Yesterday I sent an email to my mailing list talking about procrastination. (Ya know, the reason you’re reading this post instead of doing actual work. Yeah, I’m on to you!) It was all about why we do it, how to get around it, and what to do instead. And while I was writing that email, I started to think about how guilty I end up feeling after an hour (or a day…or a week) of not doing what I should be doing and how we treat ourselves as employees. Because even though we’re the ones running the show, technically we’re our own employee.
And then I started thinking that if my only employee was not myself, but someone I had hired, how would I treat them and how would I want them to feel about working for me?
I’d want them to feel excited about work, supported, and motivated every single day, so I would . . .
- Make sure they got away from their computer for lunch especially after years at my corporate job eating at my desk, one hand shoveling Cheez-Its in my mouth, the other continuing to type.
- Make sure they knew exactly what their job was and why they were important to the company. Confession: I got fired from my very first job out of college because I didn’t really know what they wanted me to do, so the boss wasn’t happy with my work since he didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing either.
- Never make them feel guilty or put them down if a project got screwed up, went off-track, or was a complete failure. How many times have you beat yourself up over losing an email, forgetting a meeting, or launching something with a big fat typo on the first page?
Should you be sent to have a chat with HR over how you’re treating your one employee, who might I remind you, does EVERYTHING. Like, literally EVERY SINGLE THING to keep your business going?
It’s a lot easier to make these mistakes with ourselves of course because there is no consequence, no one to talk back, or question how we act. No one is going to run and tell your boss, “I totally forgot I had a Skype call scheduled and Sarah said I was an absolute idiot and I should just quit now because I’m going to be a total failure.” We force ourselves to work insane hours, skip lunch, never even consider a vacation, avoid the gym, and still expect flawless and brilliant work every single day. Reality check…you might be a terrible, mean, tyrant of a boss and you deserve better than that!
What sort of things are you skimping on that most businesses readily hand their employees??
- Do you give yourself vacation days?
- How are the benefits? Are you putting money into health insurance, a savings account, a 401k?
- What about a healthy living incentive? Do you have a fridge stocked with healthy snacks and schedule time to work out each week?
- Do you allow yourself a break to eat lunch? (Even retail employees get a 30 minute break and two 15 minute breaks for every eight hours on the clock)
- Do you start and stop working at a specific time each day? I’m not a person who EVER gets up at 8am, but I definitely try to start work around 10 or 11am and stop around 6 or 7pm.
- Do you have a mission? Every single company has a mission statement. (Google it :) This gives you a very clear purpose for your work. Having meaning and intention behind what you do every day is incredibly helpful in keeping up company morale.
- Are you putting too much work on your plate? What could you automate or hire out? How can you better distribute work throughout your day and week? (I’ve got a whole post about automating your blog or biz over here >>>)
- Is there a process for everything you do? Creating processes for client intake, for sending invoices, for customer support not only cuts down on the time a task takes, but also removes the stress of figuring it out every single time.
- Is there room for advancement? Yes, you’re the big boss, CEO, only person in charge, but you don’t want to be doing the same things you did in your first year of business in year five, right? And yes, advancement should include a raise :)
And so I give you…
An XO Sarah Guide to Being a Happy + Productive Solopreneur
- Be specific about what you do (what is your job title and what tasks do you do each day of the week aka a game plan)
- Get clear on what you want to accomplish with your business aka your mission statement
- Save 5 to 10 percent of your monthly income for retirement (emergencies, fun stuff too)
- Start and stop work at specific times each day and don’t forget that lunch break!
- Do something each month that makes you better at your job
- Have a long-term vision
- Plan for vacation time and use it to truly take a break from work
- Create processes and hire-out tasks so you have a reasonable amount of work on your plate each week
- Create monthly / yearly bonuses and incentives (yes, you can have a Christmas bonus when you’re self-employed)
- Praise and reward yourself for a job well done
- Be understanding and kind when you screw up (no swearing or generalizations allowed!)
Uhhh…yeah – I treat myself like crap. :-\
Yesterday was a prime example. I’m an early bird (like get up at 4:30 am, early bird) – but yesterday I chose to sleep in until my husband got up for work (around 6:30).
I can’t even count the number of times I got mad at myself for sleeping in and missing my morning routine (bc goodness knows, I can’t do my morning routine at other times in the day). It really threw off my whole day, and I was in a funk ALL DAY bc of it. (Wish I would have read this post yesterday)
Changes need to start happening around here!
Hi Sarah, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!
You’re so welcome Eva!
Ugh YES! Thank you so much for posting this, girl. I just started my blog/biz January 1st and this is exactly what I needed to read as a newb still learning to rock this thing. I actually just printed it out so I can read and reread and make sure I’m treating myself well. Thank you, thank you!!
Yay I love to hear that! Congrats on launching our business! It’s definitely easy to get sucked into work and totally forget to even eat. Hopefully it helps you stay on track!
I needed to read this. I haven’t been to the gym in two weeks. *hangs head in shame*
Time to start treating my best employee right! ;)
No guilt trips allowed either ;) ;) Adding everything into my calendar always helps me get to the gym. I know you can nail it next week!
I have noticed that my friends that would complain about their companies being cheap about vacation etc. when they are the one that decides how much vacation to give themselves, they give themselves far less.
I find it kind of funny. It isn’t so bad if it is for 6 months or even a year in order to get things set for success. But in reality it often lasts far beyond that.
This is a great post, with being self-employed it’s really easy to forget to take care of yourself the way an actual (good) employer would! Thanks for sharing. :-)
xoxo
Allison
http://www.livelaughwonder.com
As a virtual business manager, I really freaking appreciate this post on both ends of being a soloprenuer (probably spelled that sooo wrong) and my own employee! I love this and have been itching for something to read like this. Thank you, Sarah!
Woah awesome little slap in the face here! I think so many of us chase this sort of lifestyle because we’re sick of being taken advantage of as employees and then we take advantage of ourselves. Great post :)
It’s funny, I’m actually an employee of a big company – but I’m still going to fill this worksheet out! As a team leader my time is largely my own to do with as I choose which means I often feel adrift when I’m not super busy as to what I should be doing each day – and if I’m honest what my role is in the workplace isn’t super well defined – I’m really looking forward to filling this out!
Thanks for the printable & this post, Sarah! I’m just starting to really put together ideas for my soon-to-be business with the goal of eventually escaping and leaving the corporate world behind and this is exactly what I needed to read. Filing it away for that day (although, I can still use it now since I’m basically working part time on my blog :)).
Great post Sarah! I’m trying to reevaluate my business habits to become better in these areas. It can be challenging when all of those roles and decisions fall on one person! But it’s so very rewarding when you figure out a system that works :)
I’m currently working to improve my processes and to avoid having too much on my plate. I also need to prioritize doing things that will help improve my skills!
Why aren’t there more hours in a day?! :)
AWESOME! I am totally sharing this with my fellow Perfectly Posh consultants on our team facebook group! We need this.
It’s a tough subject but definitely something that needs to be addressed! It’s very easy to temporarily slack off and then beat ourselves up about it later. Love the lists of helpful ideas and can’t wait to check out the worksheet :)
This is so great. I often feel guilty for taking breaks when I could be writing or engaging, but realizing that the internet NEVER sleeps was my personal breaking point. I’m always striving for balance and integrating pleasure into daily living, but sometimes that takes a hit when I feel overwhelmed. I love love love this post. This is exactly what I needed.
Oh this is perfect, Sarah! I’m all about self-care, especially as an entrepreneur, but I’ve been slacking lately. This is a great way to look at it. I haven’t taken a real vacation day for years, but know I need to so I can recharge!