Everyday is a new one. How to cope and move on with your business when yesterday (and/or the day before yesterday) was not a productive day.
Everybody has a bad day. The package you were waiting for is delayed, dinner is burnt, you forgot an umbrella and it’s been raining cats and dogs. The same with your business: your client phones you and needs that job finished a week before the deadline, there is a problem with your web server and the 24h customer service is going to need 48h to fix it or another of your clients has a communication crisis.
As a blogger or a small business owner, most of that problems are up to you to solve: you have to be your own accountant and do your own customer service. But you also learn a lot of different things: like a little bit of programming and design, photography and how to promote yourself. You almost become an expert in legal matters and with a little bit of luck you learn how to take the most of your time and not wasting in empty things like coffee talk with other co-workers. Mostly you start your business or blog, when you do not have the resources to hire someone to do it for you. So, when something unexpected pops up and messes up your work routine; your daily tasks and plans go out the window, it is time to take a deep breath and to use that patience and fortitude you have been accruing from hard work and experience.
But you can not solve your problems just with patience, I am going to give you some advice to help you cope with bad days at work:
- First of all, try to differenciate which of these problems you can solve by yourself. Maybe it is a legal or technical isue that you are not able to resolve. So do not stress too much over it and continue reading.
- Hire the help you need: your time is gold, it is what brings your income so you have to learn when you can solve the problem yourself or when to find help. Do not waste more time trying to solve problems that are way over your abilities. It is not so worth it.
- Prioritize: if a client wants to move the deadline a week earlier, you are going to go through your work plan for the next days. But first of all, make sure you can do it. Most of the times we say yes to every request, mainly when you are starting your business. You are scared of loosing opportunities or even clients and we want to prove we are able of doing everything, but if wha tyou are asked for is impossible or the final result will not be up to the standard and quality that you consider necessary and it is not what you both agreed on, talk to your customer and try to set a new deadline. Sometimes, you are still going to change your work plan, so prioritize the most urgent tasks and if you can, delegate the ones you can.
- Delegate when you can: being a small business owner or blogger we feel we are alone against the rest of the world and asking for help is a sign of weakness. But if you look around you, you will find people are willing to help you with small tasks that will make your days brighter.
- Join a community: look for help online. Internet is full of small and big communities that help each other. Start looking on social media communities with the same shared interests (Facebook and Linkedin are great for that). Most of the time you are not the first to encounter that particular problem (mostly when it is a technical or legal issue) and you will find someone that can offer the solution you are looking for. Look for allies, not competition.
- Be patient: take a deep breath, walk for 5 minutes, work on a task you can do on autopilot and will help you to clear your mind. This will help you to de-stress and, perhaps with a clear head, this will bring the solution you are looking for.
And remember, everyday is a brand new day: today you can start over.
How do you cope with bad days? What is your secret trick on getting over your problems and not feeling too stressed?
Greetings and let’s keep reading each other’s posts!
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