The overall lifestyle of having and running your own business is pretty freakin’ cool:

• You’re your own boss now – you only have yourself to answer to (which, yes, has its upsides and downsides. That’s a whole post for another day).
• Your schedule is your own and, therefore, you have more say in what your day to day routine actually looks like.
• The sky’s the limit in terms of how much you can grow. You can take your business anywhere. 
• You can decide who you want to work with, so sometimes, you get to be a little picky if you wanna be. 

And yet. I don’t have to tell you that living the entrepreneur life is much more nuanced than that. With all this flexibility and freedom, running a business can quickly have you feeling unmoored and off-balance. And did I mention chaotic? (because that can’t only be me whose experiencing complete chaos at moments.)

You find yourself working at all hours of the day because you’re so dedicated to growing this thing, and mostly because you can. You’re saying yes to every single opportunity because who knows when the next payment will come in? You’re trying to figure out CRMs and email marketing sites, and trying to keep up with 23 subscriptions that keep your business running. 

As an entrepreneur, it’s even more important to build in the necessary time to ground yourself when starting a business from scratch. Time to create and stick to conscious routines and practices that set you up to be—and do—your best. Because (and I know this is so cliché and you’ve heard it 100 times, but it’s true) your cups gotta be full before you offer your time and energy to your clients. 

And no one else is gonna fill it for you. (Though you already know imma be supporting you and helping you keep it filled!)

So let’s chat about some ways that you can stay motivated and feel grounded 

Focus on genuine connection

Working in an unconventional setting, we business owners sometimes feel more disconnected (and lonely) than those who work on a team or work in an actual office space with other humans. 

Try to make time for at least one genuine connection, every single day. Comment on that instagram post that got you thinking this morning, send your friend a “good afternoon” text, chat with the barista when you get your matcha latte. Building in those little moments of connection feels good. And it’s easy for that good-feeling energy to flow into other areas of your life and business that day.

Set up a weekly check-in meeting with yourself

And put it in your calendar so you don’t forget. Reflect on your goals for the week and review how your last week shaped up. What could be better? What were some wins? And most importantly, how did you feel?

Use this time to plan for how the next week can be better. It’s such a good way to keep building that upward momentum, even if it’s through small steps. They always compound to create long-lasting benefits. (and if you haven’t read The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, he goes into great detail about this phenomenon). 

And let’s take that a step further – what are your daily goals?

As a business owner, I’ve given myself a list of small daily projects to complete that will propel me forward, specifically on days I’m feeling stuck or unmotivated. These shift every so often, but right now, it looks like this:

• Spend 5 minutes reading newsletters and sales emails to get a sense for different trends and strategies
• Watch/read one bit of educational content on a topic I’m focusing on
• Spend time working on a weekly blog post

The key here is to be flexible, so you’re not creating more work for yourself. But I find it’s a great way to make sure I’m spending my time valuably.

Step away

Yep. Please get away from the screen. Put your phone away. Don’t check your email. 

When your workday doesn’t have a traditional “end,” it’s way too easy to work for the entire day. How many times have you been about to stop working and think “Ok, I’m just going to re-write this one section real fast,” or “Oh! I forgot to respond to that inquiry. Let me just write back real fast.” 

Make sure you’re giving yourself time away from your business. Whether that’s going for a quick walk, eating something yummy while not working, or giving yourself an official “end-of-the-day-laptops-closed” time. 

Take everything with a grain of salt and listen to yourself

Including this blog post. We’re inundated with advice and information, which quickly becomes overwhelming. Because suddenly we’re trying someone else’s morning routine or trying to run our business like someone vastly different from us.

So be picky when taking any advice. You know what will and won’t work for your business. This is your show, lady!

Take the time to check in with how you’re really feeling and trust what you’re telling yourself. What practices do you think will make you feel grounded? I have a sneaky suspicion that you already know the answer to this, without even needing to read a blog 😉

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Hey there, I’m Kristie! I write website and email copy for service-based businesses and creatives who want to build meaningful relationships with their clients *and* not drown in the overwhelm of being a business owner.

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