It’s time for the kids to get out of school and yet again you feel like you haven’t gotten anything accomplished in the day. Sure you got the clothes washed and put away, the floor swept, and 5 cups of coffee drank, but absolutely nothing marked off of your business to do list. Ever have those days? They are just part of the working from home life, but sometimes they just seem to come way too frequently.
DEFINE A CLEAR WHY AND REVISIT IT OFTEN
You hear define your why so often, and you see people posting pictures of their kiddos. Of course, I believe we all do what we do for our families. It is like when you are selling, you look for pain points. When you are trying to get to the root of your why, you look for the pain points.
When you find yourself in that rut, it is time to take a look at what is going on and make some adjustments possibly. I am going to share with you seven tips that may help you move forward in your business, so you don’t feel so “frustrated” in your business.
Why I Work from Home
I will share with you my why. Sure, I do what I do for Anna Beth because I love being available for all her life, BUT the fact of the matter is… The deep why behind why I do what I do is I DO NOT want to work for someone else. I cringe at the thought of my time being dictated by someone else. So, every time I start to get discouraged by things not moving as fast as I would like them to, I have to remember the alternative is going back to a 9-5, and it makes me grind a little harder.
EMBRACE DELAYED GRATIFICATION
We have become an instant gratification society. Y’all, entrepreneurship isn’t Amazon Prime. Success isn’t going to come in two days. Success is sometimes a compound effect, you put in a lot of work before you start to see the results. That is why you have to be addicted to the activity and not the results.
REMAIN CONSISTENT IN YOUR ACTIVITY
Consistency is the key to getting results in anything. You cannot be hit and miss in your activity and expect results. You must show up everyday and put in the work. Imperfect activity is better than no activity. Stay consistent in your daily method of operations. Do not continually make changes to it because you are not seeing results from it. Sometimes, methods or systems take time to see the results. Making continual changes will not allow for the results to cultivate. I have always been taught to run my business in 90 day cycles. You can reevaluate and make changes to your DMO every 90 days.
EXTEND YOURSELF SOME GRACE
You are good at extending grace to everyone except yourself sometimes. When you have a tough day, and you don’t get everything done on your to-do list, just know tomorrow will be better. Some days, you have to laugh at yourself. Some days, heck, you just have to scream. Tomorrow will be better and today doesn’t define your tomorrow.
LOOK FOR LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
If you look at the adversities and struggles of the business and ask yourself what lesson can I learn from what I am going through, it tends to make the struggle a bit more bearable. One of my favorite quotes by Andy Andrews is “Adversity is the preparation for greatness”. If you can come out of a struggle better than you were before it, then it wasn’t in vain.
INCREASE YOUR SELF DEVELOPMENT
If you find yourself in a constant struggle, increase your amount of self development you are doing. Early on in my insurance career, I found myself at a crossroads knowing I was about to be out of the business if I didn’t do something drastically. I increased my reading tremendously that month to eleven books. That month was one of the best months I ever had. Reading increasing our knowledge, lowers our stress levels, provides stronger analytical skills, and provides mental stimulation.
Reading isn’t the only self development though. You can listen to podcasts, watch webinars, or even listen to audio books. Just remember, you cannot stop your activity though to solely focus on self development.
STOP COMPARING YOURSELF
Comparison is the thief of joy. Social media makes it a whole lot easier for you to compare yourself to others. I once saw a meme that said you are comparing your life to others highlight reels. Y’all, nobody is putting the bads and the uglies of their lives out there. They only hilight the good times. Stop comparing yours to theirs.
Nobody ever said entrepreneurship was easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Hopefully, you have found some value in these tips. Over the last decade, I have found myself struggling many times. These actions are what have gotten me through many days when I didn’t feel like I could survive another day. Learn to embrace your journey, enjoy your ride, hold your vision, and trust the process!