One random Thursday I was sitting in my home office doing some work… pretty standard stuff.
I got a call from one of my best mates that he was taking the day off, picking up another friend from the airport, calling a 3rd friend in to play board games and drink beers all day.
My first reaction was that it was a work day… no way can I do that.
But then I remembered the entire reason I got into working for myself was flexibility to do stuff like this.
So over I went, beers and board games in tow.
It should have been a bloody awesome day.
Except that for the ENTIRE DAY, I was anxious and incessantly checking my phone – as if there was something I had to do that had come up in the 2.5 minutes since the last check.
Of course the day was ruined from that underlying feeling all day.
Turns out the feeling has a name… “Entrepreneurial guilt”
Reflecting on it, I couldn’t believe that I’d felt like shit all day, despite exercising something that is the entire reason I started a business… flexibility.
That day really kicked my ass.
Since then I’ve refused to ever let this feeling in again. If it starts manifesting, I mentally tell it to f*** off.
Some might call that being an insane person. Some might call it “being present” with whatever else I’m doing. Whatever it is, it seems to work.
That guilt is something I see in other entrepreneurs all the time – trying to get in these little bits of work throughout a day off instead of just enjoying themselves.
I guess my point here is if you fall into this trap, try to find a way to chill out and get back to doing whatever it is you enjoy. Turn your phone off if you have to.
The work can get done tomorrow. Your inbox isn’t going anywhere.
