There comes a time in the life of each of us when we fall out of our work routine and become our own bosses.
It doesn’t matter if you leave the office on a freelance basis, or start your own business, or just have to sit for a while without work and plan your day on your own – self-discipline is required in each of these cases.

HEAD OF HIS OWN

Whether you’re starting to work for yourself, or just temporarily sitting idle and looking for a job, you need a framework instead of the ones that used to be applied to office work, salary and daily turnover.

It’s much harder to organize yourself, which is why many people prefer to work for hire – so at least there is a structure that keeps you in shape.

When you have to be such a structure yourself, it is very easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the days, if you do not take yourself in hand from the beginning and do not set the rules of the game.

WHAT IS YOUR WORK?

Yes, you don’t go to the office, but you are still busy. Do you have projects, workers (freelancers), or ideas for starting your own business (such as a blog), or looking for a new job (this is also a project), or renovating a house, or… In general, anything. In order not to waste time and work for yourself as productively as possible, start by understanding your new “job responsibilities”.

When you are hired, you are told what to do and what is expected of you. Formulate the same requirements for yourself as your own employee for the near future – this will be the foundation of your new lifestyle.

WORK SPACE

Where is your workspace? Do you work from home or in your favorite cafe? Any successful freelancer will tell you that it is important to have a point where all the materials and documents that are relevant to your project will be collected. Most of those who work from home prefer to equip a separate workplace, home office – it helps to keep all their papers under control, and general disciplines.

When you equip such an office, you need to determine whether your “office” has rules. For example, do not eat at work, or do not work in the bedroom or kitchen, or go to work in a cafe-park at least twice a week, etc.

WORKING HOURS

Each company has a specific work schedule that structures the time of employees. What are your working hours? Do you work full time or half-day? What days of the week?

How many work tasks do you have to perform during these working hours? What time do you have lunch? What tasks do you perform at what time of day? When do you start working? And – most importantly – when do you finish? If you do not decide on this framework, then your projects run the risk of blurring out your day, taking away all your free time.

STATEMENT OF THE TASK

If you were in charge of the department, it would be your responsibility to set tasks for your employee. Understandable and feasible. Treat yourself the same way: don’t cram too much into your schedule, set priorities, make a plan for the day and the week, and report to yourself about the tasks.

EFFICIENCY EVALUATION

A good boss communicates regularly with subordinates and assesses whether they perform their tasks well. And if not, he tries to figure out what’s bothering them.

Conduct the same sessions with yourself and analyze, once a month, your success in the project you are doing. Did you get what you wanted in a month? Do you manage to move forward, and if not, what is the problem? In bad planning? Lack of knowledge? In any external factors? How can you help yourself?

COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING

A good boss is always in the position of his valuable employees and can close his eyes to the rare delays or easily let go an hour earlier. However, at the same time, he will not disband his subordinates and will monitor discipline, otherwise, his department will immediately fall out of hand.

Treat yourself the same way. If you feel that you need a break and just need to be lazy for a day – allow yourself to rest to work more productively afterwards. Don’t become your own overseer (“until you finish the blog post / send out your resume / paint the wall, you won’t get coffee!”), But don’t let your own laziness down.

AWARDS AND PROMOTIONS

A company whose employee achieves good results encourages him with awards or prizes, do not forget about it, and when you start working for yourself.

Reward yourself with nice little things, mini-vacations, or long-awaited purchases. If you did a good job, you deserved your reward!

And most importantly – do not forget about your priorities in this period of life. A good boss is like a captain: he always knows where his “ship” is going. Remember what you want to achieve, develop, take care of and constantly encourage yourself.

And then any project will be on your shoulders. After all, your most valuable employee will work on it – yourself.