This is a good way to start off thinking about your month ahead.<ul><li>Strengths from the month prior. What went really well professionally?</li><li>Weakness from last month. What failed? </li><li>Opportunities ahead. What are the trends? What are customers/clients thinking about? Given your strengths, what can you capitalize on? </li><li>Threats in the coming month. This requires you to be a pure realist with a dash of cynicism.</li></ul>After you’ve outlined your SWOT and have a clear picture, you can start to think about how you’re going to dodge those threats and lean into your strengths tactically.

Do your own personal monthly SWOT analysis

Moments of self-reflection and time alone are very important. But that doesn’t mean leaning on your independence is the key to peace of mind.Around 64% of freelancers feel lonely with no support. That’s detrimental to success, creativity, and grit.Tell people what you want/need and what’s keeping you from getting there. Often, they’ll share an idea, connection, or resource that will help you overcome your most frustrating obstacles

Don’t isolate

Most worries are pointless —In her TED talk, Isabelle Mercier puts it perfectly. 92% of what most people worry about has already happened or isn’t going to happen.Every time you have a worrying thought, write it down and reframe it as an opportunity — it works 99% of the time. So, for example:Worrying Thought: “I feel like I’m going to lose this client.” Reframed Opportunity: “If I send them some creative ideas for our next project, the client is more likely to work with me again.”

Practice the art of reframing my worries

<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*f8DOOPJJyBd" width="785" height="643"><figcaption class="ip iq cv ct cu ir is bp b fo br fe" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Photo by <a class="bv it" href="https://unsplash.com/@keenangrams?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Keenan Constance</a> on <a class="bv it" href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>For a couple of months now, I’ve been overwhelmed with a giant to-do list.Between a new product release at my company <a href="http://coworkly.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Coworkly</a> and launching our seed round of fundraising, I’ve been stacked with investor meetings, customer calls, product demos, mocking up new user experiences, organizing marketing campaigns, working on a few freelance gigs, and life.I get a thrill from being “busy”, so when my to-do list started to pile up, I’d wake up overexcited to hit the ground running. I’d roll out of bed, take a quick 2-minute shower, pour my coffee and sit down at my desk. Throughout that 10 minute morning routine, I’d think about work, talk myself through my to-do list, and practice business pitches in the shower.That routine worked for a bit. But after a while, I started to wake up completely exhausted. My entire mood shifted. It was only when I involuntarily slept for 12 hours straight through the night (my body gave me no choice), that I realized I was headed for burnout.Ever since that winter hibernation, I’ve been bookending my days with 15 mins of self-reflection — relax with my cup of coffee, take the dog out, ignore emails and texts.I’ve been fully self-employed for 4 years now. If it wasn’t for some of the other strategies I’ve developed over the years, I would have burned out way sooner. Here’s what I do to make sure my worries don’t keep me from being productive:<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">1. I create my own personal monthly SWOT analysis.</h1>In business, there’s the practice of creating a SWOT analysis, which stands for a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis. In four quadrants, the goal is to research and identify one’s own opportunities for wins and failures.This is a good way to start off thinking about your month ahead. You don’t need to be so official about it, but write up your:Strengths from the month prior. What went really well professionally? Where did you overperform?Weakness from last month. What failed? What didn’t perform as well as you had hoped?Opportunities ahead. This requires some research. What are the trends? What are customers/clients thinking about? Given your strengths, what can you capitalize on? Think creatively.Threats in the coming month. Are you scared to look at your bank account? Are you worried about losing customers/viewers/users? This requires you to be a pure realist with a dash of cynicism.After you’ve outlined your SWOT and have a clear picture, you can start to think about how you’re going to dodge those threats and lean into your strengths tactically.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">2. I purposely don’t isolate.</h1>Moments of self-reflection and time alone are very important. But that doesn’t mean leaning on your independence is the key to peace of mind.Around <a href="https://workinmind.org/2019/11/06/freelancer-workers-are-lonely-anxious-depressed-says-survey/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">64% of freelancers feel lonely with no support</a>. That’s detrimental to success, creativity, and grit.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*zAsjFeiIRzHc3Zfg" width="676" height="452"><figcaption class="ip iq cv ct cu ir is bp b fo br fe" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Photo by <a class="bv it" href="https://unsplash.com/@wildlittlethingsphoto?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Helena Lopes</a> on <a class="bv it" href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>You’d be surprised how often connecting with and asking for help from others will tangibly work in your favor. Tell people what you want/need and what’s keeping you from getting there. Often, they’ll share an idea, connection, or resource that will help you overcome your most frustrating obstacles.For example, we’re in the process of fundraising at <a href="http://coworkly.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Coworkly</a>. A few weeks ago, we had beers with a fellow entrepreneur who just successfully raised a round of funding. By the end of the night, it felt like a million pounds had been lifted off my back. Simply talking through our problems, validating that we’re doing the right things, and realizing that we aren’t alone was incredibly liberating. That simple act of sharing our story and connecting on our shared experiences was invaluable. Not to mention, our conversations led to three potential new customers. A therapy session and a business meeting.As a self-employed person, you don’t have a big team. There are no coworkers to have an after-work drink with. There are fewer opportunities to brainstorm. You’re responsible for every single thing that happens to you in your own work life. That can feel extremely isolating and while you may have the urge to look inward, the most important thing to do is to reach out to others, ask for help, and be open about your feelings.Put time on your calendar to connect with others. Challenge yourself to sign up for that networking event. Connect with &amp; support peers with whom you can share your success and losses.As a freelancer or self-employed person, you’re going to worry. A lot. Most of these worries will be pointless. Every time you have a worrying thought, write it down and reframe it as an opportunity — it works 99% of the time. So, for example:<UL><LI>Worrying Thought: “I feel like I’m going to lose this client.”</LI><LI>Reframed Opportunity: “If I send them some creative ideas for our next project, the client is more likely to work with me again.”</LI></UL>In both scenarios, you’re acknowledging that there’s the chance of failure. With your worrying thought, it’s based on a fatalistic gut feeling, leaving no chance for any productive outcome. However, the reframed opportunity gives you more control over the situation by giving you something you can actively do. Not to mention, the reframed opportunity is less stressful and gives you a better chance to manifest a silver lining. Here’s another example of a reframe:<UL><LI>Worrying Thought: “I don’t think I can handle this many clients at once.”</LI><LI>Reframed Opportunity: “Oh, I’ve been looking for a reason to work with my other freelancer friend. Let me give her a call to see if she has time to split up this project with me.”</LI></UL><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Summing it all up:</h1><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Thinking positively isn’t enough to turn your worries into wins.</h2>Winning takes continuous work. I know this firsthand and it’s why I started <a href="http://www.coworkly.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Coworkly</a>. 1.) Start off with self-awareness each month by identifying your strengths and threats. 2.) Then, set goals that take advantage of your strengths and build a network of support that helps you overcome your biggest threats. Once you have the strategy and network, you’ll be able to easily reframe most worries as new opportunities.

