Welcome back 🤝

Over the last 130 days since launching Ink Equity, I’m navigating the biggest change in my life, one that’s altered my days and weeks after 10 years at the same company right out of school.

So if you’re going through a change of your own: a new job, a new move, or whatever it is, I’m going to share what’s helped me navigate this new identity and routine change in hope that it can help you for what’s to come.

Let’s jump in.

Corporate New Identity & Routines

It’s weird that I still feel chained to my corporate identity. I mean I was in my old career from November 16, 2015, to June 4, 2026…3,853 days…whose counting?!?

When I think about that number…it’s absolutely insane. I can’t believe I worked at the same company out of school for that long… 🤯

While I had that same identity for a decade, I moved a lot and it felt like I always had a new routine in rotation.

Every move meant a new routine, and every time it took at least 3-6 months to adjust to it.

However, now that I’m in another new routine since starting the business, I’m struggling with two things:

Working at home has its perks don’t get me wrong. I get up when I want, do whatever I want during the day, and hit the gym when I want. But I’m not someone who enjoys an inconsistent do-whatever-you-want-kind-of-week.

Before making the jump I didn’t realize how much self-discipline goes into working for yourself. I had a sense, but man is all about self-discipline.

Like for example when a potential client reschedules a meeting where I’ve prepared 1-2 hours before it to then get it moved is frustrating — I have to regroup and get back to work despite the quasi-let down. You go from excited to meet to it’s pushed for 2 weeks and you’re like sh!t what’s next in line for me to do.

Or when it’s been a long day and I’ve yet to do any outreach as I planned. I still need to find the motivation to get my butt in the chair, put some music on and start reaching out to people…regardless of how tired I am.

While I won’t get into the 100+ other things, self-discipline plays a key role. I’m lucky in a sense though, I’ve never had an issue getting up at 4:30am to work out by 5:15, or writing this newsletter late at night when I wasn’t in the mood to write. Like my mind can turn on the switch and get to it really at any time, despite how I’m feeling.

But in my decade long career, I knew what I was doing each and every day, each and every week. I was guard railed to structure, clear roles and responsibilities and an expectation of the work where it was like okay I’m grinding from 9-5 then I was done.

Fast forward to today, I still haven’t found much of a routine and I think that’s just what comes with the territory. Since everything is still so new, I don’t think I will find a solid routine for some time. I didn’t find one for a few months with every new move I made. It took time…a lot of it.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel…so here’s what’s helping in the meantime.

Committing to Focus

The first thing that’s helped is pointing out friction in my day-to-day, meaning what’s causing an issue that I don’t enjoy doing or disrupts my focus?

Take this newsletter for example. It takes me 2 to 4 hours start to finish, and for the last couple of months I was writing it on Monday mornings. Is that really a good way to start my week when clients are my focus now?

So instead of kick starting my week with writing it on Monday, I start it on Fridays. I’m trying to treat my Fridays as creative days: a little less pressure, free-flowing, the day for the things that scratch my creative itch whether it be content for LinkedIn or OTF.

The other friction came from doing random things during the week.

For example, two months ago, and this may sound ridiculous, I needed to go to Costco to get a bunch of stuff for the month and my Tuesday afternoon was wide open so I decided to go. I thought: “Oh, I could do this errand when I want” because I’m on my own time, so I did. It felt empowering at first, but then I felt like I lost control of my work day. Costco I’m sorry, but you’re a late night during the week or a weekend kind of thing, you ain’t taken 1-2 hours of my afternoon anymore.

I’m also trying to form better habits too to create better focus like: no screen time on my phone after 8:15 at night, not checking my phone for the first 30-45 minutes after I wake up, which I’m still working on and need to be better with and eating on a consistent cadence regardless of how my day shakes out. I’m starting to create more boundaries for myself to help me stay more focused.

I’ve also learned I need to get comfortable with separation.

I am obsessed with what I’m building and while that’s a good thing, it can also be a bad thing, because being too obsessed can take you away from moments in front of you.

When you work on something you really want to grow, a new space enters your brain, and it begins to take up 80% of your thought, because a lot is on the line.

So I’m doing my best to step out of it during the times that matter like when when my wife and I watch Netflix at night or when I’m at the gym or even when I walk my dog during the day.

If I catch myself thinking about work during these moments, I do my best to remind myself to pop out, be present, and focus on what’s in front of me. Work is a priority, but I don’t believe it needs to be number one all the time.

I separate where I work, too. I switch up my workstation a few times a week: I go from the living room, to the kitchen counter, to the outside the deck and my office. I don’t want to feel glued to one corner of the house so doing different types of work in different areas of the house has been helpful.

This may sound like I have ADHD, but who knows.

I’m kidding.

While it’s felt like a juggling act the last 4 months, the ride has been extremely exhausting and rewarding, both emotionally and mentally. The new routine, the new identity, the new everything: but that’s the ride I signed up for.

Time to keep at and put the head down.

Appreciate your time. I hope there was something in here that could help you as you navigate a new routine or look for more focus.

To building together,

Dan

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