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As an entrepreneur, it’s super easy to get into a busy”ness” mode, thinking you’re getting a ton of work done. Before you know it, it’s noon and not much has happened yet! Have you felt that way?
I know first hand how easy it is to let distractions get in the way. When I first started in my home business, my kids were 6 and 10 and I thought I could work 9 am to 3 pm while they were in school.
What a great concept! However, when the family chores started piling up, guess what happened? You got that right… I put off my business (that really needed my attention) and used the daily chores as my excuse to get out of doing it. Then the evening hours were caught up in kids’ sports, dinner with the family, homework, laundry, bedtime, etc.
I never had enough time to do what was necessary to achieve the level of success I desired – even with the kids in school full time. Do you get the picture? Does it sound familiar?
Mompreneurs are very driven to get things done and end up doing it all. Only to realize later on that it has a huge effect on our lives. Most women don’t recognize this early enough. I thought it was normal to be everything, do everything and make everyone happy.
Being your own boss of your home business is great (seriously, there is nothing better) but it has many challenges. I set out to replace my corporate income, and eventually, by year 2, I did it. Here are 3 habits I created, so distractions would no longer rule my life.
1. Structure
I said goodbye to my non-structured environment and set hours for my home business. I actually blocked time in 15, 30 or 60 minutes bursts. I even used a timer to make sure I stuck to the time frame. I made my calendar the boss of me and only worked on the MIT’s (most important things). It was treating my business like I was an employee and worked specific hours, which actually made it feel less overwhelming.
2. Get it Right From The Start
I maximized my time after getting my daughter to her daily swim practice at 5:30 am. I used to spend this time chatting with other swim moms, scrolling through facebook or answering emails putting me in a more reactionary mindset for the rest of the day which is a really hard habit to break. Now I spent the time waiting for her on me in meditation and journaling. Prioritizing ‘me’ time was a great way to start the day off in the right mindset.
3. Do It Now
I decided to become a ‘do it now’ person so that I could crush procrastination and get sh*t done. I outsourced tasks that I knew I could pay someone else to do. Like hiring a cleaner, personal chef, and other such tasks. I realized doing household chores was eating away time I could use to create my business income and this was not serving me or my family.
Changing daily habits takes discipline when you’re a home business entrepreneur and it can be a real ‘pain’ at times. I had to become my own tough boss!
One thing I knew for sure, the rewards of working around my kid’s schedule so we could have more family time was my reason for taking the risk of self-employment. It was my ‘why’. Connecting back to your why is so important when you’re trying to make big changes.
Everyone’s “why” is intensely personal. For me it was after the loss of our second child at birth, it felt like our world was falling apart. Add in being the spouse of an airforce pilot whose career had us moving all over the country (and overseas). I made a decision at that time to get off the treadmill of a corporate career & spend more time with our kids to make a better family life than before.
If you’re a Mompreneur (or even working long hours for someone else) and feel like your juggling too many balls in the air, then do this one thing – tap into your why. It will help give you direction on what you want to do now and in the future.
Don’t forget to find a structure that works for you and get in the habit of “doing it now”. And never underestimate the power of a morning routine that starts you off with the right mindset. Being your own boss means finding the right balance between staying flexible AND staying accountable to your business goals.
I would love to hear how YOU structure your days so you can stay focused or your non-negotiable morning routine that gets you ready to face whatever the day brings.
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