Liz Applegate is a coach, entrepreneur, founder of Tame Business Overwhelm, and host of Midlife Schmidlife. I feel so fortunate to call her my friend, to share a birthday with her! And to have her on the show this week to talk about how you can tame your business overwhelm, define your own process, and, get shit done.
Entrepreneurs and Taking Action
