If you are like me, one of the hardest things for me to do is to stay motivated to work and to also get some stuff done, mostly because I am a very literal person.
What I mean by that is I only do the things that are required of me to do or that I know to do, but I always find it difficult to find new things to do or try out new avenues, which is bad in the case of an entrepreneur trying to grow their business.
This is where these tips I am about to mention come into play. These are things that other people have told me or that I have seen elsewhere that have not only changed my overall work ethic, but have allowed for me to have a great work/life balance and also get a lot done.
Let’s get started
Tip #1: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just get to work
Now, I know what you are thinking but hear me out. Why would you want to only work for 5 minutes? Basically, how our bodies work and how our brains are wired, if we are able to take 5 minutes and solely focus on our passions or our work and just do the best we can, that 5 minutes turns into an hour real quick. Take this blog for example, these usually take 8-10 minutes to write, so nothing too long. I usually add these at the beginning of my work day so that I can get a good start to what I am going to be doing that day!
Tip #2: Pick one or two things that you want to accomplish that day
Depending on what you are wanting to do and what you are trying to stay motivated and work hard toward will change what you are going to focus on in a given day. For example, I know that if I get up one day and have a day of clients, I want to take my free time and add in 1-2 things that I can get accomplished.
Usually, I make a point one day to focus on social media, making a post and then also liking other posts and interacting with other people. On another day, I may take my free time and read a little or go over some client planning and make sure that everyone is planned out. On another day, I may pursue old leads that I have again to get some more people.
Splitting it up allows for me to not feel overwhelmed every single day with what I need to get done and allows for my best work.
Tip #3 (Entrepreneur Specific): YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORK 24/7
I think that the one thing that a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs tell you to do is that you need to be working all day every day toward your business. You should be up at this hour, read this many books, call this many people a day, and only sleep this many hours. While this may work for some people, this is not how I operate.
When I work, I am there and locked in and move fast with my work so not all the time does it take me forever. Usually, if I am trying to learn something or do something, I sit down and I am able to get it done in a matter of minutes. While it is important to work and make sure you are doing things, we also have a thing called a work/life balance that some people struggle to realize.
Make sure you work hard for a few hours of the day, but then also know that you do have family and friends that you can spend time with and talk to, you do not always need to be working. The more you work, the easier it is to get burnt out on what you are doing. Find that good balance and use it.
Tip #4: Don’t be afraid to try something new
One of the biggest things that I have tried over the past couple weeks has been switching up my sleep schedule, going from sleeping in the evening to sleeping during the day and working/living from around 2 pm - 8 am. I told a couple of my friends, clients and family about this and they looked at me like I was weird, but it worked. The reason I made the change was I felt that I was more productive and more driven in the evening than during the day, so I wanted to take advantage of that.
Within that time I was able to add on a few more clients, increase my knowledge and engagement on social media, read 3 books in 2 weeks, figure out game planning our social media, and learning new ways to get out there in terms of marketing. While I will start to shift back now and do a sort of hybrid approach for the next couple weeks, I was able to do a complete turnaround with just one change.
Trying something new allowed for me to get more success in what I was doing and also help me learn more and get a better game plan moving forward.
Tip #5: Have fun with it!:
Everything should not always be stressful and take away from your physical and emotional health, so make sure that you have fun with what you are doing. Take rejection and other things as a challenge to improve and do better next time. You only live once, so spend that time enjoying what you are doing more so than worrying and stressing about how you are doing it!