10 Great Habits to Form When You Work For Yourself

Our brains make millions of tiny decisions every second, many of which we have no control over, it just gets on with the job of remembering to breathe, feed us, rest us and pump blood around our bodies.

With so many thoughts passing through our brains, either consciously or otherwise, it can be tough to make decisions. We are hardwired to be creatures of habit, partly because it takes some of the pressure off decision making.

For example; Do you have the same thing for breakfast every day? Or at least, variations on a theme? Do you get up at the same time (ish) every day? Do you have a favourite pair of jeans that you throw on when you can't be bothered to think of something else to wear?

One of the biggest challenges facing freelancers is establishing a routine.

When we work to someone else's schedule we have to adopt a routine, but when we work for ourselves, we are our own boss. It's easy to get into bad habits when there is no-one looking over our shoulders.

When it's just you, it's up to you to form good habits that increase your productivity and prevent the scourge of procrastination from stealing your time.

Here are 10 great habits to form:

1) Write your ideas down
We have hundreds of ideas everyday. If we don't capture them, we forget them. Many successful creative entrepreneurs swear by the power of their notebook. I love notebooks and have loads of them.

  

Don't filter the ideas, just write them down, you can filter later.

Tip: I like to write different points in different coloured pens to break up the text and make individual items stand out

 

2)  Share ideas
Ideas get better with more inputs. 

Having a new perspective can give you clarity and confidence.

3) Dream Big, Start Small
The answers are rarely obvious at first glance, but break it down into smaller actions and you'll start to work out a path to success.

4) Question everything
The way you ask a question often reveals different responses and parameters. 

Get the obvious questions out of the way first and dig deeper. 

Gems are only precious because they are hidden, if they were obvious, they'd lose their value.

5) Change your methods
If you always do the same thing, in the same place, at the same times, with the same people, you'll get the same results. 

Our brains need diversity to create diverse ideas

6) People fear change, accept it, be ready for it
We like our comfort zones, we like stability. If you need to make a change that involves the buy in of others, what are the benefits to them? Always be thinking about the benefits to others in everything you do in your business, this is the surest way to build a loyal fan base. It's up to you to sell the benefits to the sceptics.


7) Practice creativity
Creativity is a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets. Don't be afraid to experiment and test things out. Getting feedback is the best way to make improvements and testing things out is the only way to know what works.


8) Have a plan
You don't necessarily have to have a big fat document the size of war and peace, but you do need to have some sort of a plan, recorded in some way: written, audio, visual, it doesn't matter - but if you don't know where you are going how will you know when you arrive?

A business plan is a living document, an agreement with yourself to take your business seriously and keep it sustainable. It's not something you just do to impress an investor. 

Use it to make decisions, allocate your resources in the most efficient way and manage your progress towards whatever success means for you.


I have a plan for my authorpreneur business.




 

9) Take money seriously
You may use the services of an accountant or bookkeeper, but you are still the financial manger of your business. It's not your accountants job to tell you where you are hemorrhaging money or that you are not charging enough for what you do. Ultimately, the main person who will suffer if the finances get out of control is you.

10) Be organised
Write stuff down. Have a process in place to get things done as efficiently as possible. Take regular, focused actions. Know where you are, what you've done and where you're going next - you business plan is your road map. 

What good habits do you recommend forming?

Less is More - Be Accountable for the Goals You've Set

Every year I set new year’s resolutions. Sometimes I do them, sometimes I don't. 

This year I decided to be more realistic about what I wanted to achieve in 2015.

 I published a couple of posts on goal setting at the start of the year:

Ideas are powerful, ideas change your world

Ten Reasons to Train Yourself to be Goal Orientated 

How Do You Decide What Goals To Set? 

My New Year’s Resolution was a theme: Less is more

I broke this vision down into longer term objectives:

I broke this down further into more specific tasks:

At the end of the first quarter of this year I'm taking stock...

When you set goals it's important to monitor your progress. 

Here are the specific things I have achieved so far and the progress I have made towards the objectives:

More: Writing. Fiction and Non-Fiction:

• Finish first draft of Gabriel's Game, Part 1: The White Queen by end Feb - completed
• Finish proofing process by end April - in progress
• Complete re-writes by mid-May
• Publish June 

• Complete first draft of Gabriel's Game, Part 2: The Black Knight by end June - in progress

 

 

• Publish 1 non-fiction book by the end of the year - I've now almost completed the first draft of 'Operation Author: So You've Published a Book, Now What?' so I'm bringing this forward by 6 months

More: Marketing activities for my writing:

I need to do more here and be more organised. 

I have seen an increase in book sales this quarter so what ever I've been doing is working. I need to set some goals around monitoring my marketing efforts.

More: Relationship development, online & offline:

In the first three months of this year I've been to more events and made more connections than I have for a while. This is related to marketing activities and undoubtedly has led to increased sales. I've also picked up contacts for other opportunities to build into my authorpreneur business.

2015 is Authorpreneur Almanac year. 

Join me in my 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship...

