Are you feeling a little unmotivated by the summer heat? With kids at home? With longer days and the desire to be outside or hanging out with friends? I’ll get to the Summer Slump but first…
I must be honest…I’m feeling the summer slump! I have been playing a lot! Golf, tennis, hiking, going out with friends. It’s been fun! And business seems to be taking the back seat. I do need to tell you, though, that you can’t just stop doing business or working because you don’t feel like it!
One of the hardest yet best things about being an entrepreneur is that no one is checking to see if you’re at work. No one is putting a bunch of deadlines on you. No one is looking over your shoulder to see if you’ve done that thing yet. And no one is telling you when to report to work. So how do we keep going when we feel like having summer vacation?
Here are three tips to overcome the summer slump.
1. Figuring out a routine for yourself
When will you work? When will you play? I have set my schedule to work a full day on Mondays and I take Tuesdays mostly off (I may work later in the afternoon, but not often). The remainder of the week, I work after 11, so I can take advantage of the cool mornings to be outside. If I really want to get work done in the quiet, I have a couple of days each week where I may work from 7:30 until 9 am and then go out to play before coming back in the afternoon. This is what works for me. Find what works for you!
2. You must have a PLAN.
If you don’t keep your goals in mind or know what it is that you want to do when you sit down at your desk, you’ll feel resentful, overwhelmed, or lost! You are simply wasting time. Look at what you need to do for the month, the week, and the day as aligned with your goals, and then you can set aside time in your calendar to work on those things that are going to move the needle forward. Do you have work to do for clients of yours? Do you have a blog to write? Do you have a course to develop? A speech to write? Emails to answer? Phone calls to make? Networking to follow up on? It’s of utmost importance that you don’t set aside time to work. Make sure you know what you’re working on. If you have this plan, you will be able to sit down and focus rather than push papers around or make busy work for yourself.
3. FOCUS when you’re working
Turn on music that will help you concentrate and get things done. Turn on a timer and work until it goes off. Turn OFF your notifications and close all windows. This isn’t the time to get distracted. This is time to WORK! If you work for 20, 30, or 60 minutes without distraction, you will be AMAZED at how much you can get done. And you will feel accomplished!
4. And here’s a BONUS tip: REWARD YOURSELF for being focused and getting work done
If you tie in something fun or something you love to get your work done, you’ll be more likely to do it and even more satisfied that it got done! What a great feeling to not have things hanging over your head that you should be doing or that need to be done. For instance, as I am writing this article at 7:30 am, I know when I finish, I get to go out to follow my son around at his golf tournament all day. What a great reward. Oh, and I get to have happy hour with friends after, without any work guilt. I encourage you to revisit your goals so you can decide what the most important things are that you need to get done to enjoy the time you have left of the summer. Keep in mind, the things you do today will pay off in the months to come, all while taking care of yourself.
Do you want more from me to #getfocused? Go to JulieMillerDavis.com/focus to get my three-part video series on staying focused and getting things done.