Top 5 ways to Stay Motivated This Year
It's a new year so naturally you feel refreshed, excited, and motivated about building and growing your practice. You have fresh new goals that you are excited to implement and you are getting much more work done than usual.
But as the year progresses those exciting feeling will wear off and so will that productivity. Imagine what your practice would look like if you could keep up that motivation throughout the year. Here are five tips that will help you stay focused and motivated throughout 2016.
TIP 1. Set Measurable Goals (with timelines) And Review Them Regularly
Take a look at the goals you made for 2016. Will you know exactly when you have achieved them? For example, instead of a vague goal like “Increase profits” your goal should be “Increase profits by 30% by October 1st". You could break it down even further and say that every month you need to have a 3% increase in profits since last year. That way when you review your goals in March and you’ve only increased your profits by 4% instead of 9%, you know you are behind and will be motivated to work harder.
TIP 2. Make Learning A Part of Your Day
Be inspired by CLE’s, blog posts, and books that give you ideas on how to grow your business. Make it part of your daily routine to learn something every day that can help improve as a lawyer and entreprenuer. I always keep at least one business development book on my kindle app to read during my commute. I also use Feedly and Pocket to stay on top of my favorite business and law blogs. Not only will you get good ideas, you’ll be inspired every morning to work on your practice.
TIP 3. Schedule Breaks Throughout The Year
As a soloprenuer it's easy to let your downtime get filled up with thoughts about your business. And if you are anything like me you feel guilty taking time off when there is always work to be done. Research shows that working nonstop can actually be terrible for your productivity. Your brain needs time to recharge to work at it's peak.I personally find that scheduling time off in advance ensures it will happen. I typically block out at least two weeks a year for vacation,2-3 long weekends and the occasional random special day such as my birthday. By blocking these days off on my calendar in advance I can schedule around them and give adequate notice to my clients, which makes me feel less guilty about completely unplugging. It's easier to get through the tough weeks when I know I have a break coming up and when I return from a break I feel refreshed and motivated.
TIP 4. Spend Time With Other Solos Or Entrepreneurs
A huge source of motivation for me is spending time with other entrepreneurs. Learning how others run their business can give you great ideas and keep you motivated to keep up. One of my favorite quotes is "If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room." After spending time with entrepreneurs who I feel are more successful than I am, I always head back to the office with more determined than ever to get to their level.You can find lots of great events and groups foe entrepreneurs on Meetup.com. I've made many great friends and business connections by attending free meet ups.
TIP 5. Track Your numbers
This tip ties back into Tip 1. As solopreneurs our bottom line is to make enough money to keep our doors open. You should already know how much money you need to earn each month to reach your target profit for the year. Once you know that number you should review your progress on a monthly, if not weekly, basis to ensure you are on track. By reviewing this number regularly you will be motivated to hustle harder if you are falling behind.Take a few moments to implement these simple tips that will help you maintain your motivation throughout the year. Have any other tips to add? Comment below!