Do you ever feel like you’re running all week long but when Friday arrives you haven’t accomplished even half of your to-do list…and you’re not quite sure what it is you did all week?
Are there times you’re so darn busy getting things done, you don’t even see what needs to get done? You feel like you don’t even have time to lift your head to make sure you’re on the right path or totally in left field?
A clear vision of the business AND lifestyle we want is the first step in owning our day and getting out of the day to day chaos that keeps us spinning our wheels.
Having clarity around our vision and our goals is what helps us create strategy, set up systems to our day and to structure our week so that we know what we need to do each day with confidence and intention to create the business AND lifestyle we want.
In today’s video blog I’m sharing 3 tips on how to regain control of your day and your week, so that you can move out of the overwhelm and into action.
I’m going to add one more tip… get an accountability partner, say it out loud, commit to it. Don’t let fear of failure get in your way, fear being in the exact same next year as you are today.
I’d love to hear from you. What’s worked for you to regain control of your day? Post in the comments below and let me know your thoughts.
Are you ready to take control of your day, week and your success? Could you use someone who will hold your hand AND kick your butt? Click Here to apply for a complementary Clarity Call to get you moving forward with confidence and intention.
I’ve been talking with a lot of women lately about their vision for their business and what their long term goals are… and the answer I’ve been getting more often than not is, ‘I don’t know’.
As a business strategist, one of the first questions I ask is “what are your goals for your business AND for your lifestyle?” (because let’s admit, they are not mutually exclusive).
If we don’t know what it is we want, how do we create a roadmap to get there? Success will continue to elude us if we don’t know what it is we need to do each day to move our business forward with confidence and intention.
One trick I use with clients when they get stuck in the ‘I just don’t know’ is to reverse engineer. They’re usually pretty clear on what they DON’T want, so we write that list, then flip it around. For example, change:
I’m so tired of being financially strapped to: I want financial stability (then we look at what financial stability means like to them).
I’m tired of working 8-10 hours a day and not moving my business forward to: I want set up structures and systems in my day that support me in getting things done in my business so that I feel successful at the end of the week.
I really hate how little time I spend with my kids and spouse to: I want to create more quality time with my family.
I’m tired of my clothes not fitting to: I’d like to schedule more self-care in my week so I’m able to feel better, be more effective in my workday AND have energy at the end of the day.
I’m tired of always putting others needs ahead of mine and not doing what I need in my business to: I want to set clear and respectful boundaries that support me and the growth of my business.
So tell me, what’s your vision for your business? What goals do you want to achieve? Don’t know, can’t remember…have no idea how to start? Reverse engineer to design your roadmap and set your GPS
Having a clear VISION for what we want our Business AND Lifestyle to ‘look like’ (because they are not mutually exclusive) is the key in achieving our goals. It truly is the magnetic pull that creates a resistance to not be moving towards our dreams.
Without a vision for what it is we want to be, do and have, how can we create a strategy and an action plan to get there?
When we don’t have clear vision of what we want our business to be, procrastination and shiny object syndrome can easily can grab us by the ankles and keep us stuck spinning in circles. Very. Busy. Circles. (Read more about procrastination here.)
Unfortunately, it’s so damn easy to get bogged down in day to day chaos and overwhelm that can come with running a business (or family, or team, or…fill in the blank) that we lose sight of what it is we wanted in the first place. We get thrown off course and lack the clarity of where and how to go to get back on track.
It’s not always so easy to slow down, stop the train so we can focus in on what it is we want your life as a business woman to be.
Far too often when I work with a client for the first time, it takes an hour or two of digging deep before she’ll even admit what her dreams are…she’s not comfortable stating them out loud and putting a stake in the ground that declares ‘this is what I want’.
In the video below I share 3 tips to get started on creating a clear vision and start making it a reality.
What comes up for you when you hear the word structure? Does it give you a warm fuzzy feeling? Maybe you bristle and want to run the other way? Is the first word that comes to mind freedom? Probably not.
When I say the word structure to my clients, they almost always get a bit uncomfortable, look around the room and say ‘umm, that feels so boxed in’.
The word doesn’t feel so open and expansive…in fact, it can feel quite restricting.
Many of us started our businesses so that we could have the freedom to control our schedule (as well as our income) and not be confined by all the structure, rules, & confines found in the corporate world.
Yet, let’s be honest here, lack of structure more often than not leads to lack of success in our business.
Most business owners can easily get caught up in the day to day chaos of survival that they actually forget to look at how they’re building their business, what it is they need to do each day/week to move their business forward and reach their goals
When we go about our day without a plan, without a strategy, without some structure, we really do leave success to chance. And, I don’t know about you but, left to my own devices isn’t always so, shall we say, ‘productive’.
