Let me tell you a story. A story about my entrepreneuring days. I'm a freelancer and an entrepreneur so there are days when I actually do go out and work for someone else or I meet my clients, but there are also days when I have a day off, meaning I work at home. From home. I do everything that has to be done and no-one pays me for it. At least I'm supposed to do.
My usual day off, when I could do anything I want, but I can't because I have to be a good little entrepreneur.
There are two options how I wake up. Option one is something that happens extremely rarely. But on very rare occasions, it happens. I wake up like this. Make myself coffee and continue feeling like this and when something unexpected comes my way I just handle it because there is always a solution to every problem. But then shit happens during the day, and my day ends like this.
The second option is the one I like to call: "You idiot, it doesn't matter how you think about things. You never had a glass to begin with when thinking about is the glass half empty or half full. Everything is your own fault."
6:00
I open my eyes a bit because one of my cat's is playing with my toes. When I say playing, I mean eating, because the freak wants to let me know that someone's hungry. I won't get up because I tired. I have slept only 4 hours because I had so much stuff to do the previous night. Or this night. Who cares.
About an hour later I wake up to every single ding dong crash boom bang I hear. Tired. Cat eating my toes. Hurts.
Again about an hour later I wake up and get up because I have a thing or two that I could still use my toes to for the rest of my life. Feeling like a walking dead. You know how it is. No enough sleep and before coffee. I put on some clothes. Any clothes. Open my computer and go feed the cats. Step on to cat puke. Clean it. Notice "few" e-mails as I walk by the computer. Can't help reading the first one. Shouldn't have done that. It irritates me.
I continue giving the cats food and at the same time make breakfast for me. Coffee and bread. I can't help not thinking about the e-mail I read. It's irritating to answer questions that I've already answered in my companies web pages and Facebook site so many times. I'm trying to think polite ways of answering to the e-mail. I know I have to respond, but it's irritating because writing e-mails about facts that are already available to anyone, is a complete waste of my time and annoying. But I know it's my fault. Customer is always right.
Cats are fed, coffee ready. I move to the computer with my breakfast. Decide to read few other e-mails before I answer the one that I know I have to answer at some point. Half of the e-mails are waste of my time. But again I know I have to answer almost all of those. I decide to do it later because I have more important things to do.
A small ad to Facebook pages. I go to Facebook to post the ad. But then I remember that yesterday I was too tired to do it, so I don't have an ad ready to post. I'll have to do it now.
But first I glance at few of my friends posts in Facebook. A big mistake. "I bet no-one will answer this because this has no picture to go with the text, but now we see who truly cares about me and is my friend. Answer this if you are my friend!" I'm thinking of unfrending that person because of that text which I definitely will not answer. But then again I'm an entrepreneur, so every contact counts. I silence that person by not following anymore. We stay as fb friends, but I don't have to look at those stupid posts again.
I see a post in one of those entrepreneur groups that have thousands of members. Someone says: "Like my pages and comment, I like and comment you back!" Someone has answered: "Don't post these here, it's against the rules." and gets an answer: "The rules are so long, no-one reads those." and gets tens of answers that say: "Liked your page and commented!" One person answers: "Has someone informed the admin about this!?" I feel the urge to leave the group. But then again, I'm an entrepreneur, so every contact counts. I just silence that person, and that one, and that one, hell, I silence the whole group.
One of my friends is posting selfies, all look the same and then there's a breakfast pic. "Best breakfast ever! Wish you all were here!" By "you" meaning not me but anyone who could potentially be envious and feel bad. I use my possibility to silence this one and everyone who does similar posts.
I silence few pages that I never liked anyway but clicked like for courtesy or some else reason that I've forgot.
Eventually I notice that the only thing my Facebook wall now has is Bored Panda. I click it and end up clicking further and further until I find myself watching cute cat videos on YouTube.
My bread is half eaten and coffee is cold. I hate cold coffee. I go to make some fresh coffee. I trip onto a cat that thinks it's feeding time again, although I just gave food to the cats... almost an hour ago! Shitfuck.
So I go and make more coffee, decide to wash some clothes as I wait the coffee maker to complete it's job. I remember that last night I was too tired to empty the washer, so there's wet clothes still in it. I also remember that I was too tired to take the dry clothes away from the clothesline, so I have to empty that first. As folding the clothes takes too much time, I add them to the dry clothes pile where the clothes are waiting for the moment when I have time to fold them to the shelves. The pile is beyond huge. It's enormous.
Dirty clothes stuffed in to the washing machine. Coffee ready. Now back to the computer. Or that's what I think.
I get a call. Someone asking me if I want to listen at them because they are not selling anything. Out of courtesy I listen for a while until I realize they are trying to sell me stuff. I try to interrupt the person speaking without breathing at all, but can't, and end up brutally ending the call.
