Thanks for that, Annabel. It s comments like your that keep me going. I tell myself, People are wait

Before I left London, I made myself a schedule and a commitment. I would get up at 6 AM every morning and write for about 2 to 3 hours. After that, I could do whatever I wanted. But the writing came first.
I made the necessary arrangements. My daughter hotel pennsylvania new york would spend two weeks with her Grandparents while my husband hotel pennsylvania new york turned over our flat in London.  Then I committed to my Luminaries Club members that I’d report on how many words I’d written by our next call just two weeks after the big move.
When I arrived hotel pennsylvania new york in Seattle, it was 4:30 PM locally, which meant just after midnight London hotel pennsylvania new york time. I’d watched three movies on the plane instead of napping. My in-laws picked us up, got us fed, then dropped me off at a hotel for the night before I headed to the new house alone the next morning.
The time change made it easy to get up at 6 AM, but it wasn’t easy to start writing. There were so many tasks I felt drawn to do: call the cable company to get the internet set up, find a folding table so I had something to eat on, learn my way around the neighborhood.
After a few days, I got into a rhythm. I got up at 6 AM (still bright-eyed thanks to the time change), turned on my computer and then made a quick, healthy breakfast. Then I wrote for several hours, basically however long it took to get about 1,000 words on the page. I started calling my husband around noon, telling him my work was done for the day.
In this way, I was able to create a (very) rough draft of an entire chapter within a week. And because I was done with my work so early in the day, I was able to start knocking off items from my to-do list as well. I even decided to sign up for a beginner’s Crossfit class. Why not tackle my fitness goals in the same structured way?
I was determined not to let my illness slow down my progress. I walked about three-quarters of a mile to the grocery store (we’re also trying to go carless) to get medicine and some tissues. I looked at row after row of cold/flu medicine and found I was having a hard time concentrating. The next thing I knew, I was having to grip the cart very tightly to avoid collapsing.
I felt the blood drain from my face. I thought I was going to throw up. I had no idea how I was going to make it back to the house. I realized I didn’t know anyone I could call to help me. My in-laws lived 40 minutes away.
I let myself rest. I slept until 9 AM, then took a nap after lunch. I watched movies and read books. I sat on the bare floors and stared out the windows with the cats (still no furniture). I asked my new neighbors for help, who kindly fed me soup and made sure I didn’t take any more walks to the grocery store. I postponed my Crossfit class another two weeks.
3. Turning your life upside down is a great time to create new habits, but don’t be surprised if it’s harder to maintain than you think. That s okay, because the process you build is more important than short-term outcomes .
Yesterday my daughter shook me awake at 6 AM as requested. I grumbled a bit, but after a good breakfast and getting her out the door for science camp, I was at my computer writing. I cranked out a thousand words in a little over an hour, faster than I’d ever done before.
Amen, Jen! You wrote what I ve relearned lately, Resting doesn’t mean you’re weak. Our bodies tell us what s going on. We can either on that wisdom. If not, it ll knock us on our ass (sometimes, literally). Thanks for the post.
LOL. Thanks, Marcy. I d love to say, I learn my lessons the hard way, that way I ll remember them. But even that s not true! But I *am* getting better. There s a time when I wouldn t have stopped working while sick. Glad to know it s not just mean that has trouble with this!
I was going to say that I had lost your number and without internet, I couldn t figure out how to reach you. That s all true, BUT the other truth is that even if I d had your number, I only would have called if I d be truly unable to drag myself hotel pennsylvania new york home. I m not the best at self-care, but I truly suck at asking for help.
Jen, I really enjoyed this post a close-up glimpse into your habits and the interplay of balancing work and rest. And I definitely agree with you on the importance of rest it can be hard for high-achievers to press pause on a hard-earned good habit, even when it s clearly necessary.
Reading your story also reminded me that there are always trade offs. When I considered the reason I was able to continue my morning writing routine whilst recovering from illness recently, I realized it wasn t because of superhuman willpower, hotel pennsylvania new york but because client work had slowed down, leaving me time to sleep in the afternoons! So I was able to give my body the rest it needed while keeping the habit up. Had I been booked with writing gigs, I couldn t have done both.
