Need help getting motivated to work?

Question

I recently started my own small business. I'll branch out into a bunch of crafts, but right now I am making purses and it gets a little monotonous even though I really enjoy designing them. I have to make as many as possible so I can pay my rent, but it's hard to stay focused since I work at home. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Thank you Nick! That was really cool. I like the idea of pretending. Besides I read in philosophy you have to picture yourself being something before you can. And I'd like to be a succesful purse designer with an office by the beach! So I'll just pretend that's what I'm doing. Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

I had the very same problem, trying to focus on doing something. Either my gf would bug me, or somebody would send me an email, or something. So here's how I managed:

1) I set aside a separate area. If I had an extra room, I'd set aside the room, but since I had a small apartment, I set up one corner to have my desk, and everything needed to do my work. When I was there, I did nothing but work, and my gf knew not to disturb me when I was there.

2) I couldn't do a 8-hour day worth of work for the life of me. So I set up goals to do only an hour of work at a time, and then do something fun for 15 min. As time went on, I ended up doing more work than my goal, but I think the decisive thing was knowing that I was allowed to stop and take generous breaks.

3) I played pretend. I was doing boring homework style calculations. So I pretended to be a CEO who was working on very important reports that would get me a pay raise.

In your case, you could also think of how wonderful that purse will look on some gal who buys it. Think about how much she'll enjoy it! Think of all the time she'll spend looking at the mirror and the very purse you made! You'll pick up the energy, and it will keep you motivated.

Answer 2

Ya,
The operation of the business is not always the funnest. Put some time aside every work day to think about the big picture, and what you can do to get your product out to even more people. Think of creative ways to produce more products, ways to market, things of that nature. It takes you out of the monotony of the the product line, and wakens your creative mind a little. Try it.