I, like most of you, work at home and or classify as self employed. Often, I find myself facing periods of self doubt and a negative mindset. I don’t know about you but once I’m doubting myself, it seems impossible to “just be positive”. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be yet another blog post about what I like to call toxic positivity, full of dry quotes expected to make you want to conquer the world. Instead you will find some actions you can take to clear the negativity and shift your mindset without actually doing too much work.
The one thing you can do to make the biggest impact is have a routine that compliments your life but doesn’t overpower everything you do. There is no perfect routine or time to start new. There is no perfect order for your tasks or the perfect chart. Things will forever be changing and flowing, but isn’t that life? When you start putting your days together begin by thinking about important tasks that occur daily in your everyday life, regardless of when. Once you have a list, create your ideal day from morning to evening including the daily tasks built around your work/kids/spouses schedule. Having a day to day routine will help alleviate the last minute stress of avoidable problems such as not having a clean pair of pants or your laptop on low battery at the beginning of your presentation.
Now that you have the perfect routine, you must stay proactive. Meaning to stay current on tasks or simply be prepared for what the day may throw your way. Life is full of curveballs and business is certainly no different. If you are mentally prepared for the everyday issues that cause frustration, then chances are over time you will no longer be frustrated and be able to have a clear mindset even in the midst of shit hitting the fan. Keep a short note and jot down each problem, along with your solutions. After a little bit, you’ll notice the correlation and may even be able to eliminate a few of the issues.
Something else that will help you feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders is to avoid “what ifs”. Now I get it, I’m a worrier too and I need to be prepared for worst case scenarios but this is not a healthy mindset. It causes constant worry which turns into anxiety. My advice on shifting this phrase out of your vocabulary is ask “what is likely” instead. What if is full of a bunch of unknowns but you know what is likely to happen, causing for comfortability and less worrying/anxious thoughts.
It is now time to channel your inner guru. No, this doesn’t mean you have to know everything or even pretend you do, just be your own coach. Understand that you are in control of your business and it’s up to you to keep yourself “in shape”. Think about all of your attributes and the unique things you bring into the world. Take a moment and appreciate everything you have made it through, you’ve made it through your past hurdles and you can accomplish this too. You are your biggest asset, nobody else has your brain.
Your mindset is everything and is a domino effect to most things in your life. It’s okay to not feel positive 100% of the time that’s not human. Having a positive mindset will help you ease out of sadness and not stay feeling down longer than needed. Do any of these simple tasks feel like they could improve your life? Let us know if you have any other tips on keeping a positive mindset as a work at home professional.