The Motivation Hunt

Work-from-Home guide to reasons for getting out of bed each day.

Jun 17, 2024

“Where do I get started?” This is THE question that begins each day for me.

Much of the matter relies on an automatic, mechanical ballet to get things going.

I will need coffee, so that is where my physical self gravitates to after getting out of bed and splashing water on my face, before my brain realizes what is going on. Auto-pilot knows its job.

My computer boots up and my french press is steeping. Then, “What day is it? …and why is it important?”. My weekly pill organizer helps determine the day, if I have taken my prescriptions on time. Days blur together without markers to keep them labeled.

The brain starts. Doctor visits, a trip to the lumber yard, trash day, national holiday, AC repairman, etc., are all examples of how my days get marked.

Nowadays, my computer (God bless it) reminds me of most of the details that I need to take note of before I consider my workshop day.

My top early morning questions:

Has western civilization been neutralized while I slept?
Is there a massive hurricane stalking my peace?
What is on my workshop clipboard?
Is this email important? A quick glimpse to separate wheat from chaff.
Anything new on my message boards? See if there are any new requests or questions that need addressing.
Am I caught up on bookkeeping?

Working from home can be a challenging and distracting place to keep focused on building a business. It is quite possible to be sucked down the rabbit hole of internet jibber-jabber, if you don’t pay attention.

We are all wired a bit differently, so let your flow evolve as it wants to. Some people even exercise before their head knows what is going on. Weird!

There are so many variations on time usage that there cannot be a correct, fits-all, formula for organizing it. So, do your thing the best you know how.

Staying the Course

Putting one step in front of the other gets us there and organically arranges our time. Having a rough outline of activities that I semi-automatically perform every day helps to get the gray cells clicking (caffeine). Email, checking my appointment calendar, bookkeeping, packaging and shipping are left-brain chores that become catalysts that awaken the right-brain, which screams for balance and some creativity.

This blog, started just this year, has become an enjoyable, schedule altering event that I look forward to each day. Spending an hour or so writing my thoughts to share with subscribers is a practice I never knew I needed. It helps me work things out in my mind and hopefully will help others in their journey.

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Top Motivators

Deep inside, I am basically lazy. But I cannot “do” lazy while there are pending orders or household tasks that need to be addressed. I know tomorrow is soon enough for a lot of things, but my brain won’t let me be unless it can justify their postponements. So, things get done.

These are a few factors that keep our inspiration flowing:

Stress reduction - The sense of accomplishment and the relaxation that follows is one of those things that you don’t actually appreciate until you have it.
Days Off - Working for yourself from home allows you to balance your work schedule with your laziness. Beaching, fishing, canoeing, camping, etc., can all be had as you want it. No “boss” to submit requests to for approval.
Making daily decisions for your business can be addictive, like a “Sim” game but with real life consequences and played with actual money.
Bills - An unending driving force to keep the lights, water and internet on.
Food - We love to eat. Publix has an entire crew standing by to celebrate our arrival each week.
Insurance - Health and auto insurances are still mandatory for us. Home insurance used to be, but now that our mortgage is paid for and there is no money in it for them, it seems that our Florida now considers homes older than 25-30 years old “expendable” and practically uninsurable without major upgrades and expense. Our home is 100 years old this year. So, what our homeowners premium used to be goes into our savings as “self-insurance”. We are just a bit more gentle with our home and careful with our cigarettes.
Savings - Though it seems that it goes as fast as you can tuck it away, savings (if you can do it) can ease the stress of surviving storms, repairs and system failures.
Home Maintenance - Though we are not anal about it, we love our home and want to keep it as presentable as possible. Tools to keep it that way with relative ease are money well spent.
Automobile - We have a “paid for” 22 year old pickup that gets us where we need to go. We get regular service on it although we put less than 50 miles a week on it.
New Toys - Though we are simple folk, we do love the occasional new (or gently used) appliance, gadget or home furniture. I am not a tool monger and collectibles no longer intrigue us as much as they once did. Perhaps that comes with age. Books and comfort are our priorities these days.

Targets That You May Have

Mortgages - Get that sucker paid off and have a mortgage-burning party.
Tuition for your kids. It is a natural thing to want better opportunities for your children.
Debt - Being debt free is a wonderful feeling and with a bit of self-control and perseverance a realistic achievement.
Vacations - Whether it is a day trip to the beach or a week in the mountains, having the freedom to schedule your own time for it is exciting.
Collectibles - Having an ongoing hobby, collecting things that tickle your fancy and being able to finance it with your online income is satisfying.

My “As-If” Philosophy

When in a quandary about how to proceed with your day, try proceeding “as-if” you have a ton of orders and “as-if” you know what you are doing. Action will likely propagate more action and will not go unnoticed.

“Free your mind and your ass will follow.” ~ Funkadelic

A Word on Parenting

I am NOT a dad. I know having kids is rewarding (to some) and helps our civilization grow, but it was never in the cards for us. No one ever accused us of playing with a full deck.

That said, being a mom or dad (or both) must be an enormous motivator to provide food and shelter for your family. I am amazed by parents, stay-at-home or otherwise. The chaos and variety of needs that children generate is a full time job unto itself. Good Onya! That nurture gene skipped me.

Working in a home business with children must be like juggling oranges and having someone toss in a live hand grenade. Still, people do it every day. I would imagine, starting from scratch, that you learn without consciously realizing it. It must become second nature to fix their breakfast and get them dressed for school as you prepare for your day’s demands. I applaud you! You are heroes!!!

Onward!

Each day, I load up my “briefcase” with workshop needs (phone, coffee, water, cigs, clipboard, and packages to be mailed) if I can extricate a cat.

I leave the comfort of my office and head out. I check with Julie, to remind me of anywhere else we need to go or get done that day.

The chunky humidity of a Florida summer can seem like breathing hot chowder and the heat slaps me in the face like opening an oven door. I exit the house to take the 17 Step Commute to my unairconditioned shop to begin the day’s creations. I embrace the weather, as there is little that can be done about it and the soup only lasts six months or so. Once you get your mind set to accept the inevitable, things can progress as they should. Obstacles are impermanent.

In the workshop with a fresh-if-not-cool spirit, I like to tackle harder, more demanding tasks first. The easier ones seem like a no-brainer later on, as energy levels start to flag and temperatures continue to rise after lunch. Slow and steady wins the race.

If orders for my products are scarce, I catch up on shop maintenance and building up stock blanks and creation of new ideas that have fomented on my imaginary to-do list. If a mental block prevents me from creativity, cleaning the shop or yard work will usually shock the system into R-Mode*.

*R-Mode = creative right-brain activity.

If nothing comes after this, I can always take an air-conditioned nap or spend the rest of the day with Julie (or both). Working for ourselves allows this.

How do you motivate yourself? Reply in the comments below with your tips on finding reason in working from home.

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