If you are a freelancer, a business owner, your own boss in charge of your own time, I am sure you know that your precious hours can easily be sucked into total unnecessary things. Times wasters. I am sure you know what I am talking about.
Here 5 Time wasters and tips on how to change your mindset to solve them.
If you are working in the world of Performing Arts, Do Read On to nr. 4! Important information.

1  Waiting for inspiration.
How often did it happen to you that you had to write something creative, or you needed to start practising a new piece of music, make some important phone calls, write emails long overdue or do some research but you “wait for inspiration”. In the meanwhile, you just do other unnecessary things that waste your time.
When you wait for inspiration it most likely will not come.
Instead: Do it! Just start. When you have an idea, do not wait any longer than 5 seconds before gettings up and starting. After 5 minutes we know that the brain will try to persuade you otherwise.
(Read the 5-second rule by Mel Robbins)
Sometimes I can feel so uninspired to start a new piece I literally get out of the house, go to the nearby park and just delay, delay and delay. “A walk in the park will give me inspiration, right?.”
It almost never does.
Now I just Kick my ass every morning to get on with those Händel coloraturas or any other piece of music. After a while, I realize I love it and I will be inspired for the next rehearsal.

2 Worrying about what people say.
When you are in an environment where the common vibration frequency of others is low or negative I find it sometimes quite hard to resist worrying. Especially when colleagues or friends come up with their strong opinions about my actions or behaviour. Then I usually start thinking and worrying about if what I wanted to do is the right way.
Well, that is the biggest time waster ever. After joining the SFM (Six Figure Mentors) community I realize that these kinds of comments only say something about the fear of others. It’s not about you, so why would you worry?
I auditioned recently for a (far) Eastern European House. “Why you go there, they hate dark skin.”
I heard.
Although this brings up a totally different conversation as well in which I am not planning to dive into right now, I also realized that these comments happen because of nr.1. There is a sense of protecting me, which is sweet, of course, and I am grateful that people care but most often it’s about nr. 2. They would be afraid for themselves to go all the way east, looking like me.
“You will never make it” or “You are not able to do that.” The moment you hear these comments it only means that this person thinks it is not possible for him/her, but it has nothing to do with your ability.
So don’t waste your time thinking about what others might think of your ideas, actions and wishes.

3 Complaining
I hear people complain for hours and hours and although I listen to them sometimes, because I do think they are good people and deserve some of my attention, at the same time I ask myself: “Why wasting your precious time complaining?”
I have one colleague who can speak over and over again about the same injustice, hurt, mediocre or incapable people. It never changes, well maybe the people she complains about change, but apparently, in her surroundings, there is no one who actually does his job properly.
According to Echkart Tolle: “The Ego believes that through negativity it can manipulate reality and get what it wants. It believes that through it, it can attract a desirable condition or dissolve an undesirable one.”
Wow! Super interesting phrase if you ask me. Complaining makes people think that they can somehow solve the problem? The opposite is true of course because instead of attracting a desirable condition, it stops it from arising. Instead of dissolving an undesirable condition, it keeps it in place.
The only “useful” function is that it strengthens the Ego and that is why the Ego loves it.
Wow guys, I think we’re all done complaining now aren’t we?

4 Comparing yourself
As a musician, I spent hours, days, years, comparing myself to others because that is what everyone did including teachers at school.
However a couple of years ago I made a big shift in “HOW” I compared myself and definitely after being a member of the Six Figure Mentors where I have found like-minded people who practice this in the same way, I realize that THIS is the way to go. The other way was a total waste of time.
As a young child, I always believed that there were 2 types of jealousy, but I could never explain it properly. Now let me try again.
There is a positive and negative side of jealousy.
One lifts you up, the other brings you down.
Around me, most people are dealing with the negative side of jealousy. They see someone else’s shiny Instagram pictures and get jealous, maybe even to a point that they feel super bad about their own life and life-goals. They become grumpy and think: Why can I not have what he/she has? The mind is clouded with negative thoughts about their own life and ability.

The positive way is watching someone else have success and thinking: “Why don’t I have what he/she has…hm…Maybe I can do something about that.”
These people take action because others, more successful ones, INSPIRE them to do so.
They are not afraid to ask questions about how to reach that level of success.
They reach out to colleagues, friends and mentors and are willing to grow, invest and learn so that they can achieve the same things as their examples.
This way of thinking comes from: There is enough for everyone, while the negative side of jealousy comes from a thought of lack.
According to Walles D Wattles in The science of getting rich:

You must get rid of the thought of competition.
You are to create, not to compete for what is already created.
You do not have to take anything away from anyone.
You do not have to drive sharp bargains.
You do not have to cheat or to take advantage.
You do not need to let anyone work for you for less than he earns.
You do not have to covet the property of others or to look at it with wishful eyes.
No one has anything of which you cannot have the like, and that without taking what he has away from him.

Rise out of competitive thought is the only way to finding enlightenment.

And although I am just spiritual and not religious I love this quote:
“It is the desire of God that you should get rich in many ways. He wants you to get rich because he can express himself better through you if you have plenty of things to use in giving Him expression. He can live more in you if you have unlimited command of the means of life.”
Life means to INCREASE.

5 Lack of priorities.
For sure you know these people who don’t really have priorities and kind of stumble through life. Setting your priorities is a healthy thing to do because it will amplify what is important for YOU at that moment. It will make you more productive, managing your tasks in a healthy way which will decrease stress and thus makes you happier.
I have one friend who always says: “Yeah I didn’t text back because I was too busy.”
I hate it. I absolutely do! It is obviously total bullshit because we can always find a minute to text, but I just wasn’t a priority for him at that time.
And that is totally fine!
I have the same. I can’t make everyone a priority all the time. It comes and goes in waves.
Otherwise, my brain would totally overload. And yes that means some people have to wait a couple of days before I text back. That has nothing to do with me not caring about them or forgetting them. It has to do with my own priorities at that given time and since it’s up to me to manage my time well in order to live a life I love, I set my priorities.

So here is it: I hope you enjoy these tips and you’ll turn up your vibration frequency.
If you feel stuck and want to have me guide you through some difficult (career) questions you can also contact me.

If you recognized yourself in some of these stories, feel honoured that you inspired me to write.