You know the ... You have just had a hard day at your ... job, and come home, and working on your own business seems like just too much of an effort. Of course, if you can devote your ful
You know the feeling... You have just had a hard day at your full-time job, and come home, and working on your own business seems like just too much of an effort. Of course, if you can devote your full time to your business, it still does not prevent you from having some days when you just do not feel like working.
In this article, you can learn why this happens, what you can do to prevent it, and how to get yourself going when it does.
I have found the “I do not feel like working” feeling may come from several causes, and to deal with it effectively, you will need to discover the reason for it.
REASON 1: FATIGUE.
Perhaps you are simply tired... If you have been working sixteen hour days for the past week this is almost definitely the case. Of course, it need not be as blatant as that...
> Prevention: Look after yourself. Make sure that you get enough sleep per night (6-8 hours for an average adult), drink plenty of water (2-3L a day), and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, especially fresh ones.
Regular exercise will also help with keeping your energy levels up, in addition to improving your memory and concentration. I may expand on this in a future article, but in the meantime there are more than enough books and websites on health and well-being that you can learn from.
Take breaks. While working, you should take a break once every 30-45 minutes, preferably by stepping away from the computer for a couple of minutes. This will mean that when you return to it, you will be able to concentrate much better, and it will also give your eyes a break from staring at screen.
If possible, take a full day off, about once a week. Do not do anything about your business for this one day, unless it is absolutely necessary (answering urgent email, for example). Go and do something you enjoy, or spend some time with your family. You will come back to your work refreshed the next day.
> What to do when this happens: Go and get some rest. You need it. Trying to push yourself at this stage will not do you any good, and you may spend a lot of time undoing mistakes you make due to lack of concentration.
REASON 2: IMPATIENCE.
You just feel that things are not happening fast enough, so why bother working now, when you will only really see results in a couple of months or so? Watch out for those feelings, if you let them get out of control, you will eventually stop working completely.
> Prevention: Always keep in mind your ultimate goal, the reason why you are working on your business. Remind yourself of it a couple of times a day, and perhaps keep a picture, or a quote reminding you of it near your computer and working area.
Set up a support system of some sort, friends and family that can encourage you, and support you in what you are doing. If you can not find those people in the group you normally interact with, strive to expand your circle of acquaintances.
You can find many wonderfully supportive people on the various home business forums scattered all over the net.
Enjoy the process. Find the things you enjoy doing in your business, and enjoy the every day activities that you engage in. Remember to appreciate the people who help you on you road to success, whether advisers, customers or employees. Have fun!
> What to do when this happens: Just go ahead and do some work. You will most likely find that once you start, you will get absorbed in the activity, that you will forget that you did not feel like working in the first place. Do one thing you enjoy about your business first, and use the other things you enjoy as rewards once you have completed the less fun aspects of your business.
Work for just five minutes. Tell yourself that you will work for just five minutes on your business, and after that you can either stop, or continue as you wish. After all, five minutes will not take that much out of your day, will it?
If this technique does not work, than most likely, you are dealing either with fatigue (Reason 1, above), or self-sabotage (Reason 3, below).
REASON 3: SELF-SABOTAGE
This one is very subtle, even more so because it can disguise yourself as any of the other two. We, as human beings fear change, even change for the better.
You might feel like you will never make it, or that the only way that you can become successful is by neglecting your family and all the things that are important to you. Or any of a number of other negative pre-conceptions, some of which you may not even be consciously aware of.
As you can probably guess, this particular area is highly complicated, and I will devote a full article to it in the future (or perhaps, even a series of articles). In the meantime, here are a couple of things that you can do:
> Prevention: Be aware of any negative feelings and preconceptions you have, and make sure that you deal consciously with them. Surround yourself with supportive people, and do not listen to those who try to fill your mind with negative feelings. Working with a life coach would also be helpful.
> What to do when this happens: Acknowledge any negative feelings, and try to focus on the positive aspects of your business. You may also find the 'Five minute' technique from above helpful.
I hope that by reading this article you have gained a better understanding of why sometimes you just feel like taking the evening off, even if you have planned to work, and what to do when that happens.
