Set Boundaries When You Work For Yourself
5 things that help me in having productive days & accomplishing my goals
When I first quit my job to focus on my business and things that I wanted to venture into, I couldn’t really find that sweet spot in balancing all the tasks I needed to get done.
Between household chores, cooking 3 meals a day, side hustles and business related tasks I could really feel myself drowning in a never ending pit and by the end of the day I would feel like I accomplished nothing.
Not a good feeling to go to bed with.
Here are 5 of my methods which helped me reach a better mental space in my head that lead me to being more efficient throughout the day:
1. Your Work Space Should Be Inviting & Inspiring
I love being organized. I’m that woman who would love to spend hours at The Container Store buying everything that would make my life easier.
My partner and I just recently moved into a bigger space and I’m grateful that I have a room to myself that I call my ‘office’. I invested in things that made my space feel like me.
Get that vase, candles, incense sticks or even a salt lamp. Whatever you like.
These things aren’t wasteful but in fact help you work in a better mood while also being pleasing to the eyes.
Clear that clutter and make space for the good stuff.
2. Set Rules With People In Your Household
Set clear rules on who should be cooking, cleaning, walking the dog, etc. If you don’t, being me (a woman) I just naturally have it within me to pick up the slack and do the household chores.
I even had a meltdown with my partner one day, breaking down in tears telling him I couldn’t do this anymore & everything I have worked for was going to fail if he didn’t step up and help me.
I hate going to bed at night while the dishes are still in the sink.
I don’t know how men do it, but this is something that I would love to learn from them. I’ve literally woken up from sleep at around 2AM at night and washed dishes. I used to be THAT person.
How did I cope with this?
I didn’t. I just told myself to NOT cope with it.
I trained myself to not be bothered about the dishes if it wasn’t my turn to clean them. Yes, it’s disgusting. Yes, they need to be washed. But you won’t die if you don’t clean them in the night.
I gently remind my partner in the morning when I still see them lying there in the sink that, “Oh honey, someone was supposed to do the dishes last night.” Of course, your partner will eventually do it. In the meantime, refrain from doing it yourself. You’re just going to end up doing it all the time eventually.
You need to train your partner to do chores if they aren’t used to it.
Just like forming a habit takes time, doing chores also takes time.
3. Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that encourages people to work with the time they have — rather than against it. Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes. Pretty easy right?
Set the timer on your phone for every 25 minutes and take a break for those 5 mins. I drink water, check my social media, take a quick pee break if needed during these 5 minutes and when they are up, get right back to work.
I’ve also seen that Jay Shetty & his wife, Radhi use this method. I love them both & what better way to get advice on how to get stuff done from the most busiest personalities in the world?
25 minutes WORK 5 minutes PLAY
4. Plan Your Day First Thing In The Morning
When I’m up in the morning, I have a diary where I make a checklist of all the things I have to do for the day. I write this down first thing in the morning while having my morning coffee, and helps me tremendously throughout the day.
It doesn’t have to have all of the major tasks such as content creation, or taxes for the business. It actually helps to write down literally everything you have to do such as make lunch, or walk the dog or water the plants.
If I have a bigger task such as errands, instead of writing just “Complete Errands” I break down that task such as:
- Go to Target to get a couple of household things
- Grocery shop at Trader Joe’s
- Michael’s for crafting supplies
5. Forgive Yourself If You Don’t Check All The Boxes On That Checklist
When I first started my business especially on social media, you would hear things like ‘consistency is key’, ‘post everyday’, ‘make 3 TikToks a day’ is what would help you grow your account fast.
I would beat myself up at the end of the day if I didn’t post on Instagram, or didn’t post a TikTok. Content Creation is HARD WORK. I have so much respect for digital creators, small business owners & everyone else who just show up daily to give their audience a peak into their everyday lives.
End of the day, you really do need to look at the complete picture. If you provided for your family, you did that household chore, you got those taxes done, you did so much more than just not posting a TikTok.
Your followers who follow you will understand and if someone actually has the time to go through their feed and unfollow you then they weren’t going to be loyal to you in the first place.
Forgive yourself. Tomorrow will be a better day.
About the Author
Smitha Achar is a millennial entrepreneur with her own small business: www.soieco.us She has a background in Mechatronics Engineering & a postgrad in International Business. An Indian immigrant born & raised in Dubai, currently living in Yucca Valley, CA with her husband — Arjun and dog — Zeus. Instagram: @smitha_a28