Between a new product release at my company Coworkly and launching our seed round of fundraising, I’ve been stacked with investor meetings, customer calls, product demos, mocking up new user…

Stashed ideas

For a couple of months now, I’ve been overwhelmed with a giant to-do list.

Between a new product release at my company <a href="http://coworkly.com/">Coworkly </a>and launching our seed round of fundraising, I’ve been stacked with investor meetings, customer calls, product demos, mocking up new user experiences, organizing marketing campaigns, working on a few freelance gigs, and life.

I get a thrill from being “busy”, so when my to-do list started to pile up, I’d wake up overexcited to hit the ground running. I’d roll out of bed, take a quick 2-minute shower, pour my coffee and sit down at my desk. Throughout that 10 minute morning routine, I’d think about work, talk myself through my to-do list, and practice business pitches in the shower.

That routine worked for a bit. But after a while, I started to wake up completely exhausted. My entire mood shifted. It was only when I involuntarily slept for 12 hours straight through the night (my body gave me no choice), that I realized I was headed for burnout.

Ever since that winter hibernation, I’ve been bookending my days with 15 mins of self-reflection — relax with my cup of coffee, take the dog out, ignore emails and texts.

I’ve been fully self-employed for 4 years now. If it wasn’t for some of the other strategies I’ve developed over the years, I would have burned out way sooner. Here’s what I do to make sure my worries don’t keep me from being productive:

1. I create my own personal monthly SWOT analysis.

In business, there’s the practice of creating a SWOT analysis, which stands for a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis. In four quadrants, the goal is to research and identify one’s own opportunities for wins and failures.

