Being Self-Employed is Wierd

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While I've been coaching for a number of years, this is only month three of my experience being self-employed. Having worked with a dearth of entrepreneurs, I'm well aware of the pit-falls and awesome parts of this status. And yet, the experience is nothing like what I ever could have imagined. ...It's just one of those things you have to do in order to understand what it's like. 

So, for the delight of sharing in similar (or different) experiences (or dreaming of future similar experiences) here's some of what I've been noticing:

  • My work is a never ending series of contradictions:
    • it fuels me and drains me
    • it drives me and hobbles me
    • work is a stress and a salvation
    • there's so much to do and I have no idea what to work on (literally, at the same time!)
    • I have never wanted to work so badly, worked so consistently, had so much time, but felt like there was never enough time, I never worked enough, and nothing ever got done
  • The line between social and business is blurring in a way I've never experienced before.
  • The sunshine looks really beautiful through a coffee shop's plate glass window. 
  • I get to listen purely to my internal motivation on what I'm wearing for the day. PJ pants, yoga pants, jeans, and slacks are all valid options; it all depends on what I feel like wearing (and what image I want to portray to a client / networking contact.)
    • Multiple outfit changes in a day. Previously my business casual attire took up 90% of my clothed-hours. My god, I do SO MUCH more laundry these days!
  • Speaking of laundry: doing errands and chores at random times of day including laundry while working. I feel like I've unlocked some kind of bonus life secret!
  • Speaking of odd times of day: I'm writing this bullet at 1am; I'm "working" at 1am and I could not be happier about it.
  • It's still challenging to be happy/content in the moment even though I love my life and feel I'm living "the dream." I take this as further reinforcement that happiness comes from within, not from outside factors. 
  • The sunshine looks really beautiful through a yoga studio's window during a mid-day class.
  • Having most of your day as unstructured time with a goal that inspires you is SO much different than having most of your day as unstructured time with no real idea of where you're going / no real motivation to get there.
  • My sleep schedule always used to be kinda "whatever" and varied widely. It's now uncharacteristically consistent. I have a regular, natural sleep schedule. I didn't know my body had one of those, probably because it was always contorted by "business hours." I'm in awe; like a baby discovering its own hand for the first time. 

That's what I've noticed so far. I look forward to sharing other realizations with you as I work on this blog!