Why Entrepreneurs Need a Day Off?

Why Entrepreneurs Need a Day Off?

Sean: The next question is from Erika. I can’t seem to relax as I’m always thinking of my business. How can I fix that?

I understand where you’re coming from because business owners, especially when you have a new business, it’s exciting. When you’re excited, you keep on thinking about that certain thing that you want to engage in and it’s tough to not think about it. Right? And then there are also problems that would crop up. It’s actually quite common for problems to crop up when you’re starting out in business and so you think about it more. And then there are things that you have to do as the business owner. Usually you have to do a lot of things.

One example is today, I’ve had a lot of meetings. Five meetings, successively. From 11:00 AM, it extended all the way to 12:40 PM. And then I have 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 5:00 PM. And then I was able to exercise at 6:00 PM. And now, I’m doing the Leadership Stack podcast.

So there are tasks that I still have on my plate that I actually need to finish. And when am I going to do them? I’m actually going to be doing them tomorrow or Saturday. And I keep thinking about those tasks because I need to finish them. Sometimes I think about them, “When can I do this? I want to finish all of these.” And it’s tough. And I understand what you mean.

How can you fix that? One of the ways that I fix it is, I have a task list. If you don’t have a task list, all of that burden is going to be on your brain. And you’re going to be thinking about it, because if you don’t think of them, you might forget them and that’s going to screw you up. So you outsource all of that thinking to a task list. I’m using Todoist, I’m not an affiliate. It’s an app, I pay for it. And I use Todoist to help me organize my tasks. And it’s really, really good. I integrated it with an app called Zapier and with Slack. And every time I finish a task, it actually tells everyone in my team that the CEO has finished a task.

So I integrated it that way. It’s more fun for me that way as well. And I get to track all of the stuff that I’m able to finish. And I’m also accountable to my people that I am not in Boracay, sipping buko juice. You know, I’m finishing tasks here where I work. And there are days I finish 15 tasks. There are days that I have so many meetings, I just finish 5 or 10 tasks. But actually if you finish three super important tasks, that’s it. That’s all you need to do. Usually just three super important tasks for the day. That’s all you need to do.

But yeah, so I’m in that stage in my life where I really have to work hard and work long. Maybe some of you are saying, “I thought that’s just for startups.” Here’s news for you. I’m 10 years in the business, you’re still going to have to do that sometimes. Okay? Less of it, but there are some days you will still have to do it. So with the task list, you outsource that thinking. The next thing is you book yourself in your calendar.

So at SEO Hacker, we don’t have work on Saturdays. I don’t like working in the office on Saturdays. I didn’t ask my people to work on Saturdays. So everyone just rests. But I like working on Saturdays at home and since now working from home, it’s like, I still work on Saturdays, but I do my personal work. So the stuff I do like PowerPoints that I need to finish, training materials, and webinars that I’m planning. That’s my work and I book myself on a Saturday to finish these things.

So book yourself, because if you don’t book yourself and block off like 3, 4, 5 hours in your calendar for that important work, that’s going to get filled up by some other people – calls, clients, et cetera. So you have to finish these important things. And of course, take one day off. The Sabbath, it could be a Sunday for you, for Jews it’s Saturday, it doesn’t matter.

Take one day off. Make sure you’re able to rest, recuperate, and reflect where you are in life. Are you still going in the right direction? What are some of your goals five years from now? Are you moving towards that? Pray, meditate, read God’s word, listen to the Sunday message. That is super important, and that will keep depression at bay as well.

JM, do you have anything you want to add with that one?

JM: To answer Erika’s question, I think it’s more of encouragement as well because I get you, Erika. I’m at a point in my life wherein I have a day job, but at the same time, I am working on a new business also. With that, I think what I’ve been learning during this time is really to be kind and patient with yourself. So I think that’s a very important reminder. And how do you become patient and kind to yourself? Practice self-care.