More: Exercise and Less: Food and booze:

I have to confess, I've done badly here. I've been so focused on work and writing that I've not made time to exercise and being busy and stressed always leads to me eating and drinking more.

The first step to setting goals is to acknowledge them. I need to plan my meals better and take my physical health more seriously.

The first step; myself and a friend are considering Race for Life in the summer so I need to put a training regime into place.

Less days at work:

I had a conversation with my boss about reducing my hours back in January. At the time, the business I work with as a day job couldn't accommodate. However, a change in business circumstances has opened up an opportunity for me to reduce my hours. This starts in April. - Completed

Less Distractions:

I have spoken to a friend of mine that I was involved with writing network with and bowed out gracefully. I found that I haven't had the time to dedicate to the network and it was a distraction - completed

Here's my 5 Top Tips to stay motivated to achieve those goals:

1. Regularly evaluate your practice - What's going well? What's not going well?
2. Review your goals - Have I allowed enough time? Have I been realistic about what I am able to achieve? Do I need  extra help?
3. Priorities will change - keep on top of them by looking at your list of goals strategically and asking yourself what you should be doing next. It could be different to what you anticipated a few weeks ago as other opportunities or challenges have arisen
4. Remind yourself what you have achieved instead of fixating on the things you haven't done yet. This is only the first quarter of the year, now I can see how much I've done and remind myself of the steps long forgotten, I feel like I'm making progress
5. Break down the goals further into smaller sub-goals to make them more achievable

 Have you stuck to your New Year's Resolutions?

20 Ways to Keep the Creative Juices Flowing

 2015 is Authorpreneur Almanac year. 

Join me in my 365 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship...

Creativity can be a fickle friend. It often comes and goes in waves, but you can take steps to channel the flow and exercise those creative muscles.


   Here are my 20 ways to get creative

1)      Keep lists

I have a mini notebook that I use purely for lists. I write lists in multiple colours to break it up and keep it lively

 
  
2)   Walk in nature
Step away from the hustle and bustle of your life for a while and take a walk somewhere, you don’t have to go far, just a walk in the park, taking the time to appreciate the greenery can be enough

3)      Ask for feedback

If we keep our ideas in our own bubbles all they do is bounce around in our head losing energy. Share them, ask for feedback and get other people's opinions

4)      Mindmap

Get a big piece of paper and some chunky coloured pens and spread your ideas out in front of you. Once things are written down, it's easier to see how they connect and make space in your head for the next ideas

5)      Free Write

Write every day. Even if you are not working on something, free writing is a great way to clear your head, and you never know, what you write may turn out to be useful one day. Find a quiet space, give yourself some time and just write whatever is in your head. Even if it's nonsense.

6)      Doodle

Allow your pen to swirl around on the page where it likes. Doodling, creating random patterns etc clears you head, it gives your hands something to do while your head processes things.

7)      Experiment

Use whatever craft supplies you can get hold of, card stock, fabric, coloured tapes, ribbons, paints, paper, button, sequins etc and just play. Don't constrain yourself with a plan, just put things together and see what happens

8)      Sketch

Take a sketchbook and pencils with you and just sketch what you see; people, buildings, plants etc. It doesn't matter if you're no good at drawing, it's more about being observant and noticing small details. Forming a habit of noticing details can enhance your writing and give you a fresh perspective on things

9)      5 Best Things from the day

At the end of your day, think about the 5 best things that day. The challenge is to come up with small or different pleasing moments. 
Tip: You could keep them in a journal

10)  Do something that cheers you up

What always makes you laugh?  I've never been able to whistle and whenever I try I always end up falling into fits of giggles. Also, cat videos always make me smile

11)  Reorganise your workspace

Sorting out your desk, work area, wardrobe, kitchen etc.  Reorganising and having a spring clean can be a cleansing experience.

12)  Sort through ephemera and create art

As a performer of random acts of creativity, I collect lots of ephemera. Sort through it and have a go at creating some collages. It's an interesting experience in looking at things a bit differently.

13)  Set some fun goals

When you set goals to move forward, they don't always have to be about work and achieving success. Set some goals to do things from your bucket list. Plan to do small fun things that you'd like to try.

14)  Hang out with creative people

Hanging out with other creatives and talking about creative things can be great for drawing out and forming ideas. Often some wine helps too (not to excess)

15)  Look at inspiring images

Whether it's flicking through National Geographic or pinning lovely things on Pinterest, seeing inspiring images often leads to ideas.

16)  Read Inspiring Quotes

Words can conjure up powerful images or involve strong emotions, reading inspiring quotes is a useful way to increase your vocabulary or express yourself better in writing.

I published a blog on this last week

17)  Talk it out

Sometimes, just chatting it through and having a willing participant while you babble through a stream of consciousness can help clarify things.

18)  Do something you've never done before

Have a go at something new, whether its a physical or mental exercise, stretch your comfort zone and learn new skills

19)  Visit a place you've never been before

A change of scenery can give you a new perspective and fresh ideas

20)  Reuse/Recycle/Repurpose something

Whether it's an old piece of furniture or finding a new use for something old, experiment 



How do you keep the creativity flowing?