Are you acting like an amateur or are you acting like a pro?

Oh, yessss, it’s time for some tough love. Tough self love that will put you on the track to some insane self-improvement.

But only if you take action. 

As an entrepreneur it can be easy to fall into the idea that your ‘schedule’ is extremely flexible or non-existent.

As a work-from-home professional it can be easy to believe you can do whatever you want with your time and still be paid.

 

Sure. You could do that. If your goal is to 1) Lose your job or 2) Never move forward from where you’re at.

You’ve read the articles about what successful people do every day.

You know that if you don’t dedicate one hour toward cardio each morning then you must not be dedicated to your health.

You’re slapped by a vegan-cruelty-free-grass-fed hand that you didn’t eat enough sustainable, ethically grown organic food.

You’ve felt the guilt of balancing an 80 hour work week with enough fun retreats.

 

There’s so many things we are supposed to be doing in and outside of the office/the gym/the home that we get overwhelmed and end up not doing a thing.

How can we start small and grow big? How can we create that discipline to be the person who ROCKS at working from home instead of the person who COULD NEVER work from home?

What are you doing daily?

What time are you waking up? Are you snoozing? Do you drink coffee before a workout or after? Analyze your daily habits step by literal step and see what gets in your way.

For years, a phone calendar was not something that worked for me. I preferred a paper planner. But then I started telecommuting and Google calendars were a lifesaver when adjusting to other pros in other timezones.

Now my calendar is filled with blocked out chunks of time to guard my schedule from any other commitments. Since my Discovery Session calendar is linked to my personal calendar, blocking out time is VITAL!

I also treat every weekday as a workday. I start at 9 am which might be earlier or later depending on the day but I know I have my mornings to myself.

Yes, I know my times are all in military time. It makes communicating with my husband a lot easier and I’ve just gotten in the habit! Cringe if you’d like, it’s all good. 🙂

0600-0615: Wake Up

0630-0800: Walk my dog and workout

0800-0900: Breakfast and shower

0900-1700: Work

I know if I don’t start my mornings like this that I won’t do it the rest of the day. There’s nothing worse to me than cranking out work all day only to wrap up and know I still have to put in 100 percent to a workout instead of winding down.

I know this can be tricky for people who never have the same schedule every day but ensuring you have ‘white space’ or work time for a couple hours a day gives you a blank space to fill with whatever you need.

At the very least I encourage you to map out each week at a time! When you know what to expect you will be less stressed.

As humans consistency and order are needed.

We are creatures of habits. Good habits, bad habits…they will always be there. It’s up to us to decide if we want to be filled with the good or the bad.

It’s YOUR choice.

Here are Six Fundamental Human Needs

I also have certain days marked out for certain things. I have a blog that is published every Tuesday. I block out time to write those posts on Thursdays. I try to avoid meetings or calls on Fridays. What works best for you? What patterns do you usually find yourself repeating on your most successful and unsuccessful weeks? Face those then create solutions to overcome them. 

Amateurs think they’re fine where they’re at.

Professionals know their time is invaluable.

 

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What are you changing?

As you’re looking at what should change or what should stay the same actually list them out. With pencil to paper or copy/pasting on your desktop. Here’s my challenge to you…

Get it on one page.

One page of what your actual commitments are. If it doesn’t fall in your top three, can you pay someone else to do it? Can you ask for help? Can you outsource or place more/less of a focus on it?

What are you committed to every day? What are you committed to every week?

Maybe that’s meals. Can you get them delivered to your car or house for efficiency?

Maybe that’s the home. Can you hire a maid once a week or once a month for a deep clean? Hire a lawn service to take care of the outside while you tackle the inside?

If you’re a stay at home mom, the answer is probably your kids. So what’s your second focus? Yourself, I hope!

If you’re a construction worker or plumber going out on last minute jobs, your life can look a bit chaotic. If you get that call that you don’t have to go to the job site today, what CAN you get done to feel accomplished instead of calling it all a wash and sitting on the couch doing nothing?

There is always a solution to every problem. Everything is figureoutable. 

Amateurs think they know it all.

Professionals know there’s always something to learn and room to improve.

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What’s the theme?

If it rains, is it pouring?

No. Stop complaining.

There are days when I am hurt and can’t work out. Where I know my body needs rest instead of forcing it to wake up with the sun.

There are interrupted schedules with client deadlines, personal trips or emergencies.

That is the beauty and flexibility of knowing I will have time to get it all done and what I wanted as an entrepreneur. I respect the fact that I get to work from home with freedom and flexibility frequently used in my vocabulary.

I don’t take for granted or mooch off the fact I can walk downstairs for lunch or adjust my work to my husband’s schedule. This is what I wanted and I STILL get to do what I love.

You should always place work before play. How else would you enjoy the hell out of playtime without feeling guilty?

Amateurs do what they want, when they want.

Professionals do what needs to be done; like it or not.

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What are the fundamentals?

Cut out the crap.

Yuck. Or Yikes. Or Yuck and Yikes! 

What is holding you back? Money? Time? Resources? People?

 

Figure it out then clean house.

If your business requires certain funds or equipment start doing what you need to do to get those so you can transition into doing what you want to do.

Get your legalities figured out. Reach out to people who can teach, mentor and help you. Do the research and stay grounded in reality while playing with the creative ideas bouncing around in your head. That’s what these people did and now their dreams are launched.

You have to start somewhere. It doesn’t need to be pretty, clean or perfect but it needs to be out there. People need to know what you are up to. They need to know you exist and this is what you’re doing. You can only edit an essay that’s been written; you can’t edit one that doesn’t exist. (ahhhh so wise, wise one.) 

You’re either committed to being a professional or you’re not. Be honest with yourself.

Prove it to yourself every day.

*I’ve got a post coming up on what you can do for free vs. what you should pay for. Subscribe on the right and, until then, feel free to search my blog and website!

 

 

Do I expect to have everything done in one day? No. Don’t expect instant gratification (with anything, really). 

Do I practice what I preach perfectly? Absolutely not. But I repeat to myself that THIS is who I am and I’m going to keep showing up for myself, my business and my goals. No matter what.

But I find great pride in the fact that I show up every day and keep myself focused.

I’ve seen it pay off bit by bit and I know it will all add up to something wilder than I ever dreamed.

 

Cheers!

Marin

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