One of my biggest challenges in the last year has been managing myself. My ability to manage my energy and focus has been a daily struggle that has me up at night sometimes.
I obviously have never worked for myself as my own boss. In my career as an employee (even as a manager) I was under the supervision of someone else. Expectations for my position were set before I got there and I had been doing elements of that job for years before I was ever promoted to that position.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were in place long before I was given that position as well. So, there was no question what should be done in most given situations.
Who fills that position now? No one but myself. What are the SOPs for myself and my business now? There aren’t any really.
It seems pretty silly to think I would need something like that, yet I do. I am working on building a business that runs on automatic, with minimal interaction from me.
Habits and Rituals
I also have come to learn that our habits and rituals are basically the Standard Operating Procedures for our lives. In any given situation we instinctively know what to do and how to react. Although truthfully some of those reactions are not necessarily the best, nor most productive.
It is said that it takes 20-30 days to build a new habit (depending on the source). With that in mind I have made a conscious effort to build at least one new positive habit a month. I believe I have built two that make me proud and serve me.
I want to feel more productive in my business. To be fair to myself, I have high expectations, so even though I am being productive I seem to not allow myself to be content and happy and demand more.
Being your own boss sucks. I have been a pain in the ass boss that makes Self work long hours with little to no benefits. But along the way I am learning how to manage myself. It is a skill that few people really talk about when they go into business for themselves.
It is something that I have dramatically improved, yet still feel like I have a long way to go.
