Join thousands of readers building a business that works around Life Stuff (like chronic physical or mental health conditions, recovery from big life events, caring responsibilities). I send two-ish emails each week, to help you enjoy a more comfy business and life.
Micro-Flexes - I wanna hear about them
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I considered applying for a job Reader It’s very rare that I see a job that is even a tiny but appealing to me, but for about 3 seconds this weekend, an assistant manager role at our local nature reserve did look quite attractive. The salary was similar to what I pay myself now, and the hours were a little more than I currently work. Then I remembered that on Monday I was taking Flossie (the world’s fluffiest tabby cat) to the vet for her annual check-up and vaccinations. And then my brain snowballed….recollecting all the little tiny moments of flexibility I enjoy from being self-employed, and how they’d be gone if I had a job. Appointments for the dentists, doctors, hairdressers can be had for me and The Sons at pretty much any time of day, any day of the week. I can match my activity to my mood, energy or well-being. Need fresh air? I open the door and walk out of it. Feeling focussed at 8pm on a Saturday - I can grab my laptop, get productive, and know I’ve freed up hours of my time for the next week. I can take a nap whenever I need to (which apparently is quite often in the Winter). I get to stroke my cats whenever I want….OK I’ve got to stop listing these things now, it’s making me emotional. Oh wait…. I should probably mention something about how I love being around for The Sons….. I probably shouldn’t have listed them after my cats…. don’t tell them. It’s very hard to put a financial value on these micro-flexes, so they often get overlooked. And when we tally up what we’ve achieved so far in our business, or we visualize the goals we want to achieve, these little freedoms don’t make it onto the list. But if we set goals, and measure achievements, only in terms of numbers - hours worked, and money earned - we’re missing out on a huge amount of value our business already gives us, and could be giving more of. Sure count the money - we need that. But count the micro-flexes too. What micro-flexes does your business offer you already? What would you like it to deliver more of in 2025? And have you designed your business, your offers, your marketing to make that possible? |
The Comfy Business Newsletter | Laura
Join thousands of readers building a business that works around Life Stuff (like chronic physical or mental health conditions, recovery from big life events, caring responsibilities). I send two-ish emails each week, to help you enjoy a more comfy business and life.
Little diced potatoes roasted in garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil is a solid favourite in this house Reader. And every time I cook them, Every Time, I'll sneakily pop a piece of fresh-from-the-oven potato right into my mouth. Every Time. It hurts so much. I try to be patient and wait. I wave the potato around in the air to cool it down. But my reward system (like everyone else's) fires faster and louder than my pain-warning system. And my brain also throws in a little bit of optimism bias,...
Whenever I hear the phrase GCSEs I instantly think of the (epic) music video for Daft Punk’s Around The World. I couldn’t revise in silence. Summer of '97, I did most of my studying lying flat on my belly on the living room carpet, with MTV on, for the full 6 hours of bliss whenever everyone else was out of the house (I’m the eldest of 4 kids). Angst-riddled parents fretfully told me ‘you can’t possibly concentrate like that’ a few dozen times - but it was the only way I could concentrate. 28...
What small thing causes you disproportionate rage discomfort Reader? Me? I HATE the feeling of my hair touching my neck. HATE it. Yes, captial letter, actually shouting HATE it. And because I like to have my hair short, even putting it in a ponytail brings no relief because the hair at the back of my head is was too short to tie up. As the weather warmed up in May, I decided I wanted to get an undercut (have the hair at the nape of my neck shaved really short). I didn’t do it because: 1. I am...