Tag Archives: focus

Senioritis

It has arrived…and right on schedule too. Now that we have slipped into the final term of my eldest daughter’s senior year, she has caught a hard case of Senioritis—just getting up and getting going on school mornings is tough (although the socializing all weekend is not) and as for getting in those papers and projects—it is like pulling teeth! I have told my daughter and myself that she is actually right on target—she is supposed to be ready to be done with high school. The fact that she is far more interested in where she is going to be … Continue reading →

Losing Steam

We talk often here in the home business blog about finding ways to stay motivated and keep up the energy level and focus when it comes to operating a home business. For most of us, this is a genuine concern and something we truly wrestle with. I know there must be people out there who seldom lag or slack, but I haven’t met them yet! As for myself, I am learning that I can only sustain things for so long and then I just lose steam. It doesn’t do me any good to berate or kick myself for the ebb … Continue reading →

Dodging Responsibility

The other day, while chatting with a friend, she asked if working at my home based business wasn’t a way of “dodging responsibility”? I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what she meant but it sure did provide for a stimulating conversation! She was assuming that working from home was like “not really working”—not having to face a boss or take the risks of starting a “real” business. I took advantage of the opportunity to let her know just how much risk and headache there are with a home business, as well as how much it is a … Continue reading →

What Happens When Restlessness Hits?

We’re going along, working away and doing just fine. Perhaps we have a business plan and a budget and our keeping the wolves at bay when, one day, restlessness comes knocking at our home office door. We just start to feel unsatisfied, wondering if this is really all there is or if we’ve made a mistake by starting our own home businesses? What does a business owner do when the waves of restlessness hit? Restlessness is to be expected. I don’t really know why we all get periodic bouts of it—maybe it is the moon, the weather, or as a … Continue reading →

Sinking Your Teeth In

Surely you have heard that saying “something to seek my teeth into” as it refers to getting so excited or into a project or situation that you really dig in and commit to working on it. For many of us, our home businesses become like this. However, we might also be reluctant to really dig in because we are afraid of failure, of getting too attached, or worried that we might lose perspective. I cannot help but think that “sinking our teeth into” our home business is a good thing in the short and long term. Sure, I know that … Continue reading →

Tips for Taking Great eBay Photos—LIGHTING

You’ve got the right camera, you invested in a tripod and you have learned a few tricks regarding focusing, now it’s time to shoot those items you want to sell on eBay, right? Not so fast. There are a few more tips you want to keep in mind prior to pointing and shooting. In this blog we’ll discuss how proper lighting will help you achieve prize-winning photos that will attract more potential buyers to your auction item. Avoiding Hot Spots. If you are shooting in direct sunlight or illuminating your auction item directly under an unfiltered bulb you run the … Continue reading →

Taking the Focus Off Ourselves for a While

Perhaps because I write so much about what is going on in my own little world, I often feel like I get pretty myopic. As a single parent, I might also be hypersensitive about myself and my life because I feel like I have to pay such close attention to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. That is probably why I think it can be so great to be able to let all that go for a while and focus on people and problems OUTSIDE my family and my little domestic scene. Getting out of my own world and … Continue reading →

Are You Taking Things Way Too Seriously?

I know this is serious business, this whole home-business thing. For many of us, we have a lot at stake on our businesses and it is incredibly important that we succeed and that we learn how to be “serious” business people. BUT, are we in danger of taking ourselves and our businesses too seriously? Are we losing perspective or becoming so tense that we are not having any fun at things? What can be done if we feel we are getting far too rigid and uptight? I know that I am taking things in my business way too seriously when … Continue reading →

Losing Focus…and Getting it Back

The other day I confessed that there are those time when I really don’t want to work! I can think of a dozen things I would rather be doing, or I just cannot seem to muster the focus to concentrate on what needs to be done. Since we are working from home in our own businesses, we don’t have bosses or external forces to motivate us. Somehow, we have to find a way to get ourselves back on track and deal with it when we lose focus (and find a way to get it all back!) I am most likely … Continue reading →

“I Don’t Want to Work!”

Yesterday, I was commiserating with a colleague about trying to stay motivated and focused on work these last few days before the holidays. The fact is, it is more like a drudging death march and less about motivation. I really don’t WANT to be working. I would much rather be finishing up my shopping, wrapping packages, having lunch with friends, and chatting with my kids. I don’t want to be trying to carve out lines, search for words, and answer e-mails… Now, just because I do not WANT to work, it doesn’t mean that I have abandoned my business—I’m still … Continue reading →