Are you a freelancer, home-based business owner or employee, or perhaps even a CEO or CFO that feels overworked or underpaid? Have you lost the ability to enjoy time with family or friends? Perhaps you used to have hobbies that you now don’t have time for?
Maybe you’re taking on too much work, or you could just be a workaholic… It’s not a bad thing, unless you have NO life and are happy with that. However, most people regret working so much that they lose valuable time with friends or loved ones, and often feel guilty for not being “at work” when they do take some time away from client demands.
If your problem stems from taking on too many projects, or even opening a new sector of business, here’s what you need to know:
- You should only take on the amount of work you can successfully complete in the amount of time agreed upon by yourself and the client.
- Each week you need to commit to at least ONE day a week off! Write it on your calendar, and really stick to taking the day off.
- Not taking personal time away from work will wear you down and leave you feeling like the typical rat-race of the working world allowed you to do the things you once enjoyed.
YOU can work from home and still enjoy those things!
Taking a deeper look at the word successful is the ideal starting point, how you measure your success can be different from very other person on the globe. One person may judge success on the number of clients they have, another may base success on the number of projects they’ve completed, and yet another might place the measurement of success on the dollar amount they’ve accumulated in sales (not profits). None of which are “wrong,” and can all spell SUCCESS.
You may think that the only way to be successful is by taking on EVERY project that comes your way, or adding new products to your e-store, or for big business it might mean opening new brick and mortar stores being a workaholic does not just affect small businesses. You will find that taking on every project will lead to performing tasks you’re not as interested in, aren’t in your niche, rush through, or even may be unqualified for which in turn leads to unhappy clients in all aspects. If you take a break, whether it be 15 minutes or 3 weeks, you will see a noticeable increase in your productivity, as you return to your desk feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
The bottom line is while you might make a few more Rand, you can
tarnish your reputation greatly in the process.
I myself am a workaholic by choice, I do not take on more than I can handle, I do not sacrifice quality for quantity, any yes I do turn potential clients down so that I can devote the necessary time to the projects I accept. I personally don’t feel as though I am losing money or missing out on the project. I believe that my clients will be happier with the quality of work provided to them, they will be willing to provide an excellent review of my services, and in turn will send other family, friends, and business associates in my direction for their business needs. You might want to know WHY I believe these things or feel this way, and I’ll tell you…. IT WORKS!! I’ve seen it with my own eyes and experienced the benefits of word-of-mouth advertising… not just locally, not just within my state, not just in the U.S., but on a global scale, I mean here I am writing this article for an Aussie blog.
“The proof is in the pudding!!”
As a self-professed workaholic, I’ll admit that a vacation only exists where there is NO internet, no phone, no way of conducting business period. Case in point, I’ve been on a cross country vacation south to visit family since late February. It is now a month later and I’ll be travelling back north to my home, I scheduled days off to travel and visit my much younger brother in college, spend a few days with my oldest son (2 years younger than my kid brother), enjoy some much needed time with my youngest son, and to spend time with my mother (the main reason for my visit)…. With a week left until my departure, I looked back on my trip and felt as though in all I really only spent a week with my family, and worked the rest of my trip. In order to make my last week count, I decided to work in the early mornings until my mom got up and not work any more till the evening when we were “doing our own thing. Now with 2 days left to my departure, I feel like I’ve spent adequate time with my family and even a couple visits with an old friend to boot, although like any vacation… I’m not ready to go home just yet.
Taking that time is necessary, yet so hard to do!
It takes as much dedication as running your business does.
I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavours, be them large or small scale, I hope that your projects are successful in however you measure success, and that you find time to enjoy life. We have the choice to go out and live, or watch our lives go by through a window, yet we only get one go at life so you can work yourself to death or take time to smell the roses and enjoy the things the world has to offer.
Sometimes we find our passion, define our niche, stumble across new ideas and potential clients,
or even invent our business identity when we step out of our comfort zone.
Curtis
#One thing that really made a difference in my at-home business was using outsourcers to assist with either the super technical stuff or the mind-numbing repetitive tasks. There are a number of online solutions that provide this service and when you take that 1 day off per week, you can still be getting stuff done!