This is a good way to start off thinking about your month ahead. You don’t need to be so official about it, but write up your:

Strengths from the month prior. What went really well professionally? Where did you overperform?

Weakness from last month. What failed? What didn’t perform as well as you had hoped?

Opportunities ahead. This requires some research. What are the trends? What are customers/clients thinking about? Given your strengths, what can you capitalize on? Think creatively.

Threats in the coming month. Are you scared to look at your bank account? Are you worried about losing customers/viewers/users? This requires you to be a pure realist with a dash of cynicism.

After you’ve outlined your SWOT and have a clear picture, you can start to think about how you’re going to dodge those threats and lean into your strengths tactically.

Moments of self-reflection and time alone are very important. But that doesn’t mean leaning on your independence is the key to peace of mind.

Around <a href="https://workinmind.org/2019/11/06/freelancer-workers-are-lonely-anxious-depressed-says-survey/">64% of freelancers feel lonely with no support </a>. That’s detrimental to success, creativity, and grit.

You’d be surprised how often connecting with and asking for help from others will tangibly work in your favor. Tell people what you want/need and what’s keeping you from getting there. Often, they’ll share an idea, connection, or resource that will help you overcome your most frustrating obstacles.

For example, we’re in the process of fundraising at <a href="http://coworkly.com/">Coworkly </a>. A few weeks ago, we had beers with a fellow entrepreneur who just successfully raised a round of funding. By the end of the night, it felt like a million pounds had been lifted off my back. Simply talking through our problems, validating that we’re doing the right things, and realizing that we aren’t alone was incredibly liberating. That simple act of sharing our story and connecting on our shared experiences was invaluable. Not to mention, our conversations led to three potential new customers. A therapy session and a business meeting.

As a self-employed person, you don’t have a big team. There are no coworkers to have an after-work drink with. There are fewer opportunities to brainstorm. You’re responsible for every single thing that happens to you in your own work life. That can feel extremely isolating and while you may have the urge to look inward, the most important thing to do is to reach out to others, ask for help, and be open about your feelings.

Put time on your calendar to connect with others. Challenge yourself to sign up for that networking event. Connect with & support peers with whom you can share your success and losses.

As a freelancer or self-employed person, you’re going to worry. A lot. Most of these worries will be pointless. Every time you have a worrying thought, write it down and reframe it as an opportunity — it works 99% of the time. So, for example:

<ul><li>Worrying Thought : “I feel like I’m going to lose this client.” </li><li>Reframed Opportunity: “If I send them some creative ideas for our next project, the client is more likely to work with me again.” </li> </ul>

In both scenarios, you’re acknowledging that there’s the chance of failure. With your worrying thought, it’s based on a fatalistic gut feeling, leaving no chance for any productive outcome. However, the reframed opportunity gives you more control over the situation by giving you something you can actively do. Not to mention, the reframed opportunity is less stressful and gives you a better chance to manifest a silver lining. Here’s another example of a reframe:

<ul><li>Worrying Thought: “ I don’t think I can handle this many clients at once.” </li><li>Reframed Opportunity: “ Oh, I’ve been looking for a reason to work with my other freelancer friend. Let me give her a call to see if she has time to split up this project with me.” </li> </ul>

Thinking positively isn’t enough to turn your worries into wins.

Winning takes continuous work. I know this firsthand and it’s why I started <a href="http://www.coworkly.com/">Coworkly </a>. 1.) Start off with self-awareness each month by identifying your strengths and threats. 2.) Then, set goals that take advantage of your strengths and build a network of support that helps you overcome your biggest threats. Once you have the strategy and network, you’ll be able to easily reframe most worries as new opportunities.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

How to Turn Your Work-Life Worries into Opportunities

Do your own personal monthly SWOT analysis

Don’t isolate

Practice the art of reframing my worries

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The Fresh Start Effect: How to use new beginnings to persuade others.

How To Conduct A Personal SWOT Analysis

How to Turn Around a Struggling Business: Tips and Real-Life Examples

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

How to Turn Your Work-Life Worries into Opportunities

Do your own personal monthly SWOT analysis

Don’t isolate

Practice the art of reframing my worries

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The Fresh Start Effect: How to use new beginnings to persuade others.

How To Conduct A Personal SWOT Analysis

How to Turn Around a Struggling Business: Tips and Real-Life Examples

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career