Wow!! That is about all I can say about my life right now. I feel like I am in a whirlwind and don’t know how to make it stop. What an appropriate day to be talking about taking the “manic” out of your business and your Monday when I feel like this is something I so, so, so need to get under control.

My husband and I, both self-employed have taken some time to really review our businesses, our lives and our lifestyle over the past few weeks. As you know being in business is like taking a very bumpy roller coaster ride … sometimes you are up … and sometimes you are down. As both of our businesses are still new, we are both working very hard to grow them and fulfill the dreams we have for our businesses. Some days are easier than others.

As of late I have been feeling like I am unable to focus and get a move on to making this happen - to fulfilling my “big dreams”. My mind has been feeling very “cluttered” and when I took some time to realize why it has been so hard to focus I realized that I was stressed over a number of things in my life.

As I stated in a previous post, my business recently took a downturn and now this downturn has become evident in other areas of our life and in particular our finances. This left me with three options …

Option #1 - Go out and get a part time job until my business gets over this downturn. The downside of this is that I am unable to devote all my time to growing my business, putting my plans into place and coming back bigger and stronger. This would perhaps help with the finances, but would it still allow me to devote the time I need to go forward with my business? It also might mean less time with my children, which is a sacrifice I am not willing to make …. this is the reason we are self-employed is to be there for our children when they need us!!

Option #2 - Ride it out and worry about “fixing” my finances later. This is not really my style since I have always been one that believes you do not “borrow from John to pay Peter”, but sometimes you have to do, what you have to do.

Option #3 - Take an inventory and see where you can cut corners until this ride smooths itself out.

So, all things considered, we decided together, my husband and I, that Option #3 was our best bet. In taking our inventory we decided that we were still living the lifestyle of a “double income” family (and a high double income because after all we had both left good paying jobs that had left us with little to no time for family!!) So we are in the process of “liquidating” some assets and making some changes that will allow us to reduce some of these worries and make it easier for us to ride out the “roller coaster” of self employment.

So … this weekend I began clearing away clutter and getting our home ready to sell. We have decided to use the equity we have built up in our home and move to a smaller home … one that will leave us relatively mortgage free. This will allow us to focus on making our business dreams come true without the financial worries we are having right now. It also means that we no longer have to worry about those ups and downs of business … we can now use the ups to save even more money towards another one of our dreams to retire early and enjoy life!!

BUT how does all this relate to you and to your business? What inventories are necessary for you to take in order to free your mind from the worries and clutter of these worries? Make a plan of action to make your day, your life and your business as “Clutter-Free” as you can. I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that I have a plan and will be able to concentrate on making my business everything it can be!!

Take some time and realize what is cluttering you from being able to move forward? What is keeping you from being everything you can be? Then take an inventory and clear that clutter!!