And we are back to home schooling.
As I write this, I have a little fella to my left, and a little fella to my right. Every 5 minutes, a maths sheet gets thrown across my laptop for me to mark. Of course, they want to know their results instantly!
I’m not going to pretend this is easy though.
In fact, the first challenge of the day is getting them to settle down at the table in the first place and accept that they MUST knuckle down and get on with it… even though working at the dining room table, away from their friends… without a proper teacher… without their normal structure… is different. Simply not the right environment.
That got me thinking about us all, as business owners.
Are you feeling a bit like my little guys, and many other kids in the UK:
- Working in an environment where you don’t feel as compelled to get stuck into work?
- Missing your colleagues and the daily buzz of being around others?
- Putting off doing your accounts, marketing, sales activity because it feels like a slog?
- Leaving tasks until the last minute, and then carrying them out whilst crying, and thinking, “why didn’t I just get it done earlier?”
- Favouring building a camp under the pool table, and spending time under there with the teddies (just me?)
- These are just a few examples; and of course, some days can be quite the opposite, where you may be more productive and zoom through the tasks – even the ones that you’re not as keen on; or feel a lot harder.
When you started your business, you had a dream.
You still do, yes?
But the only way to make that dream a reality is to knuckle down and hustle!
WHAT IS HUSTLING? It’s a bit American isn’t it; but I like it.
To me, it means… having the self-belief, courage and determination to do what it takes to achieve your goals; no matter what obstacles stand in your way. You’re prepared to do what others won’t, to make it happen.
So, the most important thing here, if you’re doing to hustle your way to your dreams… is to recognise when you are sabotaging your progress. This happens when your conscious mind (the one that knows you have to just crack on for all the right reasons) and your subconscious ego (the one that likes to binge on chocolate… just me again?!) are at odds with each other.
If you can reason with both sides, and get them to agree, you’ll make much more progress. Coupled with:
- Having a goals and milestones plan to work towards, so you get that sense of achievement when you meet them.
- Putting time in your diary and sticking to it; letting nothing else get in the way.
- Recognising when you are procrastinating, and setting yourself deadlines.
- Making your intentions known by others, and perhaps having an accountability partner, or an assistant or VA that keeps you on your toes and hunts you down if your work is late (like our Amanda does for us!)
There’s lots of other ideas in this article, which was written last year, but with the continuation of this pandemic, it’s as relevant now as it was then.
What one thing can you do today to increase your productivity, motivation and ability to achieve your goals?
Become a hustler, baby!….. Click here and sing a long with me, all your hustlers out there….. but don’t click if you are easily offended!
Victoria ????
