Dear SmallBizLady,
I am a Mompreneur working around the clock in my business and I feel like I am getting nowhere fast. Can you help me?
Many of us running our small businesses are working hard, real hard. We are doing more with less and trying to figure out how to get it done smarter, cheaper and faster each day. I ask, how long can you run at this pace?
If you have a family on top of your work responsibilities, it’s even tougher. You get to bed and wake up tired most days. My six-year-old son participates in swimming, little league and piano, and I run like the wind with my demanding profession as a small business expert on top of my mom duties. It’s hard to feel like you are not in a race every day. There are two critical things that have helped me get my one-woman circus under control. First, I do not believe in never ending to do lists. That always leads to feelings of overwhelm and guilt. Who needs that? I focus on getting 5 things done before 11am each day. Second, every 90 days I take at least a 48-hour break from everything. You need rest to focus. It’s May, have you scheduled a vacation yet?
Thomas Edison, best know as the inventor of the electric light bulb, used to take mini-retreats to read, meditate, and enjoy solitude. He considered it a strategic advantage in his business. What was the last thing you read that had nothing to do with work? One of the perks of working hard is supposed to be that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Think about the things you used to do when you had more time: fishing, gardening, hiking, golfing, jewelry making, etc. Make time to get back to doing a hobby you enjoy.
Do not get swallowed up in your work. Focus on getting more rest! It pays major dividends.
What are you going to do to get more rest?
For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.
I can relate to what you are saying. Last March I started looking into internet marketing and signed up to a lot of things. I was then faced with a situation where my 9 year old grand-daughter came to live with me as her Mum was not looking after her. I spent the first week with her in hospital as she had a chronic constipation problem. When I checked my email box 1 week later I had hundreds of emails and didn’t know where to begin. I started to read some emails and responded to those which I thought would earn me money asap. One year later it still hasn’t happened. I taught myself how to set up websites and learnt the jargon that went with it. I’m still unsure about certain things. For example, I keep seeing “RSS Feeds” but don’t know what it really involves, apart from that it’s something you can have sent to your website. I have managed to set up 4 websites and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved being a black woman aged 54 and looking after a 10 year old in between who is very demanding. Finding time to follow things through and watch videos, etc is hard. I’ve still to earn some decent money and intend to persevere. I applaud women like yourself and all I can say is KEEP ON KEEPING ON!.
I can completely relate to her. I was like that in the beginning. I have learned to not get on social media on Sundays. That helps me able to finish projects with no distractions. Also I have taken time during the week to just read or watch tv to allow my brain to rest. But I completely understand her feeling of wanting to accomplish everything. Well reality is, something else will always come up. So your complete 5 things by 11am sounds like a smart plan to get started for anyone who feels overwhelmed.
I have fortunately mastered the art of delegation and I often tell my clients that the easiest and best things to delegate first are housework and laundry. I take my laundry down the street to a place that does wash, dry, fold and iron. 20 minutes or so grabbing the baskets, dropping off and picking up the laundry saves me tons of time. And most of the time it costs me less than $20 for a week’s worth of our laundry.
Second piece of advice, don’t replace laundry time with work. Use it to take a walk or to simply sit on the porch with a cup of coffee. Consider the concept of “meditation” where you allow your mind to think of nothing or something repetitive to allow your mind to relax. I schedule disconnect days where I don’t turn on the computer or the tv and I usually turn the data off on my phone too. I might go shopping or take my daughter to the zoo- anything but work. Take a day off and don’t dare feel guilty about it. 🙂
This is a great article. I needed to read this today. I am a new mom and part of the sandwich generation caring for my son and helping with my parents so I am working on new ways to management my time, energy and resources. I love the 5 before 11am. I think I am going to try that because the exhaustive to do list can get a little overwhelming.
Great tips…I also use the 5 before 11am strategy…it works great! Outsourcing is one of the best ways I have found to create more space in my business!
Pure gold. I was hoping you would write sohnmtieg like this! I have been online for like 3 hours while at work researching business start ups and how to start businesses and all that and how funny (and law of attraction-y) is it to see that you just posted this blog! Crazy. Great info!