Feel like you're living here?
Confession time. I used to live in a blender.
Not your run-of-the-mill kitchen type. Oh no, I was busier than that. My days -those 24 hour periods we mark on the calendar -were a blur of activity. Can you say “constant motion?”
Back then, I ran my business from an office-studio a few miles from home. I’d head to the studio, do some work there; head back to the house and finish some work there. I’d grab lunch. Do the dishes. Check and answer e-mail. Update my website. Run back to the studio for awhile. Record audio. Dash back home to eat dinner. work on a column, re-check and answer email. Head to bed and lay there thinking about tomorrow’s schedule. And then…
Start all over again.
There wasn’t time for rest and rejuvenation … I had a business to run and a ton of things to do. And then I dumped the office and the studio, built a studio at home and took over an empty bedroom for my office. I thought I might better split “work” and “everything else” more effectively.
Hah!
If this sounds like you –on the go 24/7, running from this project to that -livin’ in the blender and always busy, then stop. You’re not doing yourself or your blood pressure any favors. If you want to live to enjoy the fruits of your labor, it’s important that you control your schedule, don’t let it control you.
Here are a few tips for making your body clock work for you – and not putting yourself on the road to burnout in the process.
Set working hours and observe them, no matter what. It’s how the 9-5 world works. Treat yourself as if you were an employee in a ‘real’ business (which, in reality, you are) and as if you had a strict boss to please (which, in reality, you do… you).
Work during those hours and not outside them. For example, you can set “office hours” from 8 am to 5 pm. Let your clients, family, and friends know your hours of operation. And stick to ‘em. Too many times, I’ve had the phone ring when I’m wrapped up in a project only to have a friend ask, “Whatcha doin’?”
The reward to establishing working hours is simply that you know when your work day is done. You can relax and unwind without the distraction of your business. Plus, you’re be forced to use those time management skills which were so essential when you worked for someone else.
Establish a Routine. Very often, the flexibility of working at home can deteriorate into disorder and chaos, which usually leads to longer hours and less socialization. It doesn’t matter what hours you set. A well-established routine allows you to work when you’re at your best and helps you get more done. Really.
In the spring and summer, a friend of mine used to find that she never had time to do what she loves to do – play out in her garden. Just like a kid looking out the school window on a sunny day, she’d find herself distracted and less able to get her work done. She works odd blender-type hours but now tries to schedule “no-brainer” work, such as e-mails, blogs and such, for first thing in the morning; creative work and client meetings for after lunch, and play time a couple hours before dinner. She still checks e-mail before bed (don’t we all?) but she’s workin’ on that.
Be Realistic. You really do have to take a realistic look at yourself, your capabilities and limitations, and be alert for signs of burn out or increased stress. Maybe you’re like me -someone who has periods of incredible productivity followed by times when nothing much can be accomplished. If so, accept it, and work around it.
In other words, control your schedule and you can get the work done that needs to be done, and still have time and energy to enjoy what it is you’re working for.
