Back with another Biz Notes piece today, and since my posts as of late have been bordering on novel like length, I wanted to keep things a little lighter today! Lately I’ve had a few lessons swirling around in my head that have really seemed to come into play in my second year of working for myself.
Be Conscious of Boundaries I have a hard time saying no to things. In my first year of business I had the time to be a little more flexible and perhaps give more to a client than originally stated. But once my workload was filled to the brim (which seems to be the pattern for my second year!), boundaries- and actually setting them- became much more important. And truthfully it made me much more aware of the importance of setting them regardless of how much work I have. That bending over backwards work method is not a good pattern to set.
Celebrate Successes Are you constantly charging ahead, always looking to the next thing and not celebrating all you’ve accomplished in the present? This is totally me. In general I think I have a tendency to live in the future, or at least always look to it. I’m trying to be better about not only being conscious of current successes, but actually celebrating them. Manicures, fancy dinners, and a killer statement piece are all on my treat myself list… what about you guys?
Practice Letting Go Something a little funky has been going on with my Mac mail program and it’s messing up the addresses from which my emails are being sent. Frustrating and annoying, but not the end of the world. But yesterday I realized just how much energy I was putting into stressing over the situation. It was like a light switch was flipped and I was able to shut it off and just let go of the issue. It then got me thinking about other things I could work on “letting go,” in order to remove stress from my life- things that just aren’t worth it. I’m sure you can think of a few of those in your life…
Just looking at the bolded items above is putting me at ease. Even though I’m constantly faced with challenges, things do get considerably easier. When I think back on where I was a year ago and all that I know now in terms of working for myself- I can’t even imagine what it’s going to feel like in another year.
Photo by Emily Anderson of Apartment 34 Office
That last tip (practicing letting go) is something that I need to tape up to my cubicle AND next to my bed at home. It applies to both!
Really great tips! Learning how to say no was the hardest lesson for me.
Oh my goodness I had the same issue with my Mac mail program! I wonder what it is. I finally gave up - letting go is so hard but so necessary.
What is that about??? I wish I could fix it…
After a bad professional experience, I became very conscious of setting boundaries. I have to remind myself constantly to let go, and even then, I’m not so good at it! Thanks for this clear, straightforward post about keeping things in check. Very inspiring.
Letting go! That’s one I need to work on. I’ve been stressing over little things lately and need to remember to stop, and concentrate on things I can control.
really great tips, Clara! thanks for sharing.
love these, thanks clara!
I’d love to own my own business!! Some day maybe
Clara, if travelling makes a difference to how you feel, you can reward yourself with a small (or big) trip to one of those destinations that have been for years on your list. (To me travelling is the key pillar in my personal reward system).
Breath breath breath. We do breat - but so shallow and rarely exhale all of “it”. As a therapist, but working in the business world, I find that letting go’s first step is to exhale deeply. Every time I practice this little step I find how much more I sink into my chair, my bed, my life.