Last year, I worked 14 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Let that sink in. 14 hours a day! That’s almost double the normal work day. And I was only bringing in around $30,000 a year!!! That is NOT sustainable. Nor is it acceptable. It should make you mad. Honestly, I hope that those numbers make you mad. If you’re going to work 14 hours a day, you should be bringing in what a Google worker brings in, which has to be around $300,000+ a year.
So this year I realized that enough was enough. Working myself to the bone everyday was not making me the money I wanted. Obviously I couldn’t work any MORE (unless I had some sort of super powers or hired help) so I had to work smarter.
Part of that working smarter for me means taking a small vacation every day. That small vacation takes place at 9pm. Now, that may seem late to you but last year I was working well until 10:30 or 11pm. Thus I worked from the time I got up at 6am until 11pm when I crashed into bed. Now I stop at 9pm. No matter what I’m doing, the computer gets turned off.
That last hour or two each night before I go to bed are now spent playing games with my partner, reading a book for fun, watching a movie, or just sleeping. It’s the perfect way to end every day and it’s had incredible results in my business so far.
At the end of this month, I’m on track to make the same amount as I did last year at this point.
Now, you might say that I didn’t make much of an improvement since I’m not making any more money but I’d like to point out that I’m working 1.5 to 2 hours less EVERY day. So, really, I’m working smarter in those 12 odd hours that I now work each day.
The best part is that you yourself can easily take this same type of vacation every day. Now, I can already hear your arguments but let me tell you something important. We have certain times of the day where we’re extremely productive and times we we get piddly done. Taking your vacation during those times when you would take an hour just to answer 3 emails doesn’t lose you any money or add to your to-do list. You simply shift the times when you do your work to get the most out of your super productive times. For me, as soon as the sun goes down, my motivation is shot and I can get lost on the local humane society pages looking for a cat for nearly an hour.
So when can you take a small vacation every day?
I think you’ll be surprised how a little me-time doesn’t hurt your business at all. In fact, it helps it.