Thanks for writing this Jen. There have been so many times when I ve tried to do too much all at once and ended up not really doing all that much because of overwhelm. I m learning that self-care is super important hotel pennsylvania new york when it comes to achieving your dreams.
That kind of resonated with me .I ve just taken over a business and am finding that some of the very reasons I thought it would work for me is because I have no family/partner and therefore no-one else calling on my time. The reality is that with no-one for that instant moral support and help (friends hotel pennsylvania new york are well intentioned but actually far too wrapped up in their own busy lives) it has been harder and lonelier than I ever imagined. But I know the balance in my life is completely out as I keep getting dizzy spells which is my body telling me that working 7 days a week (I do two other jobs to supplement things as I m starting out) with no time out for relaxation and just catching up with everyday life really isn t sustainable But when you have no-one else I don t know what the answer is, I don t want to be a burden on other people or admit that I m struggling (I made my bed and therefore I have to lie in it??) so I just have to keep plugging on because of the fear of it failing. How can we be successful at what we do without working every hour there is??!!!
I understand completely where you re coming from. Starting a business is a tough learning curve, but an even tougher emotional curve. I remember when I started my business, it felt like I d suddenly become bipolar. Let s just say my family was probably not sure they *wanted* to be that cushion during those years! LOL
But I can tell you without doubt that, looking back, I was spending a lot of time on things that didn t matter to my business. I wasted so much time out of fear, sometimes out of ignorance. I can also tell you that I ve interviewed and coached several start-up founders, and you absolutely must take a break. You can t work 7 days a week at your start-up hotel pennsylvania new york as well as two other jobs without running a very real risk of falling apart. For my book, I interviewed an Olympic athlete turned entrepreneur who wound up in the ER, close to a heart attack, because he pushed himself too hard in his business. hotel pennsylvania new york Think about that: one of the healthiest and strongest people on the planet couldn t handle it. You can t either. He had let things get so bad, that he had to take a full year off his business and just recover. Don t do that, Lot. Take a step back now.
I highly recommend getting yourself into a mastermind group with other people who are familiar with what you re doing/going through. It may seem like you don t have time, but I promise it will be time well spent. You can learn from their experience (cuts down on your own learning curve) and they will hold you gently accountable for the self-care that you AND your business needs. I m sure there s something local, but consider joining the Luminaries hotel pennsylvania new york if you aren t able to find something. We have two venture capital backed start-ups in our group, plus another who is working at a small tech start-up. Work-life balance hotel pennsylvania new york and essentialism are all big topics of conversation for us. Email me if you re interested, but regardless, please don t ignore those dizzy spells. YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE PROFIT AND LOSS OF YOUR BUSINESS.
Great post, Jen! Just the reminder I needed to slow down. My current wip goes to my editor on Friday, and I already had a long list of things to do other than taking a break and relaxing while I waited on the changes.
That s the thing, isn t it? The to-do list never says to take a break. Now I make sure mine does. I add walks in the park, book reading time, exercise, etc to my to-do list. Whatever it takes to get my relaxation done! LOL
I am believer in using to-do list holistically. It includes traditional tasks, of course, but also exercise, rest, friends, family, spiritual things and even time to just be, unallocated hotel pennsylvania new york time, space between.
Thanks hotel pennsylvania new york for that, Annabel. It s comments like your that keep me going. I tell myself, People are waiting for this! (even if it s a pretty small group that s actually waiting). I AM going to get this book done. Gonna do it!!
That s exactly what I am learning now. I ve just changed my job and moreover my place of living. I moved from Poland to the Netherlands with my wife and a baby. I though: Well that s a great moment to incorporate some good habits into our life and into my personal life plan . I tried to change our eating habits, start getting hotel pennsylvania new york up at 5 am and working out every day and then even before work to have some time to think about some part time business ideas. All great dreams and goals. But then .the reality arrives. It s not that simple and can be really disapointing. What I think is the most important in this case is to realize that life itself is the opportunity and threat to the opportunity. And if you ll look at it like that You can understand that this threat You re experiencing can by an opportunity to grow and progress.
Thanks, Cezary. You might be interested in Leo Babauta s Sea Change hotel pennsylvania new york program, which helps you slowly build new habits in a manageable way. I think the world of Leo he truly leads by example. I thi