Finding the Time to Be an Entrepreneur (and how I make it work!)

Just imagine it: you wake up when you want to and you don’t have to rush to get you and the kids out the door in the morning. Instead of sitting at your desk drinking gross break room coffee, you’re sitting on your couch with a fresh hot cup of your favorite brew. No boss is pressuring you with upcoming deadlines or pointless work- you are in charge of what you do. Sounds like heaven, right?

For most people, becoming an entrepreneur and quitting their day job is their dream. Unfortunately, most people can’t just quit their job to pursue their dreams. This dilemma derails so many entrepreneurs from being successful because of the intensive hours and hard work it takes to make it. If you have trouble finding the time to be an entrepreneur, don’t give up! There are things you can do to build a successful business, even if you don’t have much time.

Check Your Attitude

Look, I get it- you’ve been at work all day at a job that is not your passion. You go home and you have a whole list of household duties to accomplish before you even think about sitting down to rest. You’re mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

The last thing you want to do after putting the kids to bed is to spend your precious free time doing more work. You may become resentful and negative because there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done.

The bottom line is, your bad attitude may be slowing down your entrepreneurial dreams more than lack of time. Yes, finding the time to be an entrepreneur is hard (so hard!), but a negative attitude will make it a million times harder.

If you want this to work, you have to tackle your attitude and mindset first. Learn to find the positives in your day and be thankful for them. Celebrate the victories in your business, even the small ones. Take time to practice gratitude and I promise you your attitude will change.

Look At How You Spend Your Time

Right now you may feel like you have zero free time- and that may be true, but have you ever looked at how you really spend your time?

How many times do you hit that dreaded snooze button in the morning? Or lay in bed and scroll through social media? I guarantee that if you took a hard look at your day, you could find a lot more free time than you think.

You don’t have to have a ton of extra time to be productive. Find ways to work smarter, not harder, so that when you do sit down to work it is more productive. Put away distractions like your cell phone so you won’t be tempted. Dedicate a specific amount of time to complete a task and don’t stop until your timer goes off. Delegate and automate as much of your business as you can.

Become a Planner

Another sure-fire way to get the most out of your limited time is to learn how to plan. Being a good planner is key to running any business, but when you already don’t have a lot of time it’s even more important!

Start by sitting down at the beginning of each week and evaluate what activities you have coming up. Find empty spaces in your calendar and pre-plan blocks of time that you can dedicate to working on your business. Schedule them in and do not cancel.

To-lists are another tool to manage your time. Start your day (or do it the night before) by writing down your top five or six things you must do that day. Use the block of time you have allotted and focus only on those priority tasks. If something doesn’t get accomplished during that time, it goes to the top of the next to-do list.

Finding the time to be an entrepreneur is challenging, but not impossible! Keep hustling and don’t give up on your dreams. You can do it!

For more information about what I do, or if you are interested in coaching, or working with me to develop your business plan, CLICK HERE to chat with me.