Planning your down time

How to cash in on your low days

Network Marketing is not your run of the mill job where you sit behind a desk in a cubicle with no view for eight or nine hours, and deal with a boss who won’t give you the time of day. Instead, it is a profession where the world is your very own playground, and the only person accountable for your success or failure is you. And yet, even the most passionate Network Marketers sometimes wake up with less than 100% desire to hit the ground running. Prospecting, presenting, selling, network training—these are just a few of the tasks that comprise a typical Network Marketer’s day. And sometimes, these can feel so routine that we tend to lose sight of all the fun and excitement that this business is famous for.

But this is no reason to feel alarmed, or to start doubting your place in this business. At times like these, what you need to do is plan how you will take advantage of this—as well as other “down days” to come. Here are a few basic steps on how you can do this:

Step 1: Make a list of what you’ve always wanted to do.
It always starts in the mind. After all, positive thoughts lead to positive moods, and positive moods turn into positive actions. So go and write down enjoyable and interesting things you’ve thought of doing in the past. Learning a new language or hobby, trying out a new sport or going back to an old one, visiting a museum or some nearby getaway, travelling abroad to meet an old relative or friend—chances are such activities have crossed your mind in the past, but somehow you just never got around to doing them. Well, now’s the perfect time to get on them. Not only will they give your mind a break, they will also give you the kind of fresh stimulation that you need to regain your focus.

Step 2: Mark them into your calendar.
For the most part, revisiting your always-wanted-to-do-but-never-had-time-for activities is not something you can do on a whim. Many of them require some degree of advanced planning, and more often than not, you won’t be able to actually do them on your low day. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t plan them into your schedule. Take a look at your calendar: do you have a week free in August? Organize an out of town trip with some friends and family. Will you be in town every Saturday for the next two months? Why not enroll in a class that teaches French or yoga? Do you have only one weekend to spare? How about taking a crash course in photography? Seeing, on paper, how you can maximize your time will make you realize that down time doesn’t have to mean idle time. More importantly, it will also show you that no matter how hectic your Network Marketing career appears to get, this is the only business that allows you a great deal of freedom of time in which you can enrich your life.

Step 3: Commit to it.
Once you’ve scheduled your down-time activities, the next thing to remember is that a plan is nothing more than ink on paper until it is implemented. Between now and the actual date on which you are supposed to do your down-time activity, many things can happen that will tempt you to cancel your plans. New appointments can come up, urgent matters can require your presence. And while some issues are, in fact, more important than, say, studying a new language, bear in mind that even your down-time activities have long-term benefits. So try, as much as you can, to push through with your planned activities. Treat them the way you would any business appointment—you normally wouldn’t cancel those unless you absolutely have no choice, would you?

Step 4: Document it.
Finally, as you go ahead and actually put your down-time plans into action, do remember to bring a camera and a journal, so you can record every step. Not only will this serve as a quick reference, in case you want to review some aspects of your new activity; it will also be of great value several months (or years) down the road, especially the next time you’re feeling a little less than 100% and need to take your mind off work for a while—simply look back at your pictures and notes, and chances are it will be just like doing that activity all over again!

Like you, every great person in history has had his low days. What matters is how you deal with them. So the next time you wake up to what most people describe as “one of those days”, don’t be so quick to say “I’m taking the day off.” Remember that opportunity usually knocks once, and then quickly leaves when you don’t answer the door quickly enough. Instead, try out this simple exercise—and before you know it, you’ll be out the door and making your next business presentation with gusto!