I have a flexible schedule, but still get nothing done!
There is a phenomenon that often plagues the solopreneur community. Here is what it sounds like, “I work for myself, I have a flexible schedule, and I don't seem to get anything done.” I talk to a lot of business owners and this theme keeps repeating. It could even sound like “I know I can make my own calendar and my to-do list keeps getting longer and longer. I am unable to get the critical things done.”
There are a of couple reasons why this happens. It's the proactive versus reactive response. So, you have a flexible schedule. The first decision; Is our schedule flexible for ourselves or flexible for other people? When we flex our schedules for other people, we tend to be reactive, as opposed to flexing our schedule for ourselves, we can be proactive.
Let’s talk about a common scenario. You are taking care of an aging parent, a sibling, or someone close to you. You take them to the doctor's appointments and run errands for them. When that person needs something, they call you. Then you drop everything because your schedule is flexible and you go to help them meet their needs. That is an example of flexing your schedule for other people and reacting to the things that come up.
How can you still keep those commitments and ensure your work gets done? First, you create a designated time weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the situation, where that person knows you are available to be there for them. Let’s say Thursday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Therefore the person you are caring for knows that between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Thursdays, you are going to be available to run their errands, take them to appointments, hang out with them, and do whatever needs to be done..
Oftentimes people just want to know that you can make time for them and they call to say, “Hey, can you do this for me?”. They want to get it off their mind. Remember we teach people how to treat us. So if we respond immediately to someone’s needs they will assume that it is ok to continue to interrupt your day and expect you to drop everything.
In order to be more proactive you can create a time slot in your calendar to dedicate to those that you are taking care of and you can also do this for your family and children. Put all their classes, lessons, practice schedules, and meetings into your calendar. That way you can flex your schedule around those commitments to get your productive time completed. As opposed to, “Oh my gosh, one of the children has swim practice in 30 minutes, I guess I can not create that follow-up system right now.”
Creating time, whether it is for making appointments, time to take people to appointments, or even just running errands, creating that space in your calendar for those that you're taking care of or that depend on you is very important.
Even more vital, when scheduling productivity time, ensure it is non negotiable. This productivity time is working on your business doing the tasks necessary to be productive, creating income for yourself, and your family.
Remember no one changes your schedule but you. You either allow people to change your schedule or you plan and prepare for greatest success. When you work for yourself you get to decide, do you want a flexible schedule for you or do you want a flexible schedule for everyone else? When you have a flexible schedule for everyone else, you're reacting to the things that happen and often this sacrifices your ability to actually work on your business.
Imagine what it would feel like to have a flexible schedule that allows you to keep your commitments to others and your commitments to yourself.
Would you like to create your own customized Time Blocked Calendar? Check out our Time Blocking Masterclass On Demand.
