Road blocks suck don’t they? Well I sure as hell seem to be hitting them all this week! Some people may say that I have been working too much and that’s why I have hit my road blocks and can’t seem to get the work done that I want to and some would say that it would require a vacation to help “open the road back upâ€Â. Well, I have to disagree. I had my almost two weeks of vacation only a week ago and when its time to get to work, stuff still isn’t going the right way.
Over the last couple days I have hit that point where I can not seem to accomplish much even though I know I have a long list of things that need to be done. I have 3 websites I need to make designs for and complete, a business plan to work on, and many other small projects going. Yet, I find myself falling asleep on the couch in the early evening instead of sitting down at my computer and knocking out some work. It’s the road blocks, damn it.
So, my way to break down those road blocks? Wait until after midnight and do my work then. The past 2 nights I have been able to get a small amount of work accomplished after midnight in a much shorter time, and by small I mean more than I would have during the day. The reason for it? So many fewer distractions and things going on around me. Everyone else in my house is asleep; most of the people I talk to online are in bed since they have to get up for an early morning start at the office; and less emails come in at night. Will this work for you? Maybe, maybe not but it works for me. It is my way to knock down the road block and really get cranking.
Motivation is a HUGE part of being an entrepreneur. When you know its your livelihood on the line, your money your risking, and your time that you are using or wasting, it makes a big difference to your productivity. Part of my problem the past couple days is that I haven’t been as motivated as I should have been. I have about another full solid week of the summer left in which I need to accomplish a lot and then a couple days here and there before the school semester starts again.
So what’s my motivation to get my shit done? You’ll never guess. To make more money than my girlfriend holding a full time summer camp job. I told her in the beginning of the summer that I was planning on making more money then she would over the summer by not working nearly as much and being able to do what I wanted, well, I intend to be true to that statement. As I write this post at 12:30 PM, I have about 9.5 hours before a morning meeting with a potential web design client that will probably bring me close to ¼ of my girlfriend’s summer earnings. When I say that, do not take it as cocky, even though it may sound like I am being cocky, that is just my motivation. I know that I have some big paychecks coming up in the next week and a half and I need to do everything I can to get to them.
Many people see the entrepreneur lifestyle as a laid back one and do not see it as a hard working environment to be in. But they do not understand that for a budding entrepreneur or a start up business owner, there is no steady paycheck, we are not using someone else’s money, and we sure are not on the clock from only 9 – 5. These are all motivating factors for me. What motivates you day in and day out to continue to want to be an entrepreneur and want to be successful on your own? Is it something similar? Let me know.
On top of all of that, I like to live a good lifestyle and be pretty relaxed about most things. I finally made up a sign for when you come down the basement stairs into my office that says “STRESS FREE AREA†trying to help me remember that that is what being an entrepreneur is about. You may get stressed sometimes but what you are doing is what you love and because you love it, there should be no stress. I can easily be working for 3+ hours and not even feel like 15 minutes has gone by. The feelings that go along with being an entrepreneur and self motivated are the best feelings that can come upon a person.
Making your own living and success is amazing. Get out there and do it! You have to love what you are doing, so if you do not love your line or work, then move on to something else and make sure you can put your full force behind it and are not afraid to associate yourself with it. Having your name on something is a powerful factor to many entrepreneurs.
Make today a new day in your life story and do something amazing and powerful accelerate your life. I really want to hear your comments on motivation and what keeps you going day in and day out to become a successful young (or old) entrepreneur!
(I know that was a lot of rambling and probably does not make much sense, but that’s how my mind flows. Maybe the random thoughts are my road blocks, who knows. But anyway, I hope you were able to follow what you just read and were able to get something out of it! I like to ramble 🙂 )
Geez bud…in the time it took you to write this post you could have knocked out your business plan! 🙂
I also get more work done during the night, I work faster because as you said there are less distractions. But now I’m trying to flip my internal clock to work during the day. Good luck on making more money than your girlfriend!
Chris, that was a very powerful post! You are absolutely right… entrepreneurs need to find motivating factors to help them succeed and carry-out their plans on a daily basis.
I actually like your plan to make more money than your girl over the summer because 1.) it sounds like a fun plan/goal 2.) it’s a friendly competition with someone who probably has your support and 3.) it’s something to focus on when you wake-up in the morning.
I have this HUGE whiteboard in my room that I use to write down all my goals for the day, week, month, whatever… It helps to remind me to stay focused on what needs to be done. It’s a constant thing in my face all day.
Also.. I simply like to speak to myself on a daily basis (usually staring out the window on the Manhattan skyline) saying “never give up…. keep at it….. you’re going to make things happen, dave…” This constant motivational talking that I do with myself keeps me on top of my game; keeps my mind focused on what needs to be done.
YOU have to be your number one motivator as an entrepreneur — believe that!
Thanks for the post!
Reid- it actually only took me about 5-10 minutes to get that post out. Everything just poured out.
Joseph- I know what you mean with trying to flip your work schedule. Its tough, especially as a college student. I get so busy during the day filling my time with classes, homework, and different meetings that the only time I have to actually do work on my businesses is at night. Then I come home for the summer and I don’t have that normal routine and everything is completely flipped upside down.