3 days of my new full time AM gig..thoughts

efeezy

efeezy

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2007
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If you followed my recent "I think I'm going to quit my job thread", you'll know that I quit last week to this shit full time and I have to say it feels very strange. I think it's going to take me a while to get used to the idea that I don't have to be at the office at 8:30am until 6:30pm every day, because someone else says so.

It's only been a couple of days, and I've been working on getting my home office setup so I have a domicile where I can be productive, but I'm trying to figure out how the hell I"m going to structure my work time so I am productive. I know it's going to take a while to get into a groove, but it's so foreign to have no absolute, set things that need to be done on a time frame.

Those of you who have quit your day jobs to do affiliate marketing as your job, how long did it take you to adjust and find your groove on what you should be working on each day and how much time you put in? Do you feel guilty quitting at 1pm if you're sick of working?

I kind of feel like a bum..because I don't have a set schedule to keep. I know that I'll adjust...it's just a strange feeling after 14+ years of being on someone elses schedule.
 


Make a list the last thing you do each day. It needs to contain everything that needs to happen next day. Have a few other lists too of different priorities with larger goals that takes more time and effort than being part of a point-by-point list for the next day. Next day, do your mail, do your list, do a bit of research into something you need to improve, and if you got time over, work on one of the more important larger goals you have. And don't forget to eat.

XOXO
/Taraqil
 
It comes down to doing what you want to do and running away from what you don't want to do. Just make a good compromise out of that two. You will have to make your own schedule to run things smoothly (not much of a difference from any other job, it's just that this time you are the one writing your goals) if you want to be serious about this.

It's different for every person. I haven't touched anything for two weeks after I quitted my job for this, I watched pornos and played games and felt numb... only then I felt that i should do something with my self.
You probably have kids and wife which makes you more disciplined and organized. Just don't listen to any advice from your wife about this business.
 
Oh yeah, you will dream about your past job for some time. I had some pretty disturbing dreams... you can't avoid that :D
 
Nice man!!!...Good for u!!!....I'm also on the fence...and have set Dec 31 as my last fucking day of BS work!....:)......How old are u if i may ask?.....30's?...40's??

Tony


efeezy said:
If you followed my recent "I think I'm going to quit my job thread", you'll know that I quit last week to this shit full time and I have to say it feels very strange. I think it's going to take me a while to get used to the idea that I don't have to be at the office at 8:30am until 6:30pm every day, because someone else says so.

It's only been a couple of days, and I've been working on getting my home office setup so I have a domicile where I can be productive, but I'm trying to figure out how the hell I"m going to structure my work time so I am productive. I know it's going to take a while to get into a groove, but it's so foreign to have no absolute, set things that need to be done on a time frame.

Those of you who have quit your day jobs to do affiliate marketing as your job, how long did it take you to adjust and find your groove on what you should be working on each day and how much time you put in? Do you feel guilty quitting at 1pm if you're sick of working?

I kind of feel like a bum..because I don't have a set schedule to keep. I know that I'll adjust...it's just a strange feeling after 14+ years of being on someone elses schedule.
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I quit 3 or 4 years ago, but not to do AM fulltime, it was for hosting. It took a few weeks to fall into a good schedule. These days I just use zoho projects to keep a list of a few things I need to get done each day, then deal with support as I need to, and do various other work as I feel like it.
 
We all go through that.

Learn to use Leechblock and your HOSTS file. Block unproductive shit.

Manage your time on IM.

Get a whiteboard and make lists.

When I had a day job, I pissed around online and did my own stuff. Now, you don't have the luxury of someone else paying for you to make monies online.

I also take breaks, listen to music to hit grooves, and make a point of going for short walks to clear my mind and get refocused.

One thing you will have to watch is that you don't eat too much, or drink when you're meant to be working.

Good luck bro.
 
I quit my job at the end of March, and for April, May, and June I went a bit mental being at home all day. When I went out to meet people I would be super excited because I craved interaction. But now I've gotten used to it, and I've got my routine down.

As for what to do with the time, yeah make a list of all the things you want/need to do and do as many as you can. They don't have to all be work. I try to exercise every day, and that's something on my list - I go to the gym or get out and run. For my first month I made myself go out and talk to 5 chicks every morning before working. Whatever you do in addition to work. It just sucks to get stuck sitting around and feeling like you wasted your time.

Now I don't really need to take as many breaks, but during the first 2 or 3 months I had to take breaks every couple hours and just relax and have a drink on my balcony for a few minutes. I wasn't used to sitting for that long. It gets easier though.
 
For me personally, its important to not have a forced schedule. I burn out / get sick of my projects if I force myself to work 9-5 or whatever.

I work when I want. Period. And I more don't work on the predefined schedule... example: I go out with friends every Wednesday night, period, no question asked.

I keep a lengthy todo.txt which consists of everything I need to do, sorted by project. I don't do it in order usually, but when I'm lost / looking for direction, I pick that up. I also have an ideas.txt which consists of all my ideas that haven't been turned in to projects yet because the todo list is too long. I used to keep a timeline.txt as well, which was more of a month-to-month-year-to-year timeline, but I found that to be a bit overboard.