So just like what Sean mentioned earlier, it’s important for you to take a break because if you won’t, you won’t be able to have that time to relax, you won’t be able to have that quality time to really think about your business and fix it. So I think with what Sean already mentioned, that’s very important that – self-care, to-do-list and of course, to also just be patient and be kind to yourself. Do the things that you can only do for the day. So don’t be overwhelmed and don’t stress yourself because that won’t help in creating your business.

Sean: Good stuff. How can I stay optimistic for my business’s future while in a pandemic?

I haven’t met a pessimistic business owner who is successful. That’s for sure. I have never met a pessimistic business owner. So all good business owners I met are optimistic. The businesses that have actually failed and closed down during the pandemic are mostly those who sat to wait. They just sat and waited. They waited for what’s going to happen. They didn’t pivot. They didn’t change a lot in their business because they said the pandemic will only last for three months, four months, and this is going to be done, and we’re going to go back to normal, or five months.

And it’s been over a year, almost two years, and now the projections are like two more years or three more years. Which I think is pretty good for the economy because now people are not just going to sit and wait. Business owners are not just going to sit and wait. They’re going to pivot and they’re going to do what is necessary for their business to survive and thrive.

If you’re a business owner, I’m sure you’re optimistic. Even those who sat and waited, they’re actually optimistic. That’s why they sat and waited. But they’re optimistic about the wrong thing. They’re optimistic that things would go back the same way it was in a short span of time. That’s an unrealistic expectation. When you’re optimistic, you also have to have realistic expectations.

So I’d say you’re still an optimist. The better question is, how do you now navigate your business to adapt and not just survive, but thrive during this difficult time in the pandemic? So, the first thing I do is pray, go down on your knees, and ask God for help, because that infinite wisdom is super-duper important for you as the business owner. And that’s why faith for me as a business owner is also critically important. That’s the first thing that I do. Even when times are good. I also still kneel down and pray. What I do is not ask for help, but more of give thanks to God about the things that’s happening. So, yeah, that’s one thing I do.

And then the other thing I do is assess my situation. Where am I? Where am I in this pandemic? What are the things we could still do? What are the things people still will want to pay us for? Or what are the things that we can do that people will be interested to pay? In the coming weeks, we’re going to be launching a few new products and we’re going to offer them to current clients who will find great value out of them. And they’re going to be willing to pay if there’s going to be good returns for them. Good value, good returns.

We didn’t just sit and wait. We actually innovated new products, even if it’s hard for me to say this, but SEO Hacker this year, we’re doing way better than last year. But still, you know, I feel for you, if during the pandemic, things are still not going well for you. I feel for you. I know you, my heart bleeds out for you. This year, SEO Hacker by God’s grace is doing way better. Even if we’re doing way better, we’re still innovating. And I’m still innovating as well with how we operate and the leadership, how we’re stretching ourselves to grow and learn more and actually have other people check our business and stretch us more.

So we’re asking for advice from mentors. And shout out to Sam Nam, recently, he gave me advice about having an advisory board, which I’ve never encountered before. But now we’re actually building our advisory board and we’re excited to present every quarter to our advisory board and make sure that we’re growing and stretching. So it’s more of, how do you navigate? Because I think business owners are optimistic generally during the pandemic, even those who closed down, they were optimistic, but just had unrealistic expectations.

So that’s how I do it. How about you, JM? How would you do it?

JM: When you say optimistic, Sean, I just to add to what you mentioned. I am reminded of the word hope. So, Erika, what can give you hope in order for you to stay optimistic about your business? So maybe it’s the original goal that you had for your business. Maybe it’s to help a particular group of people. What fuels you? So maybe those are the questions that can also help you in terms of staying optimistic, especially during this pandemic.

Number one, what fuels you? And number two, what gives you hope? And I love that verse, Sean. Is that from Hebrews 11, it’s all about having that hope. Hope that is unseen. Right? So right now you can’t see things yet, but I hope that you will be able to have that hope for the things that are yet to be seen in your business.

Sean: That’s good.