Paragon Life

Did I Wake You?

Posted on 29. Mar, 2010 by Chita Hunter in Paragon Neighborhoods

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This was a greeting I would often get from friends and family when they would call. The time? It’s around noon. Why are they asking me this question at this time of day?

I’m self-employed.

Some people don’t understand what it is to be self-employed. Some think that being self-employed means you can sleep in until noon, lounge around all day and get to work whenever you want. Well, that couldn’t be further from reality.

When self-employed, not only do you have to “bring home the bacon” as they say, you have to go out and hunt it and kill it first. Late to bed and early to rise is usually a self-employed persons mantra. Sleeping until noon will be a recipe for quick and ultimate disaster and demise.

Being self-employed takes discipline and a lot of programming. Programming to set specific times and dates to get things done. Otherwise “I’ll get to it later” may come too much later and be a moot point by the time you do get to it. Opportunity most times has a door that has a time clock on it and that time clock is ticking away.

So if you are thinking of venturing down the path to self-employment what are some of the things you should know? Aside from the vast amount of governmental infomation on being self-employed.

The most important thing to know?

Know thyself.

Are you really cut out for this, is this wishful thinking, fantasizing, are you kidding yourself, or are you so passionate that you just have to try this? Being even remotely successful when self-employed takes a lot of work and dedication. It’s not for the weak, because a real commitment can be all-consuming. If you are not ready to put a whole-hearted effort, if you know you won’t be able to give it the time it requires, being self-employed may not be for you. Maybe just not now, maybe at a future time.

If you decide to go full steam ahead, do yourself a favor, a big favor. Don’t keep “getting ready to get ready to get down to work.” If you’ve made the commitment and have a project lined up, get down to work. Clients respect you if you deliver what you promise and in a timely manner.

Projects that are presented incomplete, completed late, and combined with excuses similar to “the dog ate my homework” help the other self-employed person get the next project you should or could have had.

What hours are you really productive?

Time Management is Important

We have our own rhythms.  Whether you want to admit it or not, you are more productive at certain times and more hard pressed to be productive at others. Get to know what these times are. And then you can actually help these times be more productive as well.

If you are a morning person and happen to think clearer in the morning, plan a “quiet time” for your mornings. During the times when most people are just trying to get a grip on being awake, if you are wide awake, take advantage of that time. Turn off the ringer on the phone, or send your calls directly to voice mail, do not respond to email. Do whatever it takes to keep out distractions.

Set this quiet time consistently each day, two or three hours, to just focus on the projects you need to work on. If set for the same time each day, you can really get into a productive flow. These few hours of quiet time go a long way toward your efficiency. And guess what, that other stuff will still be there for you to attend to after your quiet (productive) time is over.

And yes, the self-employed mantra may be late to bed, early to rise, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that you don’t need to sleep. An all-nighter may be the occasional need, but a good-nights-sleep is a gold mine. Lack of sleep brings on all kinds of ills in your work and your health. With poor health your work suffers. If your work suffers you will put yourself out of business fairly quickly. It’s a viscous cycle. Take care of your health and the benefits will be sizable.

There is much self-help material available to help you on your way to self-employment; time-management and health management are just two or the  sizable parts.

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