The ad. I start searching some suitable photo's and find one. Open it in Photoshop.
I get another call. The person who sent me e-mail, calls me and asks if I got the e-mail and also a text message about the e-mail. I answer that I was just going to answer both (although I have no idea there was a text message also) but the caller barely listens me, asks the same questions and I try to be as calm and polite as I can with my answers. I'm tempted to fake "I seem to be in an elevator that is in a tunnel and under water right now, can't hear you, sorry if this call suddenly just ends..." but end up listening the callers entire life story and reassuring them over ten times during the call that there is no hurry, the deadline for this is at the end of next month so there is still plenty of time.
I notice that my hands, ear, cheek and brain is sweating. Yes. Brain. Sweating.
Finally I manage to get rid of the caller, but remember that I promised to write all the things we talked to an e-mail also. Stupid, stupid, stupid me. My fault. I write it like there's no tomorrow. I swear my fingers are smoking. That's how fast and hard I write. Done.
OK. Now the ad tho Facebook. I manage to do few moves and then this happens.
My coffee is cold, my ad seems to advertise something called kjdifusodndlv, sdiujndfnlääääööööäääööäööäöääö and covfefe. Few Photoshop tools are completely missing thanks to that furry randomizator. But it's my fault.
I pretend that I'm doing something else, somewhere else, but the cute chaos theory creature sees right through me. Does not move. Looks at me like I'm stupid or something. That I am. Faking doesn't help, so I actually start doing stuff by the other table. Stuff I really would like to do every day. All day long. Instead of pleasing customers, making ads and updating website.
Dismantling and building. That's what I like! And photographing my achievements. Big mistake and it's my own fault.
The cat is long gone, probably left after 5 minutes I left. Over an hour has past. Fuckshit. Where's my day gone?
I return to my computer, come up with some kind of an ad that is suitable for Facebook and the small thing I'm promoting, post it and pleased with myself, go and make myself more coffee.
I step on to a saithe (or coalfish) that some furry furminator has decided to drag from the bowl to the middle of the floor, eat a tiny bit of it and leave the rest for someone to step on. I bet some portion of the fish is also under the living room couch and although I can't see it, I'm sure after a couple of days, I can smell it.
I clean the fish away, make coffee and remember the laundry in the washing machine.
I'm pretty thankful about the fact that my child is't a toddler anymore. Those surely were the happy days! Working from home, being an entrepreneur, trying to keep my child alive and trying not to fall asleep whenever something terrifying wasn't happening when the shear horror and fear of what could have happened kept me wide awake.
I answer few e-mails, update my website, manage to write and send one invoice. As I am doing those, I notice people asking questions in Facebook. I immediately scold myself for accidentally leaving my Facebook page open. I do not have a Facebook app on my phone for a good reason. One of those being that usually none of the notifications in Facebook are urgent or that important that I couldn't answer those by the end of the day or maybe even only once every two days.
I have informed my customers the best ways to get in touch if my pages don't give enough answers, Facebook messenger NOT being one of them, but things really are easily forgotten. My fault.
But now that I've left the page open and everyone can see that I'm online, I have to answer. Answer to questions that are asked by people who just couldn't read more info about the ad where it says: READ MORE INFO HERE!
I remember that I also have an Instagram account and decide to look what's going on there. Someone has asked me questions in Instagram also (three days ago) and as I know I should be happy that someone IS asking questions, I'm only irritated. I answer to the questions, remind the customer how they can get information sooner and immediately get an answer: "Well, you are too late, I already chose something else." AND A NICE DAY TO YOU TOO! ...my fault...
I get an e-mail from one of my bigger customers. The city. Or actually just someone working there who sends messages but doesn't decide anything. Immediately I pic up the phone and call them. I get a recorded message that says that the staff has left early today due to a staff meeting. How convenient! How convenient indeed. So I start writing an e-mail addressing the issue because I know I have to do something today. So that I won't forget it.
At some point that significant other comes home from work and wonders what on earth have I been doing as nothing seems to have changed since morning. I try to explain, but realize it's futile as every word, every sentence that comes out of my mouth is just an excuse. My fault.
So it's family time. More coffee, food and an hour or two with Netflix.
After couple of hours it should be time to go to bed, but that's for everyone else. Not for entrepreneurs.
I finish my e-mail to the city, publish couple of photos to Instagram and at 11:30 PM remember that I haven't done my Steemit post for today. Start creating something thinking that I do my Steemit post, leave the wet laundry to the washer, start doing in case-of- maneuvers tomorrow, because of the e-mail from the city and...
You all know what this says, even though it's in Finnish.
It says: YOUR OWN FAULT!
Sleeping is overrated.