Self employed motivation!

[Stupidhead]

How do you do it?
I've been self employed before but working through another business (salon) and also through my art but I had commissions. I'm setting up a new business but I find I slip around in my pjs waiting for Jeremy Kyle to start rather than getting on and doing it - it's art based so all down to me. I have no child care issues and we're lucky enough not to depend on my earnings anymore.

I know I'm a lazy bitch but how do you do it?

I give myself little goals, get this done and then have a tea break or I tell myself I have until (9.30 today!) to mess about then I'm starting work.

In an office environment I'm sure there's a fair bit of procrastination too, people fannying about putting their coat and bag away, checking the mirror, making tea and having a chat about last night's TV before they settle down for work.

I find that once I'm immersed in an art project I forget everything else (including washing up and making dinner etc!) so I more than make up for my slow start with a full-on day.

Plus I hate JK with a passion.

Great! Once I'm started I carry on until that project is done (even until late in the night) it's just the actual getting around to getting started. I think I need to totally re-jig my day :-/

And accept that we all have different body clocks, I'm good for nothing until 10am and at least 2 cuppas, but will happily work until late at night, or even all night if needed. The beauty of self employment is that you CAN set your own hours and be flexible.

Perhaps set yourself a goal of a minimum of 4-6 hours productive work a day (that's got to be proper focused work though, broken into 2 hour segments if it helps). Even with an official 8 hour day (& let's face it, who wants that sort of restraint?!) you aren't actually working for all of those hours.

Um - think that if I don't get my work done then my clients will desert me and we will starve?!

Or, if working on something tedious, take a break for 10 mins every hour or so - but have a target for what you wNt to do each day!

You could try a timer on your computer like Pomodoro pomodorotechnique.com/ Me and the DH both work from home. He uses it to stay motivated, I use it to stay sane (a bit obsessive so once I'm in work I find it hard to emerge!). When you remember to put it on it works to break your time into manageable, motivate-able chunks. Then builds in a stretch and a tea break.

Also writing three things you want to achieve before starting the day works a treat. Try Tim Ferris's Four Hour Working Week book for other tips like this stuff.