The questions I get most often about working from home usually focus on two things: 1. what do I do with all the extra time I have? and 2. how do I make myself get up, get dressed, and actually do something?
The first is easy, because work still has to be done, and with the freedom to work on what I actually want to work on, I work just as much, if not more, than before. Lately, work has been slow, so the focus has been on my personal projects. Extra time is a big misconception about working from home- because the time is flexible, the phone rings more often, things that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do during the day come up, etc.
The second one is harder:
A few facts to set the stage: Until one week ago, I did not own a television. No cable, no Netflix, etc. Now that I do, it sits in my basement workout room, far away from where I work. I do not own clothing items like pajama pants, sweats, or any type of loungewear like that. My pantry does not contain a single item of junk food, unless you count gummy vitamins (that isn’t to say I don’t get my grubby little fingers on that stuff elsewhere). Why? Because if I had a TV, junk food, and sweat pants, I would be eating junk food in front of the television until my sweat pants turned into skinny jeans. Instead of battling my willpower, I don’t give myself the option at all. For some people, maybe they would be able to control themselves. For me, it is easier to avoid the issue altogether.
On waking up:
I have read tons of stuff about how to wake up early, including the benefits of doing it, the peace you can feel in the morning, and all of that. But the problem with waking up early when you have nowhere specific to be at a given time is that the responsibility falls squarely on you. This is going to be the theme of the rest of this post by the way. I set my alarm each day for 7:30 a.m. I have tried earlier, I have tried later, but this seems to work for me even though I am really a night owl at heart. I don’t start working right away, but I am up and about at this time. It took a very long time to do this consistently, and it is still difficult, but for what’s it worth, here is how I motivate myself in no particular order:
1. Although I prefer to work at night, and I have argued that working eight hours is working eight hours no matter when you do it, the fact remains that I have yet to encounter a Meg Whitman or Hillary Clinton who sleeps till noon, let alone even makes sleep a priority. I do, so I compromise. It’s not like 7:30 is going to scare anybody, I realize.
2. Unfortunately, perception is a factor. In one of our first meetings, my current boss said, “All I have to do is look around the gym at 5 am to know who’s still in the game.” At the very least, if you want to move and shake with the current movers and shakers, you need to be on their schedules.
3. I care about spending time with my friends and loved ones, and those people are on schedules. So I get up so I can spend time with them when they’re available.
On doing:
Once again, the responsibility is squarely on me. I have learned a very important lesson about the difference between procrastination and stalling in the last few months while work has been slow. Procrastination is delaying action until the last minute on a specific task. Easy. But for the most part, with respect to getting ahead in life and self-employment activity, there is no specific task. There is no last minute, only a lifetime to do these things (and more likely, not to do them). Stalling is the lack of action on nebulous outcomes that are greater than the sum of the tasks it takes to achieve them, and it is far more damaging than procrastination. Let me explain better with a real example I just dealt with.
I want to be self employed. I consider that a nebulous outcome because it is vague, broad, and not a requirement. It is something I claim to want that can come in many forms.
Becoming self-employed is greater than the sum of the tasks I would have to do to achieve it (creating value is not something that goes on a to-do list). It is more than just quitting my job. Check. It is more than starting a company. Check.
So for months (and years really), I have had this idea, but I never took action on it because somehow the concrete tasks, a lot of nonsense really, got done first. Probably because I practice avoidance by stalling via to-do list, or some form of but-I’ve-already-worked-so-hard/why-isn’t-what-I’m-already-doing-enough type of self pity. Or I’ll just clean this first. I’ll just buy that and then… I’ll read this book or listen to that podcast and check this blog so that… Nope. Stalling.
I came to the realization recently (after it dawned on me that other than waiting for stuff at work to clear up, I have been accomplishing nothing) that if I didn’t get started now, literally right at that moment, I would never be self-employed. If creating a better future for myself wasn’t enough to motivate me, I could also rely on this harsh line of thinking, which came to mind right around the same time:
If I’m not sick, if I’m not working, if I’m not volunteering, if I’m not keeping my house as clean as an operating room, if I’m not working out consistently, if I’m not making friends and going out and meeting people, if I’m not taking care of a family, if I’m not working toward my employment goals, if I’m not practicing the piano that I trip over all day, if I’m not learning something new about my areas of expertise, what exactly am I doing? And more importantly, if not these things, what exactly do I think I should be doing?
The answer to the first question is nothing. And the answer to myself on the second question is that if I have an answer that isn’t one of those things, who the hell do I think I am? Seriously. I had to kick my own butt into gear, because no one else was going to.
So I got to work. For the last few months, I have been more productive than ever, if not busier than ever, because my productivity is directed at the goal that brings the most value. I wake up, I eat, I read the news, I write these posts (usually), and then the whole day is clear to work on my projects. Depending on my mood, this might be working on starting my law firm, learning software programming as I work on a project that I have decided to build instead of buy, or looking over the financials of companies that a business broker I’m working with is giving me. And then I open my calendar and mark down what I accomplished for the day, because until this becomes a way of life, I have to keep myself accountable. After that is when I focus on the other stuff, like cleaning, working out, catching up with friends, shopping, cooking, etc. This way, those things don’t expand to take up my whole day as much as I would like some of them to.
I suppose in short the advice is put your highest priority at the forefront of the day. Give yourself the time to do your best work, face your fears, accomplish the most. My point to myself has been: Doing versus not doing is not an option, just like eating junk food isn’t an option when there is none in the house. It was like I was waiting for something magical to happen, and you know what? If you consider taking action magic, then I suppose I was.
And on cleaning, a few words: I know there are people who enjoy it. I know there are people who want everything just so. I’m going to get rude here and say this: Don’t let an organized sock drawer be your legacy. Don’t let cleaning be the thing that you expect love and respect for doing. Don’t confuse cleaning with parenting. I have some nears-and-dears who have made this their lives, and it is a complete nightmare. I highly recommend the index card system, which basically is a deck of ten or fifteen cards that list all the things that need cleaning. Each day, do a card or two, and move on with your life. That way, pretty much everything is clean at all times, without having to devote a whole day (or more) to it each week. And don’t not start the index card system because you need to clean everything first!!
And finally, on not doing:
It goes without saying that taking time to not do things is so important. I’ll just say here that it shouldn’t overtake doing things that are important to you, your family, or your future, no matter how good it feels. The thing is, doing nothing (hanging out, surfing the web, shopping, reading, all the things I love to do) is one of those things that is extra sweet because you can’t do it all the time (like when the alarm goes off and you think how amazing it would be to sleep in, yet you don’t feel that grateful when you actually do sleep in). I try to keep that in mind when I am on track to waste a whole day, or at least not use it to its full potential.
Whew, that was a lot. Don’t hate me.
Tomorrow, some things to expect as you transition to working from home.
“And then I open my calendar and mark down what I accomplished for the day, because until this becomes a way of life, I have to keep myself accountable”
I’ve often thought that I should try and track how much I spend reading, surfing, watching tv, etc., each day because I think it would shock me… not that I have a job or anything else I should really be doing, but you get my point.
Another great post, Val.
love the mother, daughter, family series..also the cleaning ninja’s and the one’s that don’t clean, parent, cook, laugh, work..i often wonder if the people with “no purpose” day after day are happy or pleased with themselves for escaping any direction to accomlish anything for themselves or others..what do they do all day????..do they feel more accomplished or satisfied than any of their counterparts???very interesting
The wisdom, grace and knowledge for a women of your age is humbling. Family and friends are a venue for memories and shared experience.” What is our purpose but to make life easier for one another.”