I find I work best at night. Late night. Like 3am night. I figure this is cause everyone leaves me alone finally.

Also, "one beer" is going to make you not want to work anymore. I promise. Don't do it.
 
Ok I feel a little bit better now...thanks.

To touch on a couple questions..I'm 34, wife and first kid on the way. I forgot to mention that my wife works from home as well, but we have offices at opposite ends of the house, and she still works for a company, so I could go all day without her bothering me too much. (I hope)

I actually picked up a whiteboard yesterday, so I think that will help me to have a visual reminder of what I'm working on daily.

I've been having some restless nights and some bad dreams about my old job. Not restless like "Oh I'm not going to make any money and my family is going to starve." I honestly don't even sweat the money cause I know how to get that part done. Just unsettling sleep trying to wrap my head around my new gig.
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P785j15Tzk]YouTube - "Procrastination" Tales Of Mere Existence[/ame]

this has been my experience for two months.
 
I've been self employed a bit over 2 years now. Best thing you can do is just stay organized. Keep lists, follow a set schedule. Try to wake up and go to bed at the same time each day. Take 1 day a week off so you don't lose your mind. No video games, no booze, no TV, no going out - until all your work for the day is done. I set aside mornings for client work, and then afternoons for my own projects. Just keep a schedule, don't try to wing it. Best advice I can give. :) Good luck!
 
How long have you been doing AM efeezy? So far after a year I have made 140$, but I spent a lot of that time learning programming which is a black hole at times when you're really trying to learn it well.
 
eFeezy... are you right now getting any work done, or are you more or less sculpting your new office and planning on where this desk goes, etc? If so, this is procrastination. Spend a day or two on design, then roll up your sleeves, use the whiteboard, and write some short term, and long term goals.

Set aside goals each day on the whiteboard, and stick to them. Reward yourself with breaks, etc after a goal is met, freshen your head, and move to the next.

Get your company name picked out, design business cards as stuff to do in between your goals, so you keep enthused and motivated to keep working.

Good luck man, you seem like a smart guy, we'll bump this thread in 6 months and you can tell us what new car you just bought your wife with all your money. ;-)
 
CaviB said:
How long have you been doing AM efeezy? So far after a year I have made 140$, but I spent a lot of that time learning programming which is a black hole at times when you're really trying to learn it well.
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I've been doing it part time, along with my day job for about a year and a half. I'm now consistently making anywhere from $8K - $10K a month from AM. I figure now that I can dig in full time, I hope to double that within the year.

Roundabout said:
eFeezy... are you right now getting any work done, or are you more or less sculpting your new office and planning on where this desk goes, etc? If so, this is procrastination. Spend a day or two on design, then roll up your sleeves, use the whiteboard, and write some short term, and long term goals.

Set aside goals each day on the whiteboard, and stick to them. Reward yourself with breaks, etc after a goal is met, freshen your head, and move to the next.

Get your company name picked out, design business cards as stuff to do in between your goals, so you keep enthused and motivated to keep working.

Good luck man, you seem like a smart guy, we'll bump this thread in 6 months and you can tell us what new car you just bought your wife with all your money. ;-)
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Shit...I'm actually building the desk today. All the desks out there are crap, and I've got a full woodworking shop in my garage, so I said screw it, I'll just build what I want.

I have been getting some work done in the mornings however. In the past 3 days that I haven't been working very hard, my earnings are actually up for some reason. By the end of the week I'll be set up 100% and will have some plans down to focus on. As for the wife's car thing..I could care less about that stuff. I want my mortgage GONE and all the bills paid..DONE & DONE! Then I'll buy the Rolls.
 
efeezy said:
Shit...I'm actually building the desk today. All the desks out there are crap, and I've got a full woodworking shop in my garage, so I said screw it, I'll just build what I want.
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LOL. Ok, listen. Far be it from me to hint at what this obviously is <cough PROCRASTINATION> but that's cool.

With the thousands of desks out there you can buy, to actually be building one is probably more for the purpose of stress relief on your part, and that's cool. Your revenues are up, screw it, build the desk.

Be careful though. Before I got an office 2-3 years ago, and I worked at home, I found every excuse in the book to finish early and work on little projects around the house. One month it was painting, the next it was bathroom redesign. These are all fun projects to do, but work ultimately suffers if you treat your day at home unlike a day in the office, where you're kind of trapped and need to work a solid 8 hours or so to accomplish what needs to be done.
 
efeezy.....good job man!!...and good luck!!.....i'm about to be in the same boat.....:).....married with a son....a little older than u.....+6.....:(...but it's never too late!!.....i basically spend all my day at work doing AM campaigns....research...etc...and get paid for it....lol.....but i've reached the point where i hate going to work...i hate all my bosses....i commute 3 hours a day to basically go to a job i hate...and that i don't need...yet i still feel the scare of quitting it....i guess it's that comfort zone.....wifey is behind me....so...that's out of the way.....i've just set Dec. 31 as my last day....i figure i'll go the end of the year.....but from what i read...it seems organization/motivation is the key to each day to not fall into bad traps......i can't wait till Dec 31!!!!...:)
 
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