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.
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?
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.
@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.
Great article, I can relate. I have been self-employed for three years now, and I discovered it was nothing like I thought it was going to be, I had to work harder in the beginning, but the big difference is I enjoy what I do. I have become smarter and discovered a lot about myself. Building something from scratch is hard work, and you are right there has to be structure and routine. The hardest thing I had to fight was creating bad habits and once formed bad habits are hard to break, but through routine and structure they can be broken and replaced with good habits. Nice Post!!!
not so easy..
Thank you @kaylinart for this informative and well structured post. I have a lot to learn about structure but i'm taking small steps in the right direction. My routine is get up, clean my mouth, tongue then drink 50cl-150cl of pure water. After that just go outside for a moment to get some fresh air. If the weather is nice I go for a swim in the sea which feels sooo rejuvenating, doesn't matter what state i'm in before. I usually don't eat anything before afternoon and if I do I make my own cold pressed juices from with fruit and greens or I just go for high water content food as fruit. It's called breakfast for a reason, it's when you break your fast and many people feel tremendous benefits when prolonging the duration of the fast. Try it out to see how it feels, works great for me! Steem on!
This post received a 2.8% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @kaylinart! For more information, click here!
Nice post and so true.
Please follow me @patricksanlin and upvote. Thanks
No kidding... you have to be extremely disciplined
Right? It can be hard but so worthwhile.
I resigned from work and stand to be self employed. I never regret to be my own boss.
Right? I feel the same way! It's so rewarding.
I really appreciate thoughtful (and perhaps more importantly, useful) posts like this and I look forward to seeing more of your content in the future. Hoping you’ll follow so we can connect and continue to evolve and learn from each other! Remember, be yourself, because nobody else does it better -- Full #Steem ahead @kaylinart :)
Much ❤
@Tayken
Jeez, I know the feeling! I've always wanted freedom and to work for myself. But now, I'm almost begging for a bit of structure, regular hours, someone to manage me/my work (to a degree) and a particular place to go to. This all sounds suspiciously like a job ;). I definitely prefer to be my own boss (when things are going well, for sure) but there are certainly growing pains. Some sort of routine and balance are vitally important. All part of the process I guess! :)
Self-employed / Independent Contractor as Software Developer... often working from home. These suggestions are spot on... Great Article!
Thank you :)
Been self- employed myself before and it is more stressful that's for sure. I have a mate and it nearly sent him over the top once. Good article thanks mike
I became a self employed just 4 years ago. At the start it was hard, but step by step everything is better now ;)
Very interesting and useful content ^_^
I'm glad you are self employed too :) It is really hard in the beginning.
As self emploeyd I recognize this. I have to get out of the house, otherwise I would snack on something every five minutes, LOL!
Right? I'm the same way at times XD
Just do
woow ....good post
Those are some great tips for people working from home.I hope to apply this to my schedule.I find myself working late nights and snacking all the time. Thanks for sharing.
Got to have the structure if I plan to accomplish anything. Good suggestions. Wish you well on your endeavors. 🐓🐓
great advice, I'll pasd this along to my fiance he needs the advice.
Absolutely right, I myself resigned from my two jobs on 20th April and I had no routine, still don't have one but will make soon.
However, I used to smoke like 10 cigarettes a day when I was employed but the day I resigned, I realized that smoking is something that makes a person lazy, so instead of smoking 10, I now smoke 5 cigarettes and will quit it foe sure!
Other than that, I guess it's great to work for your own business rather than for a CEO who doesn't care about your dreams!
After 6 months working from home I decided to rent an office space.
Turned out to be a really good decision for me and it helps with some of these issues you are describing.
I rented a small space with two other people (doing their own business).
It´s great to have someone to talk to during the day and we help each other with good routines. Especially when it comes to food! :) I´d eat out/snack all the time if it werent for them. Now instead we eat together, usually healthy stuff.
Thanks for a great post!
Amazing article, congratulations!
I would love to add a few things if you don't mind, since I've been a freelancer for a while now and I used all kind of methods to keep myself productive and ready to work any time.
I'll share a few tips that may help others, and who knows, I may even write an article about this topic:
Split your work into different tasks, and focus on achieving them every single day. I did that a few years ago and this allowed me to take multiple breaks throughout the day. The "snacks" problem can be easily fixed by getting something really light to eat in your small breaks. For example after each tasks I take around 5 minutes break to get a drink and eat something.
As you said, take free days in order to refresh yourself and break the routine. I usually take weekends. I work less on Fridays than other days, but I do not work at all Saturday and Sunday. This helps me keep fresh when I have too many things to do and also regain the energy to continue working for the following week.
When having a routine, one of the things you can do is try to identify the tasks that you need to do every single day, and find ways to do them faster without wasting too much energy on them.
Automate things. Learning how to use a computer at a basic level and automate things can save you a lot of time. Each day I need to promote design packages I made for Graphic River on several social media platforms, and instead of getting on each website myself every single day, I created a very simple CMD script that gets me on all the websites I need with one click. I save a lot of time this way.
Combine working smart with working hard, and you'll get more rewards than doing each of those things individually.
Anyway, thank you for the article, good job and best of luck!
Very nice Yummy...:)
Love the post! I see you are a fellow Utah resident.
Oh, how I look forward to one day worrying about these issues you presented in this post! :)
Thanks for a very inspiring read and I would agree with most of it haha. Snacks can come in many forms - a bowl of grapes or watermelon cubes score over peanut butter for example. High sugar foods and foods harder to digest after a short lived energy burst just dull your responses and create fatigue so no sort of aid to work or life. Check your peanut butter is sugar free as most are full of sugar.
To be successfully self employed or successfully alive for that matter, ones diet plays a vital role in assisting energy, stamina and brain function to name but 3
I am now following you for more quality posting. Thanks very much
Recently graduated and still looking for employment. Self-employment is my goal. Upvoted. follow me if you can
It's horrifying in how many things I recognized myself. 😱
Everything is it's trade off. The best is the freedom that you get from self-employment. These are great tips.
You do a great job with your title "hooks" because they make me click every time. That is the mark of a good independent journalist or blogger.
The biggest thing that stops me from trying to go self-employed is the cost of insurance. It is outrageous to try and get health insurance on your own. the sad thing is I know I have what it takes to do it.
I just started steemit today and had the chance to read this amazing piece of advice @kaylinart! I personally am wanting to start a business after graduate school and found your writing really helpful :) Got to follow and can't wait to see more of these in the future!
becoming self employed is the first step to your personal freedom. The system is designed to get a job and work your a** off for a big company to stack millions, no matter how many burned out workers/ modern slaves they have.
I quit my job in 2015 and working almost the same skills as a freelancer as what I did as a job. Earning 3 times as much as before having way more freedom.
Stay on that road, the brave will be rewarded
Solid advice!
Excellent article and great lessons you can only get from doing it. Thank you for the insight. Sometime I think my drive to be self employed as well as others I know can become a bit romantic in how we think its going to be. I appreciate very much your article.
Love the stats at the end. Impressive, but it certainly means you worked to earn it. May we all reach a level as you have achieved...
Up-voted.
Some people have opinion that becoming self-employed is meaned we walk outside mainstream, also we make speculation for this choice, we could lose our possession (material). Nice posting :)