5 Ways to do the Hard Stuff as an Authorpreneur

There are so many great things about being an authorpreneur.  You get to pick your schedule, focus on what you want, and hopefully do one of your favorite things day in and day out.  

On the flip side, there are challenges.  You are typically the one who does everything.  The writing, the editing, the publishing, the author platform, the blog posting, the social media posting, the accounting, the taxes, the marketing, the selling, the money-making, and countless other tasks.

If you’re like me, I like to focus on the fun and enjoyable tasks first and then save the hard tasks for later, known as procrastination.  The consequence? It actually may hurt the business since I’m only putting in minimal effort on the hard stuff.  That’s not sustainable in the long-run, and opportunities will be missed if it doesn’t change. 

Challenge yourself to do the hard stuff first.  And that might not be as painful as you think. Doing the hard stuff doesn’t mean that YOU have to do all the hard stuff.  Sometimes it’s about extending trust to someone else.  

Here are 5 Juxtabook “tips” on how to do the hard stuff as an authorpreneur. 

Hire someone else to do it

I recently read an early draft of The Entrepreneur's Paradox by Curtis Morley.  Curtis shares with the reader the pitfalls that every entrepreneur faces. One of those pitfalls is that the entrepreneur tries to do everything and especially the one or two things they think or feel that they are the expert at.  He challenges entrepreneurs to “Stop Building the Product and Start Building the Business.”  One way to do that is to outsource as much as you can.  

For Authorpreneurs, you focus on the most important items that only you can provide, which I would say is writing.  Leave the accounting, social media management, administrative tasks, graphic design to someone else.  Granted, you may not be able to do that right away but build up to it, so your love of writing doesn’t become that “job” of writing in order to stay financially afloat.  

Find a different “space” 

One of the items I procrastinate the most on is financial accounting.  At a minimum, I should do this every two weeks so I know how much money is coming in and how much is going out.  I don’t want to run into a situation where the bank account is empty, and I can’t pay for any of our subscription services or tools.  

I find a different “space” to do financial accounting. I do it at the kitchen table rather than my desk.  The kitchen table is where I do my finances with my spouse, and when I sit there, I’m in a “financial mode” rather than any other mode.  

Schedule it

This is simple.  Get it on your calendar, and don’t let anyone or any other task interfere with what you need to get done. Suppose it’s a recurring task, schedule it for the same day and time each week or month.  For me, I schedule my writing time at 6 am.  I don’t feel obligated to look at any email or accomplish any other tasks.  It’s also when my mind is the freshest and most calm.  

Just Do It

I’ve seen many methods that help prepare you to tackle a task by taking 5 minutes to get into the “zone.”  Be cautious that if you take time to get into the “zone” of starting a task, that could be the time you’re wasting to complete the task.  Sometimes you just have to dive right in and get started even if it’s hard, frustrating, and begins to take longer than you think.  Get into the zone by just doing it.  

When I dive right in and just do it, I usually get into the flow of the task and actually start to enjoy it, and when it’s done, it feels great.  

Have someone or something hold you accountable

If you’re a people pleaser and you don’t like to let anyone down, then have someone hold you accountable.  Give this person permission to ask you about completing the task and if you haven’t finished, have them coach you and identify where you are getting stuck.  An accountability partner is a beautiful thing to establish, and I highly recommend it.  

When I mention something to hold you accountable, it has to do with procrastinating on the task.  For example, if you don’t finish a task by Friday morning, you might have to work late and miss out on a fun night out with friends or family.  Whatever the consequence might be, it has to have a more significant impact than not completing the task.  

Being an authorpreneur is rewarding.  There are many upsides along with the challenges of the day-to-day work that has to be done so you can hold on to that lifestyle.  The good thing is that as you build a system and expand your ability to “do the hard stuff,” you’ll create more opportunities and flexibility to complete your weekly tasks.