CONTROL, STRESS AND AGENCY

One of the key benefits of self-employment is the ability to have more control over our work life.

​What control do you have? You can respond to an opportunity you see in the market by creating something of value. You can set objectives for your business. You can set boundaries for your customers and yourself. You can make many of the day to day decisions. 

So many factors conspire to restrict our freedom and impose stress on our projects and lives. This is where we must push back...

The book I am currently reading is called When The Body Says No - The Cost Of Hidden Stress, by Gabor Mate. It is incredibly insightful, and while it doesn't speak much about running a business, he does say:

​'Since stress escalates as the sense of control diminishes, people who excercise greater control over their work and lives enjoy better health.'

In an effort to win back some control in your work, consider these following free agent exercises:

1. Turn down a job based solely on your gut feeling.
2. Spend one Monday on a volunteer project.
3. Take a Wednesday afternoon off to play.
4. Bump one of the next estimates by 25%.
5. Take a Pro-D Day next month.

Why do these? Because you can.

If you require additional reasons to give yourself permission...

1. ​You have probably taken on a job you shouldn't have.
2. You have likely enjoyed a hand up at some point in your business.
3. You have worked overtime on an evening or weekend.
4. You have under-charged on a past project.
5. It requires a lot of various skills to be a micro contractor - invest in yourself and learn something new (how to build a website, a peripheral trade, public speaking, bookkeeping, reading blue prints, design principles, sales, etc...)

Manifesting agency in our work can be a great benefit so long as we remember that we have it and that we use it.



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