Home Alone? How to Stay Sane While Working Solo
Have you recently struck out on your own as a freelancer? Started your own business? Or maybe you started working from home during the pandemic and still haven’t fully adjusted to being on your own? Any one of these things means you’re basically your own boss now. Working solo is a MASSIVE transition from the corporate office life, and takes a lot of adjustment - yet we don’t really talk about it. Being fully in charge of your work life is a completely different reality than working for someone else, and we need to be prepared to make changes order to be successful. I’ve been working on my own and “home alone” since 2015…
Here are 5 things I’ve found to be critical to maintaining the health and wellness of my business and myself:
Get Out of Your House. You will go bonkers if you don’t get out of your house - and often. We all need sunshine and a broader perspective than what we get from our (albeit comfy) home office setup. If we aren’t constantly reminding ourselves how big and beautiful the world is, it’s easy to get hyper-focused on a work issue and blow it out of proportion. Are your quarterly earnings down? Yeah, it sucks, but don’t forget there are flowers blooming, puppies frolicking, and friends enjoying a patio drink right outside your door. Don’t become so siloed that you can’t see the big picture. Walk daily, work from a coffee shop, look at trees, and talk to humans. Get out.
Build Your Tribe. Something nobody ever mentions about striking out on your own is the initial loneliness. Sure, it’s nice to get away from the people that drove you nuts at your last job, but you’re also losing your work buddies and the camaraderie you shared around the water cooler. If you’re on your own, you’re going to have to build your own water cooler tribe. The cool thing about it? You get to decide who your people going to be. Are there certain friends you can talk things through with regularly? A coach to help you with the bits you don’t know yet? A group of like-minded entrepreneurs to cheer you on? Surround yourself with supportive folks - you’ll need them.
Connect With Your Community. Yes, number 2 and 3 on this list are both about people. It’s that important. You have to feel like you belong somewhere - and where you work is your new community. Do you know your neighbors? How about the nearby business owners? Have you attended your local Chamber of Commerce events? It’s incredibly important to connect with the people around you. You need folks that can give advice, check on your shop when you’re out of town, or just wave at you when you walk by. Plus, you’ll be surprised by how many referrals you’ll get from your local pals.
Build a Routine. Even as someone who had quite a bit of responsibility and autonomy at my last office job, it was still a total shock to find myself in control of everything. When you’re on your own, you’ll have to learn some serious discipline (which can be the exact opposite of the instincts that got you into entrepreneurship in the first place). Most business owners I know are artists and rebels, and recoil at the idea of a routine (myself included). Regardless, not enough routine will keep you stuck where you are - so you’ll have to find a balance. Keep on the lookout for my upcoming blog about building routine…
Learn to Be a Great Boss to Yourself. In my opinion, a great boss keeps the team inspired and keeps them on task. They’re even keeled and genuinely care about your wellbeing. They don’t shy away from dealing with problems, but also celebrate successes and give credit where it’s due. Are you doing this for yourself? If not, you’ll need to start. Think about it - when was the last time you gave yourself a bonus for a job well done? Put out a fire you’d rather avoid? Encouraged time off when you were sick? It’s crucial that you learn to treat yourself like a valued employee, because you are one!
Setting yourself up for success is part of saying Yes to You. Make sure you’re surrounding yourself with good vibes, good people, and a good work environment. It’s important in a big business, why wouldn’t it be important in yours?