Would You Hire You?
Written by JoAnn and Felix Dueno on Dec 22, 2008 7:44 pm
Read More: Discipline | Personal DevelopmentNormal
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Working from home has its advantages no doubt. Like, working while you are
still in your P.J.'s or being able to take a break whenever you feel like one,
leaving to go do errands without asking for permission, attending all of your
kids ballgames, recitals etc. because you are in control of your own schedule.
Going out for an early morning horse back ride or surf session because the
conditions are AWESOME!
That is all great, however, when it really comes down to the reality check,
are you being productive with your time or are you simply taking advantage of
the fact that you have more time, and end up wasting it suddenly finding
yourself in a state of shock that your "Work" is not paying the
bills.
One of my mentors told me that I can either pay the price of discipline now
for the things I want or pay the price of regret later when I don't achieve
them. Wow, that about sums it up.
It is my belief that most people don't know how to employ themselves and
therefore become frivalous with their time and soon end up having to go back to
work for someone else and claiming that "that work from home opportunity
doesn't work". When in actuality, it was YOU that didn't work, not the
opportunity. It really doesn't matter what business you are in, if you don't
have the discipline to do your work, it will most likely not succeed.
I have been an Entreprenuer or at least had that spirit since I was very
young. I have always worked in places that gave me the most amount of freedom
possible.
Here are a couple of actions that have helped me along the way.
#1 Schedule EVERYTHING!! That means, your cup of tea or coffee, your
personal development, your lunch, your training times, your boardrooms,
appointments, outside appointments, time with your significant other, your
family, play time, shopping, EVERYTHING!
#2 Set up your priorities for each day, the night before - Prepare a list of
10 things you want to achieve the close of your next work day. Check them off
as you complete each one. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't able to get all
ten things done, simply reveiw and move the ones not done, to the next day. You
will also want to be honest with yourself and identify why it did not get done.
Were you as productive as possible throughout the day or did you allow
unnecessary distractions to take you off track? Be honest and move on.
#3 Do not take personal calls or interuptions during your
"scheduled" work hours.This is HUGE! How often do you find yourself
talking with Mom or your best friend on the phone and suddenly you realize an
hour has gone by? I can speak from experience, I used to do that! Now, I call
Mom early in the morning before my work day starts and I return other calls in
my "down time". My husband and I now schedule appointments with each
other to talk about the business, because it is more productive! Let me tell
you, that took some conditioning!
#4 If you are working with your team set up team calls so that you can work
with them all in that allotted time. Some team members require (or deserve)
additional one on one time and you can schedule that accordingly. Most one on
one calls should be 15-30 minutes tops, unless you are working on a
specific project that takes more time.
#5 Most importantly, DO YOUR WORK!! You can schedule all day long but if you
are not disciplining yourself to do the actual work, than your business will
not grow and you may find yourself in the market for a BOSS!
For me, that is a four letter word that makes my stomach turn! No Bosses For
Life! I do not want to have a B O S S nor do I want to be a B O S S. I
have done both. When I think about working for someone else and having them in control
of my schedule, my actions, my creativity, I get hives and feel sick to my
stomach, no joke. I shall never work for anyone but myself, and when I look in
the mirror at the end of the day I ask myself this question:
"Would you hire you again for the job you did today"?
or
"Would you put you on probation or more drastically FIRE you
today"?
When you love what you do and do what you love, you will never fear being
FIRED! Your discipline will drive you to do what is best for yourself and your
family.
Although I have to admit, I have put myself on probation from time to time,
I CAN THANKFULLY SAY, I AM STILL EMPLOYED BY ME!)
Views: 271 | 
Comments: 2 
About the Author: JoAnn and Felix Dueno
Member Since: 12/01/2008
I'm a Distributor For:: Herbalife International of America, Inc.
Other Company: Sol Solutions, Inc.
Industry: Other
Primary Web Site: http://joanndueno.com
Would You Hire You?
Great post! I would hire me ;-). Calendaring/scheduling is something that I always first work on with my clients. An employee mindset is totally different from a entrepreneur mindset and if they have their daily task lists down that is half the battle. Typically people don't like employee type working environments which is why they go into business for themselves. But once they leave the "comforts" of the employee work environment, most times, they are in a abyss. Each day they don't know what to do next. They are used to their projects or work being dictated to them, or their job expectations are outlined in the beginning. But when you are in business for yourself, you don't have a office manager or supervisor to give you those things, you are that person and you have to develop your own plan of action. That is why when I have a person that will potentially be a client and they say to me "I need help to work from home", I first ask "do you want or have a job working from home or a business?" There is a huge difference. I also like the saying "live like no one else now so that later you can live like no one else".
Abundant Regards,
Sherri Jones, Marketing Coach
Would you hire you?
Great post, JoAnn!
The points you cover are very important, and things I do and attempt to improve daily.
What I've noticed about the difference between working from home and working for someone else is that most people fall into the trap of thinking that "no one is watching" when they work from home which makes it easier to do things like talk to Mom for an hour when they are meant to be working, and I have been there, let me tell you!
What we need to remember is that the most important person is indeed watching when we are working from home, and it is YOU! The lack of built in discipline of someone (even if it is ever so slightly) looking over your shoulder while on the J.O.B.; watching when you arrive, when you break, and what you accomplish, is a powerful motivator for many. I have learned that many people find it extremely difficult to play both roles as it were, boss and employee. And that this is the primary reason why many fail; either they never look at it or are not able to view their actions critically.
Watch yourself as though you were boss and employee, and if you are very honest with yourself, you will find many ways to improve your discipline, your actions, and this will improve your results. Don't rely on external sources of discipline, which let's face it, are ultimately sources of control over you, and begin to control and discipline yourself, and you will have found the sweet spot.
Thank you for your post, it is a great reminder of a mindset that is essential to success.
To your tremendous success,
Nina Taylor, Out of the Machine