I’ve noticed that when it comes to working on my own projects, I’m a terrible boss. I’m unreasonable, demanding and ungrateful.
If I had a boss like that at work, it would be no fun at all. Someone who never focuses on the good stuff, who is always wanting more, and asking ‘why didn’t you do this as well?’ (out of a list of 20 things)
It’s well worth taking some time if you work at home to make working environment a fun place to be. And especially if you’re working for yourself, you need to be a good employer. Cut yourself some slack, reward the good work you’re doing. Have a laugh.
It’s especially important to take breaks and give yourself rewards. You may think it doesn’t work as well to reward yourself, but subconsciously, you’re setting in place a powerful motivation to do well.
It’s also helpful to decide on what your reward’s going to be before you’ve accomplished the task. If you’re like yours truly, once you’ve finished one thing successfully you’ll rush on to the next thing.
But if you’ve already organised some other activity, whether it be a walk outside, coffee with friends or a movie (or on a larger scale, a weekend away or surf trip to Samoa) then you’re not going to rush straight on. Instead you’ll take a break, relax, and do something cool.
And then you’ll be twice as motivated when you return to your projects. Motivation is a funny thing. You really do need to train yourself, and it’s much nicer to do that with rewards rather than stress and anxiety.
So, be a good boss to yourself, look after yourself, and you’ll be much more likely to stick around and not go looking for another boss!
