This blog is written by Jen Josey, Real Estate Investor, and REIGN Coach. She is not a professional writer and writes like she talks so put your red pen away. Jen is extremely opinionated but reserves the right to change her opinion at any time because, well, that's the way she rolls. She may also use colorful language so don't be offended. Jen does not claim to be an expert, she is just sharing her personal thoughts and adding a perspective on investor topics that may benefit her readers. Jen also finds it strange to write in the third person. Enjoy!
Being your own boss comes with lots of freedoms.
Freedom to decide your daily dress code.
Freedom to eat lunch where and whenever you want.
Freedom to take a personal day when needed.
Freedom to pick your co-workers.
Freedom to take your dog to work.
Freedom to decorate your office how you want.
Freedom to have Facebook up on your monitor.
When I first quit Corporate America, oh man...that felt good...let me say it again...
When I first quit Corporate America, I turned off my alarm clock. It was the rebel in me making the statement that NO ONE was going to tell me how to start my day.
In the past, I was always rushed in the mornings. I hated them. I picked out my work attire the evening before, deciding which heels would be the least painful throughout the next day. If I slept wrong and woke up with crazy hair, I knew it would take longer to wash and blow-dry my hair. This would then force me to rethink my decision the night before of the long-sleeved shirt because I would sweat through the pits before I got my locks dry. Another 10 minutes of trying to find a comfortable short-sleeved dress but not excited because it only matches the super uncomfortable heels I purposely chose against the evening before. Urg. Tick tock, tick tock...I'm clearly going to be late again.
I shove a breakfast bar in my mouth, hop in the car and race out of my neighborhood only to sit behind the slowest drivers on the planet. "What do these people do at this hour if they're not going to work?" I get to work and am completely flustered but grateful to see that my manager is not there yet. I hobble upstairs in my painful heels, swipe my badge, toss my stuff in my cubicle, grab my coffee cup, and head to the break room. It looks like Stan made the brew again so I'm going to need extra cream to lighten up the syrup he calls coffee. I go into the communal refrigerator only to find that someone helped themselves to my French Vanilla International Delight leaving me only a drop.
Like I said...I hated mornings. Especially when I worked for someone else. I was supporting their sales goals thus creating a larger bonus for the higher-ups so they can buy the newest Mercedes that year. As my own boss, another freedom I discovered was how to design my mornings. I learned that when I take care of me first, there's not much I can't conquer throughout the day. Here are just a few things I do every work day to create the foundation of a productive day.
Meditation:
I turned my alarm back on. I actually set it half an hour earlier than my previous schedule because my mornings are now...all about me. After I wake up, I put on some stretchy workout clothes and head upstairs to do 10 minutes of meditation via the Calm App on my phone. I have used the app, Head Space but I prefer Calm because you can pick background music which helps me stay focused. Meditation is what you make of it. In my previous life, I carried quite a bit of stress. When you own your own business, it's a different kind of stress but learning to breathe through it was a game-changer for me. Starting my day with 10 glorious minutes of concentrated breathing with my Canadian girl, Tamara Levitt, is amazing. Not to mention the yoga pants and flip-flops...
Memes:
Feeling centered and focused, I then take the time to find a motivational quote that fills me with a sense of gratitude. I start with my daily desk calendar (I have two) or I thumb through a book of quotes. I also have a growing collection of memes I save in my phone that I steal from others on Facebook. I spend several minutes going through a bunch of them to decide what reflects my mood for the day. When I first started with the memes, if it was a really good quote, I'd post it to Facebook with the statement, "Make it a great day!" That statement is 100% directed to me as a reminder during the day. Anytime someone "likes" it, there it is again, reminding me to make it a great day. I began to post something positive to Facebook and Instagram every morning. Many of my friends now look forward to my daily posts, except my sarcastic friend with the two first names, John Frank. He's quick to say, "Stop telling me what kind of day to have!" <insert angry emoji>
I did get John's permission to use his name in this blog and he said of course, cause "it might get me more chicks..."
After several months, I started making my own memes of inspirational quotes. This is so therapeutic for me. I can sit there for an hour or two and just create meme after meme. I like to stay current with the times but also love to throw in a funny one just to keep people on their toes.
Motivational Morning:
I then take that inspirational quote and write it in my daily planner. Once I have immersed myself in positive prose, I then move on to the nitty-gritty of the day ahead. I do not have a huge, never-ending "to-do" list. I decide every morning what I will be accomplishing that day and I limit it to five tasks at most. I do have time-blocking activities scheduled but based on my motivation for that day, I add five additional tasks that will get me closer to a business goal I am seeking. My time-blocking has marketing scheduled from 7-9 am but a specific task may be to pull addresses on a new neighborhood we're interested in. I have 9-11 am blocked off for project management but a specific task may be buying light fixtures for a specific project.
By only choosing five daily tasks, I never get overwhelmed. My business partner (aka, my husband) and I have a meeting every Sunday evening where we decide the major tasks that need to get accomplished for the week. I refer to that task list when deciding my day.
Once I have taken care of myself and plan my daily tasks, I am now in the right mindset to begin my day. Hopefully, you got a nugget or two from this blog so you too can, "Make it a great day!" except you, John Frank...
To read more blogs by Jen Josey, please visit www.REIGNmastermind.com.