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Managing your expectations - part 4

Managing the expectations of you and your business is a tricky thing ... I would say that this is more of a problem when you are new and just starting and have a list of things a mile long.  However, after 13 years, I can tell you that I still have days when I feel completely overwhelmed and have to wrangle in the expectations of myself.

Do one thing at a time.  The idea of being able to work at home for yourself is very romantic ... you can have laundry going, the dishwasher going, the kids playing a board game in the other room, all while working away on your business like a boss!  What really happens is, you throw in a load of laundry, and it sits in the washing machine wet for 6 hours because you forgot it, requiring it to be washed again.  You start loading the dishwasher, but the phone rings and the kids drop the board game, causing 250,000 cards and dice and pieces to scatter down the stairway.  The dog throws up, the power goes out, and you realize that you don't have a clean bra ... because they are in the washing machine that is now not running again because the power is out.

The benefits of working from home are that, you don't spend time commuting, and you can mix up your working hours if needed.  It is not that you now have the option of doing 250 things at one time.  Focus on one task at a time, and know realistically what to expect from yourself in a work day. 

The day that you became an entrepreneur, didn't mean that you were given a super hero cape and magic wand.  Now you have to play the roles of being a good boss and being a good employee ... evaluate yourself daily.  Would you hire yourself as your employee?  and Would you work for yourself because you are being a good boss?


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