Valleys and Peaks
It’s a funny thing waking up on a Monday morning after a long and satisfying weekend to realize that, uh, I have no idea what to do with myself.
I mean, I would generally consider my business pretty successful. I make a good living. I do work that I enjoy. I’ve got a long list of long term projects peaking up at me from the fuzzy nest of my to-do list saying “feed us, feed us, feed us.”
Yet still, on days like today when I’ve got nothing that needs to be done right away and (worse yet) nothing that’s going to cause big piles of cash to come raining down on my head right away, I can’t help but get a little anxious.
And I’m betting I’m not alone.
It’s the curse of the freelancer. The crushing realization that if you don’t do something yourself, it just isn’t going to happen.
So, dear Bizniks, how do you deal with the gaps, the gups and the long deserts of unstructured business building time? Inquiring minds want to know.
July 10th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Mmm, yeah.
You must have heard the stats on Monday morning heart attack incidence just as I have. So first off, I do away with that wake-up panic altogether by committing my Monday mornings to an outside activity unrelated to my business or my position of relative success or failure in the world. This means that my “business” day commences at around 1 pm on Monday, rather than 8 or 9 am. That helps a whole bunch.
Then, after running the vacuum a few times and downing a cup or three of tea, I do something that makes me just a little bit uncomfortable. The nature of the particular task really doesn’t matter so much, but the hootzpah it takes sure as hell does. Maybe I stop with one really uncomfortable task, or maybe I carry on with an entire afternoon of ulcer potentiating fun. What matters is that I get out of my comfort zone long enough to signal to the world that I am, in fact, open and available for new opportunity.
Sometimes something really great happens for my business as a result. And sometimes I just get a little more downward in my dog as a result. Go ahead, get uncomfortable. I think you’ll like it.
July 10th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
On the issue of ‘if you don’t do something yourself, it just isn’t going to happen’…
Without getting too ‘Zen and the art of…’, my experience suggests ‘step away’. Often, by consciously trying to make things happen, we impede an unseen flow.
Whilst this may sound total crap, it can work well.
And, if by ‘how do you deal with the gaps’ you mean ‘how do we use the time’?, then… ‘who wants to do business anyway?’ there’s busloads of stuff all more enjoyable than creating the next dollar.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Look back at Lara’s comments of 07/07 titled “So, you’ve got enough clients?”.
Self-employed people have to be forward looking all the time. IMHO, your business/marketing plan should always provide something to do in the down, or slow, times. I agree with gulliver that you should step away at times. The trick is to find a way to choose “stepping away” when it benefits you and to hustle when you need to do that.
In my experience, one activity that provides the “away” time and the business development time is continuing-ed. If there is any opportunity to take classes, put in apprenticeship time or study, do it during the down time as it’s next to impossible when you are busy. You can’t afford to fall behind in your business or profession. There is only so much time to live and work; with a bit of attention you can live and work at the same time you are having fun.
July 11th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
I find there is always something productive to do, even when it’s not pressing or an immediate money-maker. I can always email or call a business connection to keep in touch, write thank you notes to other professionals and people who’ve spent time with me or maybe have done a favor or something otherwise kind. Learning more about technology is a time eater and fun. Just read the TechCrunch blog http://www.techcrunch.com/ and try even half the new stuff they post about. That’ll keep you busy and entertained too!
Breathing is always good. Sometimes when I’m in that space and am anxious, I forget to breathe. That’s related to the other comments suggesting “stepping away”. If I can clear my mind, meditate, so to speak, sometimes a spontaneous inspiration of the next step just comes naturally. So, breathing and stepping away also become productive, sort of organically.
July 12th, 2006 at 10:20 am
Well said Leslie – I do that. I also read… there’s always a waiting stack.
Here is something I read today in The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. A book I would otherwise not have read until someone commented that it was one of their favorite books on Taoism. Anyway, it is a very good book. (And this may be more than what was asked but it’s nice to be reminded.)
How can you get very far,
If you don’t know Who You Are?
How can you do what you ought,
If you don’t know What You’ve Got?
And if you don’t know Which To Do
Of all the things in front of you,
Then what you’ll have when you are through
Is just a mess without a clue
Of all the best that can come true
If you knwo What and Which and Who.
… ok, the ending may be a little weak, but I like it.
DD
July 14th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
I’m a huge fan of the Getting Things Done system – a big advocate for creating lists for everything, so it’s out of head and in a place you trust you’ll review, suggests that aside from organizing your lists by priority, you can also organize them energy level, mood and amount of time available. I’ve got a list that reminds me of things that’ll take ten to fifteen minutes, like putting new business cards into my card notebook and filing scraps of paper with creative ideas on them. A great thing to do on Monday morning while I’m waiting for my brain to wake-up and get me back in the mood to get some work done.
July 18th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Ooo, this is a great topic! I presented this dilemma at my most recent consult group, and man, my colleagues called me out. I’m one of those all-or-nothing perfectionists, and I’ve been spreading myself way too thin between marketing my practice, finishing up doctoral school, putting in hours at the hospital I contract with, and … oh yeah … afterthought … actually seeing clients, the whole point of all this freakin’ work! Is it any wonder my caseload has been stuck at the same point for months? I simply haven’t had energy to see more people.
So here’s what I decided: I’m going to work less. Psych business always goes down in the summer, so I’m flying my stunt kites, taking day trips … I even bought myself a pair of old-school roller skates! I’m realizing that if I don’t feed myself energetically/emotionally, I can’t support my clients or my business. It feels so counterintuitive on one level because I was raised to work myself into the ground, but on a deeper level I know it’s so right.
Do I have the guts to allow myself to relax? Do you?
July 19th, 2006 at 12:42 am
This Biznik stuff nonwithstanding, I spent over two years as a freelance full-service mover, and have been a freelance artist’s model for eleven years and counting, and here’s what I do during those damned lulls.
(1) Check in with people who have used my freelance services in the past. Ask, in a non-desperate, non-quavery fashion, whether or not they need anything done. (Ask in a way that makes to question “Do YOU need ME?”, rather than “I need work; do you have anything for me?” Desperation isn’t any sexier in the work market than it is in the dating market.) As has been suggested, call your contacts just to have a chat, even if you think they probably won’t have anything for you. Who knows? It could pay off eventually, or maybe even in the short term
(2) It’s also a good time to troll CraigsList for work. You’re the bigshot freelancer, you’re the one with all the bodacious experience, so sell yourself that way to anyone on CraigsList who might need your services. Ah, CraigsList…whatever did I do without ye?
Lastly, regarding doing nothing, I’m wondering if anyone remembers how Howie Mandel used to do those totally improvised bits where he would chat up his concert audiences…
HOWIE: Hey, what’s your name?
BILL: Bill.
HOWIE: What do you do?
BILL: Nothing.
HOWIE: So people call you up and say, “Hey, Bill, nothing needs doing over here,” and you say, “I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” What did you do before you did nothing?
BILL: Something.
HOWIE: Oh, but now they’re the competition!
Yeah, yeah, I like Howie Mandel. You think David Spade is funny, so shut up.
July 19th, 2006 at 7:56 am
“Yeah, yeah, I like Howie Mandel. You think David Spade is funny, so shut up.”
Mostly I just think that David Spade is funny looking and should really ditch the facial hair while Howie Mandel has a badass haircut.
July 19th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Man that is a problem and I have no solutions except enjoy the free time.
Willie