{photo by Larsz. Give yourself a gold star!}
Yes, working for yourself, being able to set your own schedule and not having to answer to anyone else is incredibly rewarding. But, it can also be incredibly stressful and lead to a max-out burn-out situation if you're not careful.
That's why I think it's important to have some sort of reward system in place when you work for yourself. Since you have no bonus headed your way, no allocated raises, no free lunch, office parties or even coworkers around to laugh at your bad jokes, I think it's a good idea to make sure you're rewarding yourself for all your hard work, when you can.
I tend to set up little rewards to keep myself going throughout the day. For instance, once I finish writing this post, and only after I finish writing it, I can reward myself with a little break for some food and catch up on the latest episode of the Hills (er, purely as an example of course, not like I'd ever watch that show... ;) Or, if I get all my morning posts on Modish done and scheduled the day before, I can reward myself with pancakes the next morning or by meeting a friend for coffee.
I like to think of "rewards" as all the little perks that come with self-employment that we really ought to be taking advantage of. Think back to when you were working the 9-5 grind, just daydreaming about working for yourself full time... what are the perks you imagined for yourself then? Are you satisfying those now that you are self-employed?
If nothing else, rewards help motivate people to get the job done and done well. Think back to the sorts of reward systems that were in play in your past jobs (or perhaps there weren't any and that's one of the reasons why you left! :) Be the boss to yourself that you always wish you had, the kind that rewards a job well done in a way that's appropriate to the task at hand.
From a cupcake break to a meet up with friends or a non-crowded afternoon in the park, I think it's good to reward yourself every now and again to make sure you stay a happy, healthy and productive employee.
For those of you who are self-employed, how do you reward yourself in big or small ways? And when? At the completion of a big project? After a particularly productive day? Do you think rewards help keep you motivated in your work?