Knowing what each day holds means if needed you can move your work around so by the end of the week you know whether you’ve moved closer to your goals, or further away from them.
In today’s video blog you’ll learn some tips and tools you can start implementing today to set yourself up for success…and a sense of freedom.
As you set up structure around your work day, knowing what you need to do each day, each week, each month so that you can move your business forward with confidence and intention, you’ll start to ENJOY THE FREEDOM STRUCTURE BRINGS.
As an entrepreneur for 26+ years I can honestly say the times where I’ve ‘fallen down’ in my businesses…when overwhelm consumed me, chaos kicked in, and procrastination owned me (more about procrastination here) was when I didn’t have the structures in place, with a plan, to support me in achieving my goals.
Could you use some support (and accountability…) with setting your goals and establishing some structure so that you know what it is you need to do each day to move your business forward and create the thriving successful business you want? Give me a shout and let’s look at creating some freedom to your day. Click Here to et up your Complimentary Clarity Call.
Have you ever had days where you just can’t seem to get out of your own way? You’ve got a mile long to do list (one that you keep adding to each day, ugh), but everything else seems so much more important to get to instead of the things that actually need to get done for your business to grow.
Do you go through your week with your head down, blinders on, working like a mad woman, than when Friday hits you think, ‘Damn, I’ve been crazy busy…how could I have not chipped more off my to do list?’.
In talking with women, whether it be in my live workshops, my one-on-one coaching, or simply standing in line at the grocery store, procrastination is a theme that keeps popping up as a roadblock for many of them and stands in the way of their success.
One woman referred to it recently as ‘Squirrel Syndrome.’..which, may I say, hit close to home as my nickname used to be ‘The Squirrel’. No longer, phew!
Scurrying around throughout our days from one thing to another avoiding the calendar or our to-do list for our business; instead it’s “must do this, and now this, oh, can’t forget that . . .” and the next thing you know it’s the end of the day and the goals you came up with while you were brushing your teeth in the morning somehow never even made it out of the gate…another day is gone and you’re standing there wondering what happened, once again.
Sound familiar? Yes? You’re not alone. Procrastination is universal, and as such, is the “Universal Inhibitor” to reaching our goals AND our potential in business and life.
Webster’s defines procrastination as “to be slow or late about doing something that should be done.” Procrastination can show up to your party uninvited (with its party shoes on!) in a whole host of ways.
There are three main ways procrastination rears its ugly head:
The first, and perhaps most prevalent for us as women, is allowing our boundaries to be optional.
So often we have children, a spouse, or family members who are demanding of our time and often this can be especially difficult to maneuver. We’re raised in a culture where we’re taught to be caregivers; to put others needs ahead of our own.
For many of us, it’s second nature to take care of others…we often don’t even recognize when we back-burner our own needs. The fallout of this is: we then have no idea where our boundaries are, or where they went, so how can others know where they are, let alone that we may have any?
As business owners we have got to start putting our needs first or our business will not succeed, at least not at the rate we’d like (or need) it to.
If we do put ourselves first, or the needs of our business ahead of others, we’re often told we’re ‘selfish’, or a ‘bitch’…which tends to piss us off and then we very well may live into some of these descriptions because our boundaries are being stepped on or ignored (read more about boundaries here). This happens mainly because we haven’t been taught to confidently set boundaries around OUR TIME and OUR BUSINESS.
As business women, we need to set boundaries around our time and equally important, we need to be vigilant about keeping them, or we will be leaving our success to chance. And that rarely works out well.
The next procrastination rabbit hole is ‘this before that’, the belief that I have to have ‘THIS’: another degree or certification/class/credential, or a beautiful website …before I can have ‘THAT’: hanging out my shingle, feeling credible or smart enough, being able to charge my worth, feeling like real businesswoman, a real . . . (fill in the blank).
It can even be something a simple as, ‘I have to clean my desk before I can work’ or ‘I need to get a planner before I can start working.’ Does this pop-up for any of you? I know I’ve had to do get to the pile of laundry before I could sit down to do the work I needed to get to (really?). And I can almost always tie it back to needing to do work that I didn’t feel competent about, or when I feared putting myself out there…this is when procrastination really hits for me.
Trust me, you’re not alone! Many women fall into this trap because we often feel we’re not enough…not smart enough, old enough, young enough, skinny enough, strong enough, sexy enough, so we continually second guess our choices and decisions.
You are enough today. Brene Brown says, “What we know matters but who we are matters more.” Bravo Brene, you couldn’t be more spot-on.
The third way we often get tangled up in the procrastination loop is a big one, fear. Statistics show 85% of people allow the fear of failure get in the way of their success (and I bet it’s higher for women).
It can be fear of what others will think of us, fear of embarrassing ourselves, fear we really don’t know what the hell we’re doing (trust me, you do!). Or it can simply be the ‘unknown’ (well, not so simply if it’s what you fear..more on simple vs. easy here). Why is it that the pain of the know is so much more ‘comfortable’ than the pain of the unknown?
Fear can run rampant in our minds if we allow it to, and it stops us from taking action far too often.
Learning to name what our fear is can be incredibly helpful in moving beyond procrastination and towards action. Name your fear and look it in the face every morning as you give it the finger (literally).
So, how can you kick procrastination’s ass and start doing what it takes to move your business forward, consistently and confidently (and without *bleeping* apology!)?
For me, as an entrepreneur for the last 26 years, structure has been the backbone of my success. Knowing what my vision and goals are for my business has allowed me to create structure and strategy around the steps I need to take, each day, each week, each month and each year in order to move out of procrastination and achieve the success I desire.
For my clients as well, structure has been the key piece in the puzzle to creating the business AND lifestyle they want.
STRUCTURE = FREEDOM
Trust me on this!
If you start out each week knowing what each days entails, you’ll have the freedom to move and shift things when life throws you a curve ball…and let’s admit it ladies, life will wing an occasional curve ball at us.
If you go through your day with no plan, leaving business, and therefore successs, to chance, you’re more likely to flounder through your day…then you realize it’s already noon before you’ve even started on a project, and you have an hour or maybe two before you need to leave to pick up the kids.
Structure will help support you and keep your business moving in a forward direction.
To combat procrastination, know what your vision and your goals are for your business. Know that each step/choice you make is either moving you closer to your goal, or further away from it.
Take some time to think about your vision and goals for your business and for your life. What are your:
Lifetime Goals
3 Year Goals
1 Year Goals
You can then start working on a strategy by backing out of your goals and defining what steps you need to take to move you closer to what your goals are.
Would some structures and strategies to your day help you avoid procrastination and grow your business? Give me a shout and let’s set up a Clarity Call to get clear on what may be getting in the way of your success. Click Here to schedule a call with me, let’s get you building the business of your dreams!
As we start a New Year, and reflect on the previous year, how has the past 12 months been for you, successful? Did you reach your goals? Did you fall short? Did you have goals, and did you write them down? As Benjamin Franklin said:
I agree 100% with ole Ben.
Many of the women I work with have wonderful, exciting, BIG and PASSIONATE ideas for their business…what they want to do, where they want to take their business and the abundant income they want to create.
Then life gets in the way. Chores need to get done, kids need to be shuttled from here to here, our time, and focus, is pulled in a dozen different directions…Every. Single. Day. We’re so damn busy getting stuff done, we don’t see what needs to be done. Can ya relate? I know I can.
I’ve written a lot about the importance of mindset in business. My belief is we need to shift our mindset so that we can create a clear vision of what’s possible AND believe we are capable.
And while I do believe mindset is the most important factor in creating a long term, thriving, profitable business, if you don’t have a strategy and plan in place to get you from where you are to where you want to be, statistics are, you won’t make it.
Here is 1 strategy to get you started in the direction of your dreams……it may seem super simple and oh so basic but it’s extremely important in your vision of what you want your lifestyle to be so that you can create the thriving lifestyle businessyou dream of.
Get super clear on the lifestyle you want as a business owner.
Be sure to set aside time to do this exercise when you don’t have any distractions or time restraints so you can fully focus, visualize and ‘feel’ the lifestyle you desire.
How many days a week do you want to work?
How many hours a day?
What hours of the day do you want to work? 5AM-1PM? 10AM-3PM? 9:30AM-1:30PM?
How many weeks off do you want per year?
Which weeks do you want off?
How much self-care and/or exercise do you need weekly to stay healthy? If it helps you stay focused and produce more with less effort, schedule it as a part of your work week.
Now grab your calendar…
Mark off the weeks you want for vacation
Mark the days per week you want to work
Mark the hours of the day you want to work, and mark OFF the ones you don’t
Mark down the self-care/exercise time
Schedule your self-care in your calendar, because when we feel better we do better, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, and FINANCIALLY
Be sure to stay tuned for my next blog post where we’ll dig deeper into defining the lifestyle we want and creating strategy around making it happen!
I’d love to hear your comments. Are you ready create the lifestyle you want as a busines owner, consistently, intentionally and without apology? Click Here to download an application for a free Clarity Consultation with me … let’s get you intentionally moving towards the life and business of your dreams, now.
