#021 - 3 Lessons From Washing My Car

#021 - 3 Lessons from washing my car.....

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It was 7 degrees Celsius (44.6F) and sunny today - a perfect day to finally check off an 'easy' chore that's been weighing on my mind… or so I thought.

As it turns out, washing my car taught me 3 valuable lessons to success as a freelancer.

You see, I have this summer car that goes into 'hibernation' in late October.

Except that this fall, I skipped a bunch of steps:

I didn’t wash it, put the cover on it, or plug the battery into the trickle charger.

Trivial, I know.

But at least once a day for the last three months, I have thought about this still unchecked item on my to-do list.

This small, uncompleted task contributed mountains of mental overhead that’s been compounding for months.

Here are my 3 car washing revelations applicable to freelancing life.

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1. The longer you wait, the harder it gets

Washing a car isn’t a hard or complex task.

It just requires some time and work.

And yet, as the months passed without tackling a simple end-of-season task, it became bigger in my mind.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

Not only did it become more challenging mentally, it became harder practically, too.

While it was mild out today, it wasn’t the optimal time of year for washing a car.

Working with cold water, my hands were freezing.

As I rinsed the car off, I could see the water freezing, so I needed to adapt my tried-and-true method and devise a new system.

And as I found out, my tools weren’t suited to the cold (see part 2).

As freelancers, even simple projects get harder the longer we wait to tackle them.

Sometimes, a little time pressure can be helpful. (My ADHD brain certainly feels that way).

However, our standards and systems are strained when we’re forced to complete a task on a tight timeline.

I bet if I added up all the time I spent beating myself up over the last three months for not washing the car, I could have washed three cars!

The same goes for the tasks we’re putting off in our freelance businesses.

Takeaway:

• Make a list of the deferred projects taking up space and contributing mental overhead

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2. Having the right tools

Finally motivated to get this done, I quickly ran into an issue. When I turned on the hose, water barely dribbled out.

Because I had waited until a mild mid-winter day to tackle this task, the hose was filled with ice…

I couldn’t fill the pails, rinse the car, or wash off the soap.

I was determined to make it work - even if my tools weren’t up to the task.

But the harder I tried, the clearer it became that this straw of a hose would mean the task would take forever, and the outcome would have been poor - a dirty car PLUS a soapy residue left on the paint.

As freelancers, it’s equally critical that we have the right tools for the task.

This could be physical equipment, but it’s often the correct models, processes, know-how, or expertise.

We can try to muscle through and “figure it out” with the wrong tools, but at what cost?

Low-quality outcomes Inefficient use of time Frustration

Takeaway:

• Return to your list from part 1. Consider what tools you need to accomplish them with high quality and efficiency. Ask yourself whether you possess those tools today or are trying to get by with the wrong tools.

3. Asking for help

After struggling with my drip hose for a while, I started to panic.

My car was covered in soap. It was getting colder as the sun was starting to get low.

I didn’t want to give up and accept failure since I’d come this far.

I also started to feel defeated. “Wow, Jeff - you can’t even wash a car. You’re pretty useless.”

Hello inner saboteur.

I’ve felt similar emotions before as a freelancer.

Maybe it’s feeling lost on how to progress a project.

At an impasse with a challenging client.

Or struggling to find business.

When you start feeling this way, repeat after me:

"I am not alone."

As freelancers, we don’t have to figure everything out by ourselves.

There is an incredible community of other freelancers who have the tools and expertise you may lack.

Ask them for help!

Asking for help doesn’t make you a failure. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or incompetent.

It’s often the easiest solution - and yet, we hold out.

Today, I found myself contemplating all sorts of hacks and workarounds for my frozen hose - from driving to the store to buy a new hose to carrying out pails of water. I think I even considered finding a way to thaw it.

Then, as though it came out of nowhere, I had an epiphany.

I put down the trickling hose, knocked on my neighbour’s door, and asked to borrow his hose.

With the right tool in hand, I was back in business.

I flew through washing, rinsing, drying, covering, and storing the car in record time.

Done.

Takeaway:

• Look at your list of required tools from Part 2. Jot down 1-2 ideas for where you can go to get help developing those tools. Schedule time this week to take the first step in asking for support.

My car washing ordeal took me 2 hours.

I spent one hour and fifteen minutes buying towels and soap, fumbling around with the wrong tools without making much progress.

If I had the right tools from the start or had asked for help quickly when I encountered an issue, I could have considerably reduced the project’s time.

Fortunately, this experience resulted in more than just a done-to-do.

In the process, I took the extra 5 minutes to reorganize the garage so that the snowblower is at the front and not buried away at the back.

That way, the right tool for the next task will be nearby. Investing five minutes today will save time and frustration come the next snowfall.

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-Jeff

Freelance Marketing Alliance

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p.s. Hey! I'm really trying to grow the subscriber base so that we can introduce some more tools, resources, and support for freelancers. Would you consider sending this to 2 other freelancers or consultants? Thanks!

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