I woke up late, of course. I say “of course,” because I’d forgotten to ensure that my alarm clock was actually on before I went to bed. 8:45 already – damn!
I laid in bed for a while contemplating the patterns of light and shadow on my ceiling. It took a while to remind myself that this was NOT Sunday, but Monday – my first day of fulltime entrepreneurship.
Things went downhill from there.
I didn’t bother to shower or dress till 10:30, then decided to go run a few errands. By the time I returned home at 1pm, my most productive hours were shot. I spent the rest of the day pottering about online, chatting on the phone, and generally being unproductive. One of my friends, who also started running with his own business full-time yesterday, tweeted that he’d gotten in several billable hours on the first day. Me? Not so much.
This is a good thing.
Why?
Well, here’s the thing: I needed the reminder that this is not going to be easy.
Before Day 1, I had cultivated the idea that The Miraculous was going to occur. That is, I’d magically spring out of bed, settle into some sort of productivity frenzy without much effort or planning, and Get Stuff Done without first creating the routine or accountability I know I need. Why? Because now I’m An Entrepreneur. That’s a magical thing, right? All the ones I know seem to pull fantastic stuff completely out of their arse without much thinking about it.
Apparently I was wrong.
Without routine or accountability, the day sagged along – demotivation and lack of productivity feeding on itself until around 8pm, when I gave up trying to make myself do anything at all, and sat on the fire escape with a cup of tea. Then I went back to the blogs of the people whose word I trust – Havi, Lea, Chris, etc.
Motivation and routine – or lack thereof – is a recurring topic on all of them. Ooops. Guess it’s not as easy as I’d wanted to believe.
And the Moral Of The Story is?
Wherever you go, there you are. If you had a hard time getting motivated without a routine, you’re still going to have a hard time when you go full-time. If you needed an external source of accountability before, you’re still going to need that source to keep you on track. If you needed a firm goal (X number of words written, Y billable hours, Z tasks accomplished, etc) before, your productivity is going to be 0 without it.
Working circumstances might change overnight. YOU – at least in the areas that count – don’t.
Today is going MUCH better, as I’m consciously beginning to lay the foundations for future days. I’ll talk about that in Full-Time Entrepreneurship, Day 2 tomorrow.
Meanwhile, does anyone want to be my productivity buddy?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats & welcome to the exciting world of entrepreneurship
Those lazy mornings are one of the best benefits of the whole thing…that is, until you realise they’ve extended into the rest of the day, just like you found!!!
Not being a morning person myself, I’ve found that working for myself means I can work to the hours I find the most productive – but – and it’s a big but – you are *so* right, routine & accountability are no less important as an entrepreneur and I love your idea of a productivity buddy.
Tee hee, Charlotte.
For me, the best productivity hack is one that has consequences. I’ve been in an exercise group for about 7 months now, where we each have to meet our weekly exercise goals or else we have to pay up $50 (goes to charity). My goal is 5 hours a week and I’ve only missed it once — the week I moved. It’s as much about honor as the $50, honestly. I don’t want to be the only one who didn’t make it.
Of course, being an entrepreneur has built-in consequences: no work = no eat. I’d love it if we could develop a productivity buddy relationship!
The miraculous usually takes some work to get to, but it sounds like you know that.
All the best with your new career! Sounds great. Keep writing.
cg
@Chris – Thank you!
I’m working on the miraculous – and would rather have it come with hard work than not. At least then I’m not reliant on some Ethereal Muse From The Sky to drop good stuff in my lap.
@Megan – Awesome! I love it – a productivity hack with consequences. Thanks for sharing! I think that’s something I’m going to have to implement.
@Lea – Thanks for the comment! A lazy day is good once in a while. The more frequent they get, however, the less pleasurable.