The best part about working online or working from home is that you can do it anytime and even when you are feeling under the weather. This kind of goes back to the post I did about perseverance. You can be in your sweats and a hoodie and still work online and get a lot done.
You can post to your blog (like I am now), you can make videos (as long as you aren’t in your date night outfit-keep it PG please!), you can drive traffic, post ads, build your website out, work on your lead capture pages and funnels, email your list- all from the comfort of home. This is the great part of having an online business and working it from home.
For example, I just made a video about Now Lifestyle yesterday to put in my email funnel. I was very sick when I made that video. I thought I looked like 6 pounds of hammered shit stuffed into a 5 pound bag when I watched it after making it. But the video needed to be done, so I got it done and placed it in my funnel where it was needed.
Then I went to the doctors and found out that I have (right now, at the time of writing this) walking pneumonia and I had to have x rays, get treated with an intramuscular shot of antibiotics, an inhaler and a weeks worth of pills that were another kind of antibiotic. What other business could you go into, get into the office, and make a video presentation while being that ill? Nowhere but working online from home. Any other job would turn you away at the door and tell you to get lost.
I’m NOT saying neglect your health for the sake of your online business. If you are too sick to work- DON’T!
You must take care of YOU fist! BUT- I am a nurse by trade, so I took an educated, calculated risk- I knew what I had for an illness, I already had made a doctors appointment prior to shooting the video and chose to do the video that day before my appointment. I am sure that I had contracted that pneumonia from someone outside of the house, probably at Wal-Mart when I went out as it is still flu season here in Maine.
I am NOT saying neglect your health and put your business above all else- I am just saying that working online from home has many advantages that you can capitalize on. One of which is the ability to conduct your business under less than stellar circumstances IF you have the drive to SAFELY do it.
The downside is that at home there may be some distractions that you will have to overcome. Such as looking around and knowing that chores need doing, or that your favorite program has a new season out and it’s on your DVR. No harm in playing it in the background while you work right?
Well, personally I’d rethink that. I’ve done that and gotten sucked right into the program and before you know it you have watched a whole season of Game Of Thrones and gotten ZERO work done.
One thing you should do is set aside a block of time that is just for work. Your best option is to have a separate room that is away from most of the distractions of the household. Tell whomever it may concern that from x o clock to y o clock is your work time and that interruptions of your work should be minimal if any at all.
This may seem like an asshole thing to do, but it is necessary for your long term success because the less distractions and interruptions you have, the faster you will make progress and the faster you can get to the point where you GET PAID for your efforts. They may not like it when you set those boundaries but I’m pretty sure they won’t mind so much once payday gets there and they see money coming in from “that crazy online stuff” that you are doing.
I’m NOT saying neglect your family and household duties. I’m just saying set aside time to work and make a list of income producing activities that need to be done in that time frame and go do them FIRST. Then move on to other things. You should ALWAYS do the tasks that will help you make money FIRST. Things like mailing your email list, placing ads etc.
I am just as guilty as everyone else about getting distracted. And sometimes I still lose the battle.
Last night, for example, I bought a piece of software last night that will help me with my business. Which is good because it will, once fully deployed, it will cut down on the time and effort of one part of my business.
The problem was that when I bought it I still had income producing activities that needed to be done. I needed to write a blog post, mail my email list, place some ads, and fine tune a lead capture funnel (the one with that video I did) that I had just built. But instead, I looked at a how to video for the software program and got all wrapped up in that and before i knew it, 3 hours had passed and I still hadn’t done what I originally had set out to do for that day. Not good.
So, I am not just talking out of my ass when I say set aside a time block and make a list of income producing ativities to do. I know how bad it sucks when you don’t approach it like this. I didn’t set aside my time and to do list last night- I just winged it and thought all would be well, and paid the price. Now I am playing catch up today.
Don’t be like me. Organize, prioritize, plan the work, work the plan, and do all your money making chores first. Then check out that cool new software or your favorite program.
If you do slip up and do get distracted, remember we are all only human, it is impossible to be perfect, and that tomorrow is another day. Just learn from it and move forward.
Until we speak again my friend, I wish you nothing but success.
Sincerely,
Seely “The Lion” Clark IV
