Brazen careerist
Where ambitious young professionals connect and grow
Email
Print
I am working as a freelance paralegal. I report to an actual brick and morter (well, I’m actually not sure what it is made out of, but we will use it for this example) office three days per week. Rest of the time I work from home or the school library (but with the swine flu I have been avoiding the library like the plague).
The hardest part, for me, of being a freelancer is saying No to myself.
There are so many things to do. Twitter, linkedin, facebook, update lead sheets, general contracts, work for my various clients, figure out how to create a website, my blog, my fiction and my poetry. I am sitting here, at 10:15pm and I haven’t even opened my books for school yet. I have been working all day. I went to the office and worked. Then my father and I went over some aspects of my business that needed tending to. Then I bought an alarm clock (mine died this morning), had dinner, did some research for a blog post. And now, here it is after 10pm. I haven’t even looked at my LSAT prep books in 2 months and I take the test in September. That seems like a lot of time, but trust me….it’s not. Everything is riding on that score.
I don’t have a scheduling issue. I am great at creating schedules and assigning time slots to everything. I am incredibly organized. I live for the Franklin Covey store. I am just terrible at telling myself to shut things down, turn things off and focus. I try to jusify it as networking or whatever. Really, I just can’t say No to myself.
For more timely, relevant, and engaging articles,
subscribe to Brazen Careerist.
- Continuing Education: Extending Learning Beyond Your Campus Years
- How To Find a Writing Partner Who Can Help You Achieve Your Goals and Make More Money
- Why You Might Be Better Off Without a Job After College
- The Anti-Stalker’s Guide for Converting Online Contact into Real World Collaboration
- A New Kind of Business Mover and Shaker
Comments
05.13.09
I'll say what I say to my co-worker when she wants candy (and is trying to avoid it)
"No, you can't have that. Stop."
Does that help?
05.13.09
Shutting things down is a really hard thing to do. It actually takes a lot of work to look at all the things you are doing, prioritize them, and quit doing the things that don't crack the top of the list. You can drive yourself crazy trying to do everything and you'll probably only do all of them pretty well. Or you can stay sane by prioritizing and doing the two to three most important things extremely well.
05.13.09
Don't look at it as saying no. Turn it around, and say yes to the things that are important. If "everything is riding on that score" you hope to get on the LSAT, then say yes to preparing for the LSAT.
And don't try to do everything every day. Maybe you need to change the way you look at scheduling, too. As one of my friends in grad school said of her diet, "It's too hard to worry about balanced meals. I feel like I'm doing really well if I have a balanced week."
05.22.09
For me, the easiest way to say no to things sometimes, is figuring out what out of everything I have in front of me will really make me happy. Whether that's happy for five minutes or five years, I can often prioritize things based on the relief I feel by getting them done, or the energy they give me to do something else that requires more effort. In the end, I am much more productive.
For example, sometimes it's as easy as cleaning a coffee cup on my desk, before sitting down to do research for a new client project. I know that project is more important, but I'm going to feel a lot better knowing that coffee cup isn't sitting there, coffee staining the bottom, drying up and getting crusty--harder to clean for later.... These are the thoughts that go through my mind while I'm trying to do something else, if I put it off. Instead, I know I'd be happier by cleaning it now and then getting back to work. A simple example, but I hope it illustrates the message.
Got Something To Say?
Got Something To Say?
Not a Member? Brazen Careerist is a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Set up a free account today to comment on this post and start sharing your ideas. Learn more.
Login to view your networks!
 |
 |
|
 |
|
