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Embracing the seasons of your biz
Hey Reader,
I don’t know about you, but if you’re self-employed too, I’m willing to bet that one of the main reasons you made that move was because of the freedom-fueled lifestyle it can help you create. Amiright??
That was probably my number one reason, and after 12+ years in the entrepreneur game, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love running my business (especially at the moment, when I'm leaning in to a fresh & exciting season of pivoting!), AND I also really love building a life outside of that where I get to spend my days however the hell I want. Literally, I just spent the entire morning yesterday at the lake in Whistler, because I was working on the weekend a bit more than I intended to, and I knew I needed to GTFO. That's the kinda shit I live for. ☀️
I really don't think there's such thing as 'balance' when it comes to work/life, but there is most def an ebb & flow between the two.
Today I wanted to share a collection of thoughts that I've learned over the years when it comes to this ebb & flow of living your life, and also getting in your zone and bringing some really cool shit to life in your business. 😊
Remember there will be seasons ⛰️
One of the reasons I fucking love living in Canada is because — compared to where I’m from in NZ — we get four TRUE seasons. Cold winter (with a bit of snow thrown in), warm and incredible summers, with a real nice spring and autumn too.
I find the same thing in business. I know… Kinda cheesy. But its true, right? If you think about it, your approach to your work might also line up with the actual seasons themselves. Maybe the summer is a bit slower work-wise because you're outside in the sun living your best life, and the fall is when you get back to business and start fresh... Ya know??
Sometimes you’re 100% in the zone, and sometimes you’re just not. You can’t force yourself to go there when you’re just not feeling it, so instead of putting all of these labels on shit I think we gotta acknowledge what season we're in, and build our schedules & lives around that.
Schedule YOU time first, before any work shit 🙋♀️
At the start of each month before any work commitments hit your calendar, put some life stuff in there. Hang sessions with friends, workout sessions, travel or day trips you wanna take, days off, any of that stuff that doesn’t involve work.
When you’re not on anyone else’s time but your own it can be easy to slip into work mode 24-7, which sometimes is rad, but for the most part its just not sustainable. Make your time off just as important as the time you’re in the zone.
Know how you work best 🎵
Because there will be times that you have a deadline, you have some client shit due, you got SOMETHIN’ on the calendar, and you just ain’t feeling it… Or you know, you’re just procrastinating like a motherfucker — but you still have to find a way to just sit your ass down and do the work. These are the days you need to know exactly how you work best.
So… Do you work best at home? Do you need headphones? Whats your go-to in-the-zone playlist? What’s your fave cafe or co-work space? Could you go away to a motel for a night or two and just commit to doing the work? Do you work better if you start work first thing in the morning, or if you have some you-time and get to work around midday or later?
For me? Gimme my noise cancelling headphones, a fully charged laptop, some noice house music, throw me in a cafe that’s not tiny and cramped as fuck (small spaces with a lot of people tend to freak me out), and I’ll be good to go for at least a couple hours.
Don’t forget that you can your shit however you like 🔥
I’m guessing there’s a pretty good chance that if you started your business by yourself, a huge part of the pull behind doing that was having freedom and doing things your way, yeah?
Well, sometimes we kinda forget this along the way… If you’ve got a business partner, or family, or someone else relying on you things aren’t as clear cut — I get this — but I also believe we’ve always got control over our own lives.
You can work for a week, and take a week off.
You can have a full-on home office.
You can not have a home office and just roam around with a laptop (like me).
You can have a part time job as well as running your own business.
You can choose not to ‘play bigger’, and keep your biz team to just yourself (also me).
You can decide to have Monday off work and start your work week on Tuesday. (I honestly fucking love this one — having the ability to take Monday off where you can is amazing… Probably because it feels like you’re being rebellious AF, haha).
You get the idea. What's something you'd love to switch up that you kinda wrote off in your mind because you thought 'na, no way, I can't do that'?
Have boundaries… 😎
…and fucking stick to them.
Here’s a few of mine ::
- I never work past 5-6pm, unless I'm HUGELY in the zone, but it's pretty natural for me to tap out around this time anyway too. If I work later than this I can’t sleep very well, because my brain just doesn’t feel like it has time to chill out and turn off from work.
- I’ve never given my phone number to a client. There’s never been a need for it, and although a couple have sneakily tried to ask for my phone number, I’ve never given it out. If you have a job where you’re not needing clients to contact you via phone, stick to email, Zoom, and any other platforms you might use.
- Similarly… I stay away from any client conversations in Instagram or Facebook messages. It’s a bit of a nightmare to keep track of, and again — boundaries. If someone messages you via FB about a new project, kindly let them know all work conversations must come through your email.
- I use my laptop, iPad, and phone very differently. i.e. My laptop is for work, obviously. But my iPad doesn’t have emails, iMessage, Instagram, or any other social media installed — it never has. And well my phone is my phone, but I don’t really do a lot of ‘work’ shit on there. So I have pretty clear zones about what I’m doing on each device.
- My laptop never goes in my bedroom. Its kind of a right-of-passage for any self employed person to go through the phase of relising you CAN work from your bed, then 1 month later realising how much it can fuck you up, haha. These days my bedroom is not my work zone at all — and it’s great.
So there’s a few examples for you! Whatever you decide to do, it’s not gonna stick unless you actually follow through and hold yourself accountable for these things. It’s also even more important to have these boundaries with clients so you’re both on the same page.
If you're self employed, what have you learned about having a life and running your business?!
Sian Richardson | Build a brand worth noticing.
We’re a rowdy tribe of friends dedicated to building the futures we want to see. You should come hang with us. Weekly-ish emails on all things Squarespace, design, creativity, and doing shit on your own terms. You in?