Work routines that work
Do you ever wish you could get into a better groove with your work?
One that generates more productivity and progress in your health business?
One that allows your creativity to flow?
One gives you more time to yourself?
Over the years, there were times when I felt in flow with my business and times when I didn’t. Sometimes it would be easier and other times harder.
I have learned that when it gets hard, it means something needs to shift in my work routine.
In the beginning, it was because I didn’t have enough structure or routine. I would sit down with the intention to work but instantly procrastinate by choosing to do the laundry, wash the dishes, surf the internet, or respond to personal emails instead.
Beneath the surface, I was 100% self-sabotaging by distracting myself with meaningless tasks. I avoided putting myself out there because I doubted my ability to help people or to have an impact on the world.
As a solopreneur, it’s easy to escape work and accountability when you’re the only person you have to answer to.
And at the same time, that solopreneur voice inside your head is the toughest critic when you aren’t getting shit done.
Your work routines are vital to getting your health business going and growing.
I quickly figured out that my all-too-flexible work routine wasn’t helping me get anywhere with my business. And the negative self-talk, as a result, was only stalling me more.
I see this in a lot of other functional health practitioners as well, whether they are beginners, novices, or even well-established.
This makes sense because most of us functional health practitioners have been entrepreneurial from the start, maybe never working in a structured environment to help find the groove, so you’re just winging it and spending time on the next thing that pops up instead of prioritizing.
In this week’s video and blog, I share 3 proven tips to help you establish work routines that work to help grow your business AND take better care of yourself.
The beauty of having your own business is being the boss and having complete control of your schedule. When I made the leap from the corporate world to being an independent business owner, I vowed to never let anyone else dictate my schedule again in an effort to preserve my health and live life to the fullest.
Sometimes the downside to being the boss is the lack of accountability that can come along with it. You get to set the rules and answer to yourself when you break them, making it easy to procrastinate until the cows come home.
There is a way to strike a balance – to create structure, produce results, and have freedom all at the same time.
As someone who loves to travel the world, time and geographical freedom are important to me, but I also know my business thrives when I have optimal work routines in place.
Here are 3 proven tips to help you establish work routines that work to help grow your business AND take better care of yourself.
#1 – Ditch the Distractions
It’s easy to distract yourself from stepping up in your business, especially when you doubt your abilities, by continually taking courses, sitting in on every summit and webinar, or overthinking all the details.
Trust me, you already know enough to help people.
So what distractions do you need to ditch right now so you can get down to business?
- Take inventory and take action to ditch the distractions for at least the next 4 weeks:
- File away or unsubscribing from emails that clutter your inbox
- Hide people or turn off social media notifications if you get sucked in or are comparing
- Make a deal with yourself to NOT invest in any other summits or trainings until you reach a business milestone, or contain it to an hour per week to stay focused
#2 – Find Your Sweet Spots
The more strategic you are about when you do a certain type of work, the more efficiency and flow you will create in your workday.
For example, if I need to access my creative thinking powers for blogging or content writing, it’s absolutely impossible for me to stay focused if my inbox is overflowing with emails. Additionally, my creative energy is generally best earlier in the day. Therefore, my sweet spot for creative work is generally 11 am to 3 pm.
When I schedule creative work outside of that timeframe it feels harder versus if I harvest my creative energy during that sweet spot; the content flows easily and I can knock out a blog in no time.
Tapping into your sweet spots will instantly create more flow in your workday, making getting shit done a whole lot easier!
#3- Create Containers
Once you know your sweet spots you can then create containers for them by plugging the time into your calendar.
Segmenting your time, and creating what I call containers in your schedule for when you do certain types of work, also helps create efficiency and better focus.
If you’re trying to squeeze in content creation between clients and constantly changing gears, you’ll likely waste time trying to get refocused on the task at hand, and before you know it 15 minutes of that 1 hour you had to create content is gone.
To establish a routine and efficient workflow process as you set up your schedule, consider what types of containers you need to create in your calendar such as time to…
- Respond to client emails
- Work on client-related tasks (results analysis, supplements, etc.)
- Write blog posts and/or your newsletters for your list
- Social media posting
- Meet with clients
- And time to take care of yourself
To set up your schedule, begin by plugging in the time for these containers in your calendar on a weekly basis, and based on when you do your best work, so you can clearly see when and where you should be attending to them.
Even as a successful veteran business owner I still review these aspects in my business on a regular basis. Any time work feels “hard”, I step back and ask myself:
- Is there anything distracting me that needs to be cleared?
- Am I working in my sweet spot or has it changed?
- Did I create a container for this or am I doing it on the fly?
Your routine might look similar or different from mine, like how different diets work for different people.
What really matters is finding the routine that works for you.
I hope you’ll use these tips as tools to create a work routine that nurtures your productivity, being able to help hundreds of people heal, and your personal health.
P.S. Get more guidance on how to create a wildly successful health business in my Practitioners’ Business Essentials or Practitioners’ Business Management System program!