Should your quirks shape your business?
Hi, I'm Deidre. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a copywriting partner to designers, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning as I go (with Marketing Mentor as my guide).
Like Colleen Wainwright’s eloquent song, sometimes work (and marketing in particular), can feel like pushing a boulder up a hill. When I feel the weight of the boulder pushing against me—I know it’s time to recalibrate. It means I’ve lost my mojo.
In my latest un-newsletter, I talked about just being us. I think that by respecting our inherent quirks, we can do better and feel better too. These days, I give myself permission to shape my business around these self-evident truths:
- By 3pm I can’t form a coherent sentence. Seriously. This is why I schedule phone calls early in the day. I’ve tried late day phone calls but get frustrated because my brain won’t work, or else feel silly because I sound like a moron. I’ve accepted this as part of my body’s natural rhythm.
- Mondays overwhelm me. The shock from lazy Sunday into crazy Monday always jolts me. I keep my interaction low and give myself uninterrupted get-back-into-the-swing time.
- Midday showers fit my life. I try not to care if most people shower at 7am before starting their day. I like to get a few things accomplished as soon as I wake up. Then I can sing in the shower instead of listen to the flurry of things to do inside my head.
- Pushing doesn’t make it better. If the words aren’t flowing, I need to step away and come back. Pushing harder just makes it worse. Sitting longer just makes my back hurt. This is why I stopped procrastinating and allow myself a few days to splatter words and ideas together before deadlines.
- Facebook isn't for me. Like too much coffee, Facebook made me jittery—so I quit. Life after Facebook is better. Sure, I've missed out on some things, but I feel like I've gained more than I've lost (time and sanity being just a few).
What’s your ideal working climate? What personal attributes should you consider to strengthen your work and productivity?
Like Colleen suggests, I believe in the power of just one thing. On the topic of “just one thing,” the 2013 Marketing Plan + eCalendar will help you feel powerful and productive every day with one simple task. I’m a fan.
A great testimony that a business doesn't have to fall into a cookie cutter model. I started doing those same things... scheduling a "light" day to ease into the week and for brainstorming and jotting down ideas for weekly writing and blogging projects, so I have some type of idea what I'll be writing about in the coming week. Otherwise, too stressful to think about getting it all done! As always, a topical, informative post! : )
Posted by: Tara | February 07, 2013 at 06:36 PM
What a great post! A great reminder that we don't have to fit a certain mold to be successful (or happy); in fact, trying to fit that mold may be what's holding us back. Quirks are what make us each unique, and we should not apologize for them. I don't see a way to NOT bring them into our own businesses!
Posted by: Laura Kaczmarek | February 08, 2013 at 09:59 AM