Episode #54
Show Notes:
How do you get out of a rut? How can you stop feeling guilty about being lazy for a few days?
Transcript
[Music intro]
This podcast is about entrepreneurship, spirituality, and self-care. My name is Lourdes, and I am the host of this show. Thank you for listening today!
Hello, and welcome back! Today, I’m gonna talk about getting motivated for your business. And actually, I’ll be transparent here, I have had no motivation at all this week doing anything in my business! I had a couple of webinar events that I had to monitor, and that is making me some money.
Not much, but a little bit of money. But other than that, doing anything for my own marketing, which I was advised that every day before I go to work or my work hours, which is at 9 AM, that I should put in 2 hours of marketing work for myself.
But this week? Oh my gosh, I’ve done nothing like that! I don’t know what’s going on! Maybe cause the past few days we had a full moon? It’s been sunny here, and it’s nice and mild in the 60s. Do you think I got motivated to do anything? Nope! So I’m looking back and trying to figure out why.
All I can think of is that last month, I did a lot of work in my business. I change my color themes every year in January. I get so bored with my website colors, that I end up changing the colors every year. And, I don’t mind doing it. I do it myself, and I actually enjoy doing that. It feels creative, it gets me going, and that energizes me.
Last month, not only did I change the colors from my website, I did some new strategies for social media. I’ve also learned to use my smart phone, or teaching myself and taking some classes on making better videos, taking better photos, and editing videos on my smart phone.
I created a new content planning calendar in Trello. Usually my calendars were in Google Drive or Google Sheets or Excel sheets. But I thought since I love love love using Trello, I’m gonna try content planning in there. And, if you get a power up in Trello, you get 1 power up for free for every board you have in Trello, and just to let you know, I am using the free version of Trello, you get one power up.
So the power up I got for my content social media content planning thing is a calendar. So that helps me a lot with planning my social media. It may not sound like much, but all those things I just mentioned took a lot of time. I watched so many classes, I’ve watched YouTube, I’ve attended classes, they all add up, and that’s doing work in-between. I monitor a couple of webinar events here and there for clients, and that takes up some time. And then I also have to cook and do my laundry and take care of my household on top of all this.
But anyways, I understand what it’s like to run a home-based business. It can be tough, and when you’re not feeling inspired or motivated, it’s okay. But, I did research some tips on how we can help ourselves as business owners.
Okay, and one of the first tips is to set realistic goals. And, that’s a big reason why people lose motivation, is because sometimes they set unrealistic goals. So for example, for me, I wanted to get 2 or 3 pathways, which is in Toastmasters, out of my way within one and a half months, or within 3 meetings. That was just too much. You know how much time it takes to prepare for a speech? It takes time. Sometimes it takes me days to get a speech together, and then I have to reread it, and then I have to edit it, and that takes a lot of time.
So that was really something that I was doing too much of, and I decided you know what, I can’t speak at that event, I can’t do that, it’s just too much and I put too much pressure on myself.
So, I decided I’m just gonna tackle one thing only, is setting a realistic goal. So if you’re somebody who wants to set your goals on creating 10,000 followers on Instagram within a month, do you think that’s realistic? I mean, I know it happens, I’ve heard that it happens, but you also have to put a lot of work in.
And, if you have the energy to do that, go for it! But otherwise, you can set a smaller goal. Instead of 10,000, how about 1,000? Or how about 100 new followers? Something more realistic might be easier on yourself.
And here’s another one, surround yourself with positive people. Having a good support system of people that believe in you and your business can make a huge difference. You can connect with other home-based workers from home that work remotely, and even join some Facebook groups for people that are home-based or self-employed.
You guys can talk about, in those groups, all kinds of problems you might have like getting motivated, or how to deal with certain things with clients. I had a colleague of mine this week call me because she quoted a client the wrong price, and now she needed to figure out how she can correct this part on her proposal that she already sent. So it’s nice that you can call someone or talk to somebody about it, and help you clarify it.
The person that you’re talking to may have an idea, or else when you guys are brainstorming and trying to figure things out, you might be able to figure it out on your own. So it’s nice to have groups and connecting with people who are like-minded people that will help you and motivate you and vice versa.
You know what’s another big motivator? Ask yourself, why did you start your business? Is it because you have a goal in mind, like get a debt out of the way? Or you’re trying to save enough money for your son’s college tuition? Maybe that’s why you decided to work at home and do this.
Whether you work from home full time or part time, there is a reason why you started this business, right? So think about that, maybe write it down on a piece of paper, look at it every day, and say hey, this is why I’m working for my business, is that I have this goal to do.
How about if you’re not organized? You’re finding clutter everywhere in your house, like myself lately. Oh my gosh, I walked in my home office, I have my stack of taxes that I have to take pictures of or scan to send to my accountant. It’s just stacked there in the middle of my desk. On top of it, I had old bill statements that I meant to put 3 holes in with my 3 hole puncher so that I can put it in my binder, it’s been sitting there for months. And it just, it just gets to me.
And then, when I go downstairs in my family room, which I have been taking my laptop and working in my family room as a convenience/refresher, well one of my bookshelves became cluttered with many things. I put my stretch bands, I had my dumbbells, I had tripods, I had ring lights, pens, two or three different notebooks, it just looks like a mess. So, I know that did not motivate me, so that is my goal.
By Sunday, I plan to get those things out of those areas. So getting more organized will help you feel more in control, less stressed, and a little bit more motivated.
Maybe that’s what I needed this week. Remember how I said I am not motivated at all? Like I thought, I probably did put a lot of work into my business last month, and this whole week so far, and it’s Wednesday today, I am not doing much in my business. I started created some social media reels, some videos that I was going to put into Instagram.
I only did two, but I have five that I have not actually posted yet, and not even put it in my planner. I just need a break. I’m thinking I’m needing a break. So tomorrow, guess what? I’m gonna go get a hair cut.
I’m gonna go out to the store, buy some new makeup, get my hair done, and maybe just take a break and enjoy myself for tomorrow. Sometimes you can also take a break by going outside, taking a nice walk in nature, or even just reading a book. Maybe binge watch some Netflix. That takes your mind off of work, and it gives you some type of break mentally from your business.
So let me reiterate. No matter how big or how small the victory is that you’ve accomplished, celebrate the fruits of your labor. And until next time, thanks for listening, love you all!
[Music outro]
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About the Host
Lourdes is a passionate, spiritual individual who works with entrepreneurs with creating a remarkable presence online. She enjoys working “behind the scenes” so YOU, shine as the face of your business.”
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