Having your own home based business is what most of us dream of. Who wouldn’t want the perks of working from home and being able to avoid commuting, having the ability to spend more time with family, and the freedom to manage our own time? Sounds wonderful, right? Well, actually it is, but there are also the drawbacks of running a home business.
In order to run a successful and productive home business, it is important to have organizational skills and self-discipline.
When I was working on a job, I had great organizational skills and self-discipline. After all, there were so many non-work hours in the day to complete all the tasks and chores that needed to be done, a quick run to the bank or post office at lunch, a quick trip to the grocery store between the driver and the children around their activities. Sounds familiar? There was not a minute wasted throughout the day.
When I started my home business, I organized my day by writing a daily “to do” list and breaking down each item. Having a home based business was like heaven. There was no one looking over my shoulder, no time constraints on completing a project. I was completely free to organize my day, just me, all of me and no one else but me. What freedom! But after several months, a dilemma began to rear its ugly head on her. This dilemma is called procrastination.
Even though it is your own home business, there are still components to running a business that you may not be interested in undertaking. I found myself continually procrastinating on those tasks. Even though it was on my daily ‘to do’ list, all I had to do was cross it off and write it on tomorrow’s list, after all, there is always ‘tomorrow’. But, tomorrows turn into weeks, then months, then years and before you know it, your business is suffering from the effects of your procrastination.
What were the reasons for my procrastination? Well, it turns out it’s the same reasons I wanted a home business; no one looking over my shoulder, not being accountable to anyone else, the ability to work alone, no deadlines, no pressure. I lacked the self-discipline to focus on completing unwanted tasks.
We as humans are social beings, we thrive on positive interactions and support from others. That’s why we join study groups, we have running buddies because it’s so much easier to handle unwanted tasks when you have a supportive buddy.
So if you find yourself procrastinating, seek support from others. Find someone to check on you weekly and help you hold yourself accountable for completing those tasks.