Being prepared
As a female entrepreneur working from home. You need have your shit together. You need to be prepared because you need to be able to get on with your business without the day to day stuff getting in the way. You need to make sure you are set up to be as efficient as possible and you need to be able to look after yourself so nothing starts to suffer.
This blog post gives you some ideas of how you can help yourself in the world of being a solopreneur and a female entrepreneur.
1) Slow Cooker
Whether you are feeding yourself or a family of six, you need to eat well and be very organised about this. So if you don’t have one already, then make the investment, they are dead cheap or if you have one shoved at the make of your cupboard then pull it out and dust it off you are going to start to use it a lot.
To be able to shove everything in a slow cooker in the morning, switch it on an leave it for seven hours whilst you work is incredibly freeing.
I refer you to Half Baked Harvest, which is where the above image has been borrowed from and is one of my favourite blogs. This woman is a master of the crockpot and will stretch your imagination when it comes to your dinner.
I will add my caveat though. Being a solopreneur means that the whole family have to play their part. A slow cooker does not mean that you still have to continue to do it all whilst running a business. So this tool is only to be brought out when it is your turn to cook
2) Water Bottle
I know this one seems obvious but it is easy to get sucked into hours of staring a screen and forget all else that needs to be done. I am not going to go into the benefits of drinking water. It is more to remind you to have a water bottle close so that you can reach and drink and not get stuck in your work only to find yourself licking the carpet for moisture.
One great purchase is hydration stickers that you can buy to check off each glass of water you have each day so you can make sure you are getting your full eight glasses and your brain is in full working order.
3) Amazon Echo or Google Home
You need to create efficiencies in those day to day things that might take up your mind when it needs to not to. You need to have processes for everything so your time is not wasted with the unnecessary.
These devices, an Amazon Echo, Google Home or whatever else is out on the market are amazing. Whichever one you prefer to have in your home, can become your VA because you can tell your new employee a whole host of tasks to complete, such as a reminder to buy toilet roll or remember to send a card for Mums Birthday or play your audible book or to get you train times. What ever you need to make your life easier. It can help you to balance and blend your work and business without having to break stride when you are typing out a blog or peeling the carrots.
Make the investment into the future and really start to Get Shit Done.
4) Time Cube
I wrote about this in my post Time Blocking your day. This is a really important tool to help ensure you get things done and don’t end up down a rabbit hole that you end up coming out of hours later and nothing has been done.
A timer, so you can set up blocks of time in which you allow yourself to complete single tasks, whether that is completing your emails or social media scheduling or how much time you will allow yourself to hang the washing out or run around clearing up. Time block it and don’t allow yourself to get behind in what is important.
5) Gorgeous China
Again I wrote about this in Act As If. It is important to create rituals in your day and one small inexpensive way to do this is to have your favourite mug or cup and enjoy your favourite tea and coffee. What are the points in your day when you like to enjoy a nice drink? I always make myself a drink in my favourite Anthropologie mug before I get on Skype to talk to clients or do a brain exchange.
It is important to create an energy that gives you small boost or inspiration and to have china that you can associate with your entrepreneurial adventure can just give you that little anchor you need.
6) Audible/Podcast
Some people like to listen to music, others like to work in silence but continued learning is important and one fantastic way to do this is to use Audible to download development books whether for business or personal development or instead of Audible you can listen to inspiring podcasts.
You can use your Echo or Home device to listen to them whilst you work or when you stop for lunch or a cup of coffee or you can listen to them on your smartphone when you go for a walk.
It can be so powerful to take full advantage of the technology and content that is available to you.
7) Walking boots or trainers
It is important to make sure you get time away from your desk and the best way to do this is to take yourself for a walk. Just 30 minutes in the fresh air is all you need to revive your brain to get back to work, to give you some thinking and reflection time and to get some real light on your skin and not just the glow from your laptop screen.
8) Healthy snacks
I know again this seems so obvious but it does take a certain amount of planning to ensure you don’t just end up sat on a chair working for 11 hours with no form of sustenance.
Whatever is your preference, whether it is crudités, nuts and seeds, fruit or whatever helps to keep your energy levels up. This is a minor piece of advice but I speak from experience, having so many times got to 2 o’clock in the afternoon to wonder why I have a headache only to realise I have had nothing to eat all day you then tend to jump for what is easy which is mainlining sugar which is not a good thing. Selfcare as solopreneur is important and requires discipline.
9) Blank wall, whiteboard or mirror
A space that will not be touched, that you can brainstorm on, plan, stick post it notes to and a space to write all over. If you have an office this will be perfect and but it is important to let all others in the house know there will be consequences if it is touched. If you do not have the luxury of a spare room then invest in a whiteboard or a mirror than you can put away each day.
A set of whiteboard markers a pile of post it notes and make it your space to brain dump on.
10) Cookie dough in the freezer
Well because sometimes you just need to bake yourself one or ten cookies and sit back and enjoy. I always have rolls of cookies in the freezer, where I can slice a couple of slices and 20 minutes later they are the best thing for a little of the back or a little condolence for a bad day.
To end
There are a hundred things I could add to this list. It takes a certain level of organisation to be able to work from home and create a successful business. So take a look this list and then also what you think you need to ensure that everything in your life and business continues to move forward.
