I can’t lie: I have enjoyed the last 8 weeks of quarantine.
No panicked phone calls. No rushing around. No commuting and seemingly never-ending days of driving to and fro. No scheduling and rescheduling. And, none of my favorite – “I need to make my crisis your emergency, Jennifer.”
It has been 8 beautiful weeks of Jason’s Deli grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (https://www.jasonsdeli.com/menu) while watching Netflix, reading books, and accomplishing what’s on my own agenda.
Before business ramps up again, I am asking myself how I can keep this nirvana going. Why does it have to stop? At the very least, it can be part of my day, several days a week.
Do I want to go back to business as usual when I re-open and get busy (https://www.facebook.com/101491771231878/videos/2668223793291455/) again? No, I don’t.
I have learned what I am capable of when my life is pared down to the basics and I am jailed in my own home – and I like it. I really don’t want this level of productivity and sense of fulfillment to vanish. This means I’ve got some choices to make:
- Close my business
- Scale back my business
- Reorganize my priorities
- Remain to committed to quality over quantity
- Options C & D
I’m not saying I don’t enjoy the business I own and run. I’m just saying that I can see clearly now how I have allowed it to become an overwhelming priority. An overwhelming priority that squeezed out other opportunities.
At the risk of sounding a bit loony, I feel like the Universe is trying to tell me to slow down, smell some magnolia blooms,
and do more of the things that make me happy. It’s time to change my definition of busy. Because being busy can mean “I’m busy finishing season two of Dead to Me.”
When my mind and body are more rested, as they have been the past few weeks, my creativity soars. And, I’m actually more fun to be around because I’m not worried about what I “should” be doing instead.
I am sharing these thoughts because I know a lot of my business owning colleagues also enjoyed this quarantine period because it gave them an opportunity to slow down and work at their own pace, on their own “stuff.” Unfortunately, it’s not cool to make such an admission.
Does enjoying the solitude of quarantine make me a bad business owner? Now deem me unsuitable because I’m tired of competing to see who has the more stressful life?
Quite the opposite. Now that I understand the importance of unplugging, taking a break, doing work that fulfills me – I can’t go back to “business as usual.” This enlightened version of me has elevated to a different level because there isn’t nearly as much stress and worry to drag me down.
So, what will my business look like in 4 weeks? I have no idea. This unexpected development time has changed my plans, changed my course.
Stay tuned.
