Your topic is important. After struggling for a year or two with getting into some kind of self employment work routine, I got to the "have to do it point" of finding an activity. Health reasons (post knee surgery recovery) prompted me in the first place, but the side benefits have been outstanding. I went back to an activity--swimming--that I had done in college years ago and would be most beneficial to my recovery. It takes time... 90 minutes...to drive to the pool, get dressed and swin an hour. But in the water, I am forced into a sort of mediation. Can't pop in an ipod in the swimming pool.

Despite taking two hours out of my day, I am more productive than I have ever been and feel more positive that I have for the last two years of self employment.

I started by NOT allowing myself to miss for seven days. Frankly, I wondered if I wouldn't give up after I had finished my commitment to my first week. But I found that by that time, I was committed.

For me, leaving the house/office is another plus. I get to see other people in action and that helps.

Taking two hours away is not for everyone. But I cannot overstate the value of our "personal development" overhead. Working in a home office is not the dream world we all thought it was. It has more ups than downs, but the downs are hard to fix.

Personal development overhead is certainly one big step in the right direction.

mollyagnes...how that resonates with me for my beloved grandmother's name was agnes, and she, too, was a wise, loving, humble and incredibly powerful force in this great Universe - always focused on being, which made her doing so amazing. that's generally how your work impacts me. today's share underscores for me the common threads in overhead and extreme self-care...how my professional and personal life do not occur in separate spheres of time and space. the distinctions are subtle but meaningful to me and sorely needed just now. thanks, thanks, thanks!

Marsha, Your post reminds me of how much I loved swimming. For several years I cycled intensively, but my wrists and neck don't like prolonged time on the bike. I've been walking and running, and maybe it is time to go back to the pool.

In any case, I love that you are making the time. And it is no surprise that you are getting more than matching productivity.

Dahna, So good to hear from you. Yes, the professional and personal distinctions are important. And they shift, as distinctions do, as our needs and contexts change. I think that is what makes surfing that edge challenging: it's moving!