What You'll Discover In This Episode:
You had such great intentions for today. You showed up to the office with a plan of action, a caramel latte, and the right mindset to conquer your day. You got to work immediately and sailed through your tasks with ease, checking them off one by one. It felt good!
Then, somehow the day got away from you and it’s time to go home. Perhaps it was your assistant’s near-constant interruptions. Maybe it was the noise from the construction going on across the street that kept you from focusing. Or perhaps it was simply the fact that you didn’t enjoy the tasks you scheduled for the latter part of the day that kept you checking your social media accounts instead of working. Well, that and the post-lunch, mid-afternoon lethargy that kicked in like clockwork.
Damn it. Another day you didn’t get done what you meant to. What you needed to. What you had every intention of doing today when you showed up to work caffeine in hand.
So, you did what many hard-working business owners do. You packed up your laptop and some paperwork into your briefcase, then headed for home with the plan to finish up there.
But then you got home. And had to cook dinner. And help with homework. And walk the dog. And talk with your spouse. And you couldn’t show up and be fully present for any of it.
Why? Because your briefcase was staring at you from where you dropped it next to the front door, begging you to open it and get to work.
And you know what? You didn’t even have the chance to open it before exhaustion set in and you negotiated with yourself, saying you’ll just tackle those tasks tomorrow. So there your briefcase sat for the last few hours, weighing you down as it drew your focus away from your loved ones, away from your hobbies, away from truly relaxing as you watched Grey’s Anatomy.
When you take work home and don’t make time to do it, you’re robbing everyone and everything from your full attention. You’re also robbing yourself from enjoying life in the present moment. You also create this vicious cycle of saying tomorrow’s another day, I’ll just tackle this stuff then, which demands a fuller plate tomorrow and keeps you from moving your business forward.
Just as using stale baking soda can ruin a cake, taking work home and not working on it is an ingredient that can ruin your love affair with your business over time. Use too many poor ingredients in your recipe and you’ll wind up absolutely hating your business.
In this episode of Productivity Straight Talk, I dive into a proven recipe for hating your business. I also discuss what new recipe you can follow instead so you can start loving your business, show up fully present in your personal life, and enjoy your entrepreneurial journey!
