Being your own boss and choosing your own hours are some of the perks when it comes to working for yourself. However its not always easy and can also be one of the most stressful things you do.
Working for yourself also means no perks like vacation time and health insurance, and friends asking when youre going to get a real job. While youre hustling and trying to stretch every dollar, theyre also content with their 9-5 and comfortable paycheques.
If you dont want to work for the man, but you can admit that sometimes working for yourself isnt all its cracked up to be, here are some good tips:
Get Organised
Many people assume that because you work for yourself you can afford to help them look after their kids, indulge in long lunches, and pick them up from the airport. What they dont realise is that when you do these things you just end up working late at night and feeling tired and resentful.
If youve been too relaxed and havent wanted to feel like the bad guy (or gal), its time to get with the program. Time out of the office is money out of your pocket, and you need to get serious and remind people that your time is also important. Sometimes its simply a matter of letting people know when you work, or getting up a little earlier to take advantage of the times when everyone else is busy or sleeping.
Create a productive work space
In order to be productive, youre probably going to need to get out of your pyjamas and quit working from bed. But working from home can mean youre constantly dodging distractions like family, friends calling, the TV, and all of those odd jobs around the house that would only take a few minutes to get done.
This is why its important that you set aside a dedicated space for you to work in. A home office doesnt need to be large, but youll need to ensure you have space for a desk, chair, laptop, printer, printer cartridges, and maybe a phone. Depending on your business you may need to also leave space for filing cabinets, or may choose to file everything in the cloud. If youre looking for office supplies visit Cartridge Discount for excellent prices.
Set your hours
When your income is directly related to how much you work, it can be tempting to continually be up and typing away until midnight. However, this can quickly leave you feeling exhausted and burnt out, and its hard to be creative when youre working 60-80 hour weeks.
Give yourself a set schedule, and commit to doing the most important tasks early on in the day so you feel like youre accomplishing the main things you need to do. Use a calendar app or program and schedule in work calls, time for brainstorming, and time to do those tasks which never seem to get done, and youll find that youll be working smarter and not harder.