Tips on going independant - the Time Eaters.

People seem to think I have the perfect life ... And... I must admit, I think it is pretty good (but certainly not perfect). So.. since one of my goals of being a coach is to help others achieve more happiness and success, here are some rough thoughts on what I found (the good, and the less good) in changing from being 150% in the corporate world to being 150% in Susan's world.

Will start with some of the less good stuff... and see where we go from there!

The less good stuff

Time that disappears: I never thought about how much time I WOULD NOT HAVE when I changed to becoming independant. Some big time eaters I have found are:

1. Cleaning house. You are in the house more often, so not only do you see the dirt you did not see when you were working but you create more dirt! So... there is more cleaning to do (or more acceptance of not cleaning.. or both)
2. Making meals. I never calculated how much time it would take to think about what to eat, shop and then make the meals. I am constantly surprised how much time this takes and am always looking for ways to increase quality while reducing time allocated to this! Cleaning up after meals is also a biggy...
3. Interuptions. The cat wants a hug, the cat wants fed, the post man rings the bell, the sales calls that come by telephone, the laundry needs brought in as it is raining, it is sooooo nice outside I want to go for a bike ride and not sit next to my PC... so, learning is that managing interuppions in the new life are just as important as doing it in the corporate world.
4. Frittering... it is so easy to just do nothing... to relax in the sun chair, have a herbal tea or glass of wine and aperatif with hubbie, watch some tv show... and there goes the next few hours. That is great and one of the positives of this life style, but it is sometimes very tempting to over do (and do the wrong type of frittering). Afterall, isnt this a desired part of this new lifestyle I have created?
5. Computer / telephone stuff! Oh - do I take back all the nasty things I said about our computer support in the corporate world, when my little computer problems were not fixed within 5 minutes. Now... I am on my own and have to find what is the right computer for me, what is the best way to back up, how to learn about new tricks and tools that save me time and effort, how to resolve problems, how to synch so my office is everywhere I am, what security system is best, and it all takes time and it is all time spent that is not the most enjoyable for me!
6. Admin - creating invoices, paying bills, tracking costs/income, preparing taxes, doing proposals, filing, sending faxes (yes - it still has to happen for certain things), following up on outstanding invoices, changing credit card info when credit card expires on all the internet services one uses, doing travel arrangements, creating the processes to manage the most important of all this, etc. etc. et. etc. . In the corporate world, a lot of things are done for us, or how we do them is dictated to us... in the independant world, finding the ways that works best (in line with our values, time efficient, done once (no errors) etc..) is time consuming. No wonder many independant coaches /start up businesses go for virtual assistants.

Next post will be on the money eaters! And boy... have I found a lot of them!