Discipline — be your own task master
You’ve set out on your own, are now working on your idea in the evening/part time/have quit your job, you maybe have a Sunday to yourself to get going and start on the path to make your millions, then, just as you are about to pen that million dollar marketing plan you get distracted; a friend tags you in a video on Facebook of an old man break dancing to an Ed Sheeran remix — and there it is, you are gone for the next 4 hours after being drawn down the rabbit hole that is YouTube suggested videos.
Needless to say, this is not what you want as an entrepreneur. You feel every moment is precious and that there is an inverse relationship between you procrastinating and the likelihood you’ll be adorning the cover of Fortune magazine in the future.
There is however a delightful equilibrium. If you are working from home, take it as an opportunity to re-think how you are working, and how you can work most productively. You have ditched the commute but you can still wake up early to work, I have long found my most effective hours are before 9am. But equally, if you find you work better late into the evening and getting up earlier then do that, nobody is watching and working for yourself is output above all else. Don’t limit yourself to working a number of hours in the day, e.g. I have to work 7 hours each day. The more you divorce yourself from the concept of workday timings the better, focus on what you want to get done each day instead and stop when you feel tired.
Make your days rounded, by working from home or just on your own time it means you can take advantage of quieter times to go the gym, do your shopping or washing, these little time savings add up so make the most of them! Then you can work when things get busier again. But more importantly have breaks where you start doing the other things you want to do to self-improve; whether it is by getting out more for walks, learning an instrument, reading more, your time is your own and focussing on your own business 100% of the time is not necessarily the best use of your time, who knows from where ideas and inspiration will come?
Taking all of this into account, you do have to watch yourself. It is all too easy to fall into bad habits of distractions but the key is to ask yourself if they are distractions that serve no purpose or whether they are contributing to your continual self-improvement. If they are good distractions then don’t chastise yourself for falling into them.
Now get back to work.
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