Wondering Soul Yoga

For months I have been on edge, stressed by the sheer amount of work that had to be done around our wedding (evidenced by the fact that my last post was in April). When I know writing, like yoga and meditation, calms me, why do I deprioritize it? The hour per day I historically have spent on social media likely explains this (frustrating) de-prioritization. Taking too much time on work projects may be another. Each day I iterate on how I can maximize efficiency and, by extension, my happiness in a world where the bounds of the classic 9-5 job holds no relevance to my professional journey and success.

My work does not – in any way – resemble a 9-5 job. I am a full time solopreneur. I run my own yoga + wellness company, Wondering Soul Yoga, and my own marketing consulting business, Sarah Taylor Marketing LLC. Due to this privileged existence I find myself living, I have immense flexibility in where and how and when I work. I can go to a mid-afternoon pilates class or teach yoga at 12 pm. I can start my day at 7 am and end at 2 pm, or, conversely, start at 11 am and focus intensively until 4 pm. I can put everything on pause and write for 30-60 minutes every day. Most days are entirely my own with only a meeting or two to structure my calendar. 

The 9-5 corporate environment pushes us into a time-deficit mentality, because it pushes many of us into meetings all day long … so long that we don’t see the sun or go outside for hours at a time.

Where does this concept of jobs being eight-hour-a-day, five-day workweek even come from? In the mid-1800s, before labor protection laws, most folks worked 12 hour days, 6 days per week (70-plus hours a week). The Ford Motor Company was among the first US employers to institute an eight-hour-a-day, five-day workweek.

Don’t you think the structure of the work day should be different now than it was in 1926?

The 9-5 workplace culture treats workers like cogs in a machine. I am actively unlearning nearly a decade’s worth of corporate training that valued optics over outputs, that encouraged inefficiency en masse. Back-to-back meetings with no break, sitting for long stretches of time, staring at a screen until your eyes water, eating lunch behind a desk, remaining inside all day long.

In abandoning the (nearly century-old) 9-5 workday structure, I’m not eschewing capitalism. Quite the opposite. I have lofty ambitions for this year: $100k in annual revenue and maxing out my Roth IRA. If I am actually serious about scaling revenue and truly owning my own time and schedule, a regular schedule, regular life, regular job won’t cut it. 

I know I’m not going to achieve the professional goals I’ve set for myself with the mindset I had at my ‘normal’ 9-5. Normalcy, clocking in and out, the in-the-box thinking won’t allow me the maximum creativity and output I need to create, build, and do for my own company. 

At my company, it’s just me. I can only focus and produce for so long. I can no longer pretend that being in meetings all day is productive anymore. I am building systems and structures so my business can grow beyond my wildest imaginings (check out my new marketing site) in a way that I can support and maintain? And I am giving deep, intentional thought to what it means to be truly rested as a solopreneur.

Things I am thinking about expanding into include: 

• A lifestyle/wellness community of subscribers who gain access to:
  • Yoga videos
  • Guided meditations
  • Recipes
  • Planners / motivational resources and workbooks and guides
  • Weekly newsletter
  • Additional travel guides
• A published memoir on growing up with two moms
• Training on how to ‘found your own company’ or ‘run your own yoga retreat’
• Silent retreat / mini workshop
• Establish income streams through affiliate partnerships, referrals, and brand partnerships
• Social media management 101 trainings

At the end of the day, these are the things that really matter to me:

• Freedom
• Control over my own schedule
• Enough money to 1) pay my mortgage and utilities, 2) invest aggressively, and 3) travel four times per year (my yoga retreat, a trip with Ernie, a family trip, a girls’ trip) and … 4) buy beautiful clothes when I want. 

We’ve already paid for our wedding and own our own home, have two cats, and want for nothing. What else do I really need? The immense, intangible value I derive from spending time with my friends and family matters more than any of the stuff I could buy. I know that. Family, friends, and human relationships are my real priorities.

That perspective keeps all my ambitions in context and keeps me motivated. 

How do you stay motivated? How are you reimagining what work looks like in order to realize your dreams and ambitions?

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