s how I fit in learning with all the teaching I do.
2. Spiritual: Meditate for five minutes. Write down your gratitude list. Write a letter to the universe. Commune with your guides.
3. Mental: Read a chapter of your favorite novel. Pour through a magazine while you eat breakfast. Converse with your family or your partner. Call your best friend.
2. End your day with a “self-loving” nightly ritual. Again, this one is hard to keep. But closing up shop is very important each night. That means closing your computer, putting away your papers and letting go of all the concerns. I had to instill this ritual after realizing that my work was invading my personal time way too much at night and I was starting to feel like I didn’t have a life. If you are someone who struggles with nightmares and worry, this may help.
Make the end of your day at a regular hour, pick a time like 7:00 PM and stick to it. Then start your nightly ritual. First acknowledge yourself. Either on paper or in your head, say “I am glad that I accomplished X, Y, Z today.” The reason this is important is that often as entrepreneurs we don’t get everything done on our to-do list. But we do get a lot done that wasn’t even on the to-do list. So it’s important to acknowledge what did get done, so you don’t beat yourself up over the stuff that you didn’t get to. I do this by actually adding the three things to my to-do list and crossing them off. That gives me lots of satisfaction.
Second, write down the most important tasks/activities that need to get done the next day. The most important tasks are always those that are revenue generating – those that will make you money the fastest. Include your appointments in this list. Realize that if you have 5 client appointments, you aren’t going to get much else done that day. I try to keep my list to 5 or less including client appointments and meetings.
Third, I like to track my numbers. How much revenue did I bring in that day? What was my conversion rate for initial client sessions that day? How many initial meeting did I ask for that day? I write these numbers in my planner for that day.
Fourth, I close all my documents and my computer and I say a little prayer for the intention I would like to create tomorrow in my business.
Over the years, I’ve learned a few things about these rituals. First they require discipline. It’s so much easier to fall back into disarray and do whatever crosses your desk or whatever is easier to do. But you’ll see that the more you stick to a structure, the more your income will grow, and the more ideal clients you will start to attract. For me that has been the motivating factor to keep everything in place. Second, they require that you actually stick to the tasks that have to get done. If you are really going to stop working at 7PM, then you have to prioritize and do the activities that really need to get done first. No facebooking in the middle of the day or getting lost in checking e-mails. No long phone conversations or jaunts to pick up groceries. Focus on your work during your work time so that you can play during your play time. Let me know how this works for you and leave me a comment below.
