The Ebb and Flow of Entrepreneurial Energy
By: Terri Zwierzynski | Leave a comment
Many of us grew up in the 9-5, 40-hour-work-week paradigm. Our corporate jobs led us to believe that our most productive hours were those between breakfast and dinner.
And so it is interesting to see how that translates to our new lives as independent entrepreneurs. I’ve had engaging email "conversations" with other soloists into the wee hours of a Saturday night (Sunday morning), and I’ve also worked with those who make it a practice not to read their email in the evening or on weekends. True to the entrepreneurial spirit, we all march to the beat of our own drummer.
The challenge that I have found is in hearing that drummer as the beat changes. I have days where I get fully engrossed in my work, time flies, and I don’t want to stop. Other days, I’d just rather play Snood or take a nap! It doesn’t seem to depend on what kind of work I’m doing, and it certainly doesn’t correlate with how many things are on my "to-do" list.
For instance, I spent four days last week (over the Fourth of July long weekend) cramming to make major upgrades to the Solo-E site navigation. By Wednesday I was burned out…and here it is Sunday and I still haven’t completed the last few page upgrades that should only take a few hours!
I’m learning to listen more, especially when I don’t feel like working. I’m training myself not to look at the list when that happens, and to just do what I want to do, knowing that tomorrow or the next day, I’ll get into a productive place and whip through the list. It’s not easy, knowing that those darned pages are sitting out there, waiting to be fixed. But I’m hard at work, practicing "letting go" of the need to finish when I don’t feel like it!
How about you? What tips can you share for getting comfortable with the entrepreneurial drummer inside?
Last 5 posts by Terri Zwierzynski
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August 7th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
Hi Terri–I know exactly what you mean. There are some days when I can’t seem to tear myself away from work, and other days when I want to work in my garden, take a nap, go look around a bookstore, and do anything but work.:-)
I like having a flexible work schedule, but I end up working out of proportion to the time I spend not working. I struggle with keeping a balance between work and play. I’ve started dealing with this by carving out some sacred “me” time–early in the morning, before work, and also weekends, when I stay away from my office and divert my mind from work stuff.
I also work in bursts–work 2 hours, then take a 1 hour break, then back to work for another couple hours, then take another hour long break.
It’s sort of like when you first go to college and you stay up all night, eat pizza every day, and totally ignore conventional schedules. You’re free, and you want to flaunt it! It’s sometimes like that when you start your own biz–When you escape from the corporate world, the freedom is exhilerating, but sometimes it gets the best of you!
August 8th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Sharon,
Bravo to you for setting aside “me” time. I’m also trying to do more of that, inspired by my friend Amy’s suggestions for before-bed and morning time. Although I still slip into bad habits…for instance today I didn’t eat breakfast until just a few minutes ago! :-O