No matter how much you like or are passionate about your business, there are times when you simply lack the energy to do what you need to do. This is perfectly normal by the way. In the same way as there is a whole set of strategies to deal with writer’s block, let’s look at some strategies to help you push through that period of low energy and motivation.

1) Focus on your business’ goals

Like anything else, we need a reason to do a task, otherwise we will simply prioritize other things instead. In this regard, you need to determine what are your goals with respect to your business. Are those goals financial in nature, so that your business can help you buy that thing you really want or to give you more breathing room at the end of the month? Or, maybe your business is a source of freedom to allow you to escape your day job or to spend more time with your family? Whatever your goals are, use them as a well from which to draw energy during those periods of low energy.

2) Use enjoyed tasks as a reward for completing disliked ones

Some tasks we like and others we really don’t. Make yourself a task list and use the task you like as a reward for completing the tasks with you don’t (Todoist is a good task manager). This is surprisingly effective.

3) Delegate disliked tasks

As your time and energy are some of your most precious resources, consider delegating away those tasks which you really hate or which take up too much of your time. No one says that a business owner must do everything. Yes, this may cost money and eat away at some of your business’ profits, but it is a worthwhile investment if it allows you to be in a productive headspace. The easiest way is to delegate tasks to other people involved in your business, but you can always use external consultants or freelance workers. Another option is to see if the task can be automated away (see the post: Automate your Tasks (Away)). Finally, determine a threshold under which others have complete decision-making autonomy. For example, staff have autonomy for decisions up to $100 (or client complaints up to that amount), which will free up quite some time and hopefully eliminate quite a bit of aggravation.

4) Devote your peak productivity time to your business

We all have our own daily energy cycles. Some people are morning people; others work better in the evenings. Try to work on your business during your peak energy hours. Jeff Sanders in the 5 AM Miracle advocates for trading time from your evenings when you are tired after a day’s work for time first thing in the morning when you’re awake and fully refreshed. I can definitely attest that this technique works well as it gave me the time and energy to get my tutoring business off the ground and running. All that it took me was waking up at 6AM for two months and devoting to it 1-1.5 hours several mornings a week.

5) Block distraction-free time for your business

Continuing along the line of the previous strategy, block time when you are only going to work in your business. It doesn’t need to be a long period of time, 30 minutes or an hour will more than suffice. Then use this time without distraction for your business. Use a stopwatch, a chiming clock, or a TimeTimer to keep track of the time. My personal favourite is a TimeTimer since it helps me visualize the remaining time. The key point is that you need to be absolutely without distraction during this time. Because of this, find an alternative timing device than your phone. The amazing thing about time blocking is that tasks have a habit of getting done more efficiently that way. In fact, Parkinson’s law establishes that tasks take the time allocated to them. So set yourself strict blocks of time to get your work done (breaking down big tasks into smaller ones) and be ready to be amazed at your own productivity.

6) Read books relevant to your business

Your business should be your mental playground: a place to try out and test new concepts and to explore new ideas. This more than anything else is what keeps me coming back to my businesses. To this end, read books about your field of business and how to run a business in general. There is so much fun in reading about a trick or some new technique and then integrating it into your business. This can really add fuel to the fire which will bring you back time and time again to your business.

So best of luck with your business and you got this!