Hmmm, 18 months after you posted this (spooky timing) and this is still every bit as timely. Thanks as ever for a value-packed post (and thread). Great marriage of head and heart…

Best wishes from Scotland,

Matthew

P.S. Your post reminded me of that Mamas and Papas song, Dedicated To The One I Love, with the line: And the darkest hour is just before dawn…

Ruth – your comments are fantastic! Thank you! I especially liked your tip about the brain dump. I was feeling overwhelmed yesterday and created a to-do list. Turns out, my list wasn’t as bad (or as long) as I thought – and I felt much, much better.

(And yes, unfortunately, you can still feel like you’re on a roller coaster 3 years in…)

Thank you again – GREAT ideas and feedback!
:)

It’s not just for freelance writer’s it’s apt for any sole trader starting up in a new business….and when I say new, it can be the first two to three years and you still feel on a roller-coaster.

Proper sleep patterns and eating are so important yet we so easily dismiss them as unimportant. If we have to work through the night putting a proposal together or doing mundane tasks such as dealing with rubbish emails we do it as there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day at times. Then there follows a period of non-productive days because we’re so dog-gone tired. And then, what happens, we beat ourselves up for being unproductive and the demotivation kicks in.

For me, to be able to recognise these peaks and troughs in my business life is 50% of the way there. I know, if I’m tired or feeling demotivated then all I need to do is give me some me time – get some sleep, take some time out, walk with the dogs, do some housework (that’s a great motivator as it’s productive and I see instant results) and catch up with some friends. Life as it was when I had a “real” job and didn’t take the work home. I come back from this with added vigour, passion and determination and my brain is rested in order to be creative, think of ways in which I can provide added value to my existing and future clients and get the excitement going again.

What’s also important about the “me” time is that I dump my brain. I write everything that’s floating around in my head down on paper. Often on separate ‘post-it’ notes. Often of outstanding tasks but it’s not a to-do list. One look at a list that long would prevent me from taking the needed time out. But little individual notes help me to prioritise and after my few hours or day off I can then set about picking one, two or three of these notes to work on and put them in my day book. Putting a tick through them and seeing everything done for the day is more motivating than seeing a long list which has had more stuff added than crossed off.

Lastly, I have a business coach. This is the person I go to if I start to lose focus. She is brilliant in grounding me and finding ways of doing stuff that without getting it all out in the open, my hopes, fears, vision, goals would all just be a big mush of too much to do.

The support network is imperative as not only can you learn so much from your peers when you communicate on an open, honest and equal basis you will not only learn a lot but you will contribute a lot too. One of the people I consider to be a queen in my industry (some may consider her to be a competitor) is way up there in my support network and with all her knowledge and experience she shares with me, I get a great sense of contribution, pleasure and feeling that it’s not a one-way street, when we spend time talking together or she calls me up to run an idea past me.

So, I would say, don’t treat competitors as the competition. You can often find ways to help each other and often, pass overflow of work, referrals to people you know, like and trust. This keeps your clients happy too.

Again, a great post – sorry I found it so late!

Adonna, GREAT tip. Reading about other entrepreneurs is a great way to normalize your situation. I’m always surprised at the number of successful folks who “fail” (sometimes, quite publicly) until things really start flowing for them. It’s a good lesson that a scary situation isn’t permanent – and success is right around the corner. Thanks so much for your suggestion!

@Pamela-

Oh yes, it happens to all writers (and all business people as well.) I’ve been self employed most of my life and I’ve seen times of incredible financial success…and I’ve also seen the other side. :) The hardest thing to remember during a financial downturn is it isn’t personal (even if it feels very personal.) And eventually, somehow, it always works itself out.