embracing change

[FindingMyVoice]

Hi flowmom, I know me too! There's so many books out there about it, but I've found the best things just from other people I know who also have their own companies/work from home. And it's interesting, because we all struggle with this, and through talking to one another we've helped each other find the strategy that works best for us! Sorry if some of these sound hokey, and that it's such a long post. I was just so interested because my friends and I were just working through the same thing this month. Hope this helps (sorry again if it's too hokey though!)

For myself, I seem to do best when I have someone I'm accountable to. When I have a client who's waiting for a proof, I can always get myself to do what's necessary to get it to them in time.

But for the times I don't have proofs needing to go out imminently, I used to try to get myself going by making a big long 'things to do' list. But it never worked. Finally, I recruited one of my friends that I email back and forth with - I'll send her the list of things I need to accomplish that week, Then, she emails me at the end of the week to see what I've done; I'll send her back with a list of what I accomplished. What I discovered was that creating my list of that week's accomplishments was more motivating than creating my 'TTD' list in the first place! The 'accomplishments' list motivated me right through into next week's activities. I so liked seeing that nice full list of stuff I got done, that I wanted to make sure I'd get another list like that at the end of the next week!

This same friend finds her productivity gets a boost when she plans her next day's activities, the night before. But just one day ahead - no more. She says that this way she can sit down at her desk in the morning and see what she's got to do that day, and doesn't have to try to figure it out before she can get to work. Also, seeing just her tasks for that one day, rather than a whole week's worth of things to do makes her feel motivated because it's manageable in size. Seeing too many things on your list can really be overwhelming and prevent you from even wanting to start.

Another idea is to know whether or not you're a 'big tasks first' or 'little tasks first' person. I was always taught in school to do the big difficult tasks early in the day while my brain was fresh. Never worked for me. Procrastination big time. What I found did work for me was to do the little easy stuff first... then ramp up to the big tough stuff. Kind of like a running start. Makes a huge difference in my day.

Finally, when all else fails, (but I don't know if you're able to work away from your usual workspace in your job) if there's any possible way to get away from where you usually do your work try it. When I've got creative block, I get so frustrated sitting at my desk I almost get near tears. It's then that I'm most susceptible to getting distracted by other things. So I pack up my sketch pad and project notes, and go sit in a coffee shop somewhere and work. Just the change in visual surroundings works wonders to 'unstick' your brain.

Oh one more thing! Another idea that works great for a writer/photographer friend of mine, is that she'll call a colleague and talk about what she wants to accomplish that week. By sharing her ideas with another person and hearing herself talk about it, she says she gains new ideas about the project she'd like to explore and gets her interested in it enough to start working on it. Also, hearing another person be interested in what you're doing; explaining it to them and interacting with them also helps motivate her.

I hope that helps - be sure to post and let us know how you're doing. Oh, one last thing, I'm betting you've already ready Steven Covey's '7 habits'? I've always liked his work. Take care!