How To Get Through Your Day with Less Chaos

I often like to ask my readers and YouTube viewers what questions they have for me. One of the most recent questions I got was, “In your personal experience, how did you transition yourself from working as a private maid to being a marketer, business coach, and entrepreneur?” This is a good question because I have never really told anyone how I did this.

I’m going to tell you what I did and give you some advice on how you can make this transition smoother.

Make A Clear Schedule

Mapping your time out clearly is a good idea no matter who you are or what situation you are in, but it comes in extra handy when you are stepping away from a regular job. When I was slowing down my regular work and getting more involved in what I do now, I didn’t manage my time very well at first. I found myself thinking I had extra time that I didn’t really have all because I didn’t plan ahead. I would lose track of assignments, forget to call someone back, or just become stressed out from all the jumble. I’m pretty good at balancing a heavy schedule but I still have to plan clearly.

I add all my appointments, meetings, calls, etc. to my Google calendar. I set reminders for each one. I get one alert 30 minutes before and then another one at 5 minutes before. Remember to add these in as soon as you know you have these appointments. Don’t forget to add them in. Another thing I do is I use Evernote. I will write down things I need to remember to do and set an alarm to go off at a specific time.

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I like Evernote because it keeps everything all in one place. It makes it easy to organize.

I prioritize my tasks by level of importance or deadline. For example, if I know I have a coaching call at 9:00pm but I have to work with new customers for my marketing company as well, I will choose the level of importance and finish that first. This way both tasks get my attention and are taken care of well. The last thing you want to do is start giving half of yourself to everything you do.

Get Comfortable Naming Prices

This was one of the hardest things for me. I hated to ask for money. Every single time I would give someone a price range for my services or even a product I was recommending, I would feel bad. I’m not quite sure why I did but this was something I had to work through. I felt like I needed to cut everyone a deal, but you can’t do that. You have to charge what something is worth – no more, no less – unless otherwise decided beforehand.

I will often give discounts on my coaching or even throw other services into a package deal. This way everyone wins. But I don’t go around giving websites for $3 when they are worth $1500. You can’t make a living doing this. Also, don’t think of selling as a bad thing. Endless amounts of TV and radio commercials and telemarketers have put a damper on the whole selling thing. Try and look at selling this way – you are solving a problem, giving a solution, and they are giving you what you need to continue doing this.

The reasons I mention these things is because I was not charging enough. Often when you give super cheap prices you will attract super cheap customers. You don’t buy sushi from a gas station and try to pass it off as something more. You also don’t go to one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants and sell food for gas station prices. Keep this in mind as well. This will make it easier to get to your target audience believe it or not. And that is vital to your success.

Limit Distractions

This is a big one. The Internet is one of the biggest distractions ever. There are so many things to do, see, read, play, and learn. While this is amazing and wonderful – it can often distract us. I will admit half of the time I’m working, I am listening to music on YouTube, but I have to remember not to get distracted by funny vines every time the song changes.

You can avoid distractions by mapping out your entire day and sticking to deadlines. Make goals, set extra alarms, put sticky notes everywhere – whatever works. I like to set a time limit and a deadline for when I need to finish a task. Another great thing I do is limit my wifi access.

It’s weird, I know, but there is a lawyer’s office in town that I often go to and use her Internet. She is a friend of mine so it’s okay. The only deal is – I can only have two hours of Internet access. Sometimes less. This forces me to stay off all the YouTube videos, Facebook chats, etc. and focus on the really important things that need to be done. I don’t have time to play around there.

Another thing you can do is change your environment completely. Go to a hotel and stay there for a limited amount of time. Use this entire time only doing important tasks. Not busy work. Not checking your email 50 times, not liking everyone’s comments on your post, not posting pictures on Instagram. Do only your really important tasks. Then once your time is up  you have finished your priorities and now you can go listen to music on YouTube and do other things.

Learn To Say No

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This is the toughest one for me personally. While I would love to help everyone, save the world, and get everything done – it just isn’t possible. I get requests from people asking me to join their new programs, take their courses, and give them all my time for free. I have coached people for free before. In fact, the most recent person I coached for free didn’t even leave me a testimonial after he said he would. People value what they have to pay for.

I love helping people and giving to people but sometimes you just can’t give everything away. This does not mean you stop doing good things for people even in your business – it just means your answer to everything can’t be yes. Often times, after I turn someone away who does not want to pay me for a 3-hour consult, I would feel bad. But, if I’m giving away all my time for free, I won’t be able to keep doing this.

So, saying no isn’t always a bad thing. Because if you don’t – you could end up with a 9-5 job again.

Work Hours

Prepare to work long hours. Even though I’m saying things like “9-5 job”, it doesn’t mean you will be working less than 8 hours right from the start. While I have friends who only work 2 to 4 hours a day, I also have friends who work 14 hours a day. They are both equally successful. Eventually you will not have to pull super long hours and work overtime in order to get results. I would rather work 14 hours doing what I do now than doing what I did before. It will get me farther than anything else I have ever done.

Hang in there and you’ll be fine. Show up everyday, grind, repeat.

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