I confess… I ran away from home. I took a roadtrip to Asheville, North Carolina to visit a good friend. I brought all kinds of work to do, but my brain went on “vacation mode” and I didn’t get anything done. So now I’m calling that a vacation!
I’m home now. But I’m still hesitating about jumping back in. My inner child is saying, “Why can’t we just retire and go visit friends all the time?” I have to gently explain to her that “while I could do that, the Universe is asking me to step up to the plate and use my unique gifts and talents during this phase of my life – in other words to (finally) do what I’m here to do.”
There’s a lot of Resistance that goes along with the entrepreneurial journey. After all, who actually enjoys stepping into the realm of the unknown and uncertainty, and spending all this money on systems and coaching with no guarantee that you’ll at least make that money back?
Well, extroverts might enjoy the “thrill” of all that. We cautious introverts need a different way, and I not only teach others introvert-friendly ways to move forward, I have to coach myself – all because of that resistant inner child. (Bless her heart!)
To put it another way, we have to work with our own psychology. Here are 7 tips for getting back into work mode after taking time away (and feeling resistance).
- Shift gears by getting groomed and dressing the part of an entrepreneur at work.
- Schedule a catchup/accountability call with a friend you can count on to “nudge” you into action.
- Journal your gratitude for the vacation. Then journal your life purpose and how it relates to your work in the world.
- Review your list of projects & tasks. This is a good time to discern what systems & processes can be simplified.
- Write down the one to three things you need to do today that will make the biggest impact.
- Set a timer for 20-25 minutes per task, and take a short break between tasks.
- Start work with an easy, fun, creative task to ease the transition back to work.
Soon you’ll be back in the flow of work, meeting the gentle challenges you’ve set for yourself and enjoying the relationships you’ve formed.
P. S. I’d posted my confession on my Facebook Page (minus the tips – didn’t know it was going to turn into a blog post). Here are a couple of responses from fellow introverted women solopreneurs:
“Ah yes I am very familiar with that Inner Child and her insistence on down time. Convincing her that stepping into the unknown with no guarantee of “results” is a challenge but knowing I’m on this road with other Introverts helps.”
“So grateful to you Summer Turner’s Success for Introverted Women for bringing this up- it makes me feel not so alone when I ask myself why I am doing this (my business-especially the work of marketing it) when I see all the beautiful yarn I could be knitting instead. Then of course I would be stressing over spending money to buy it.”
P.P.S. Where have you traveled recently and what’s your best tip for getting back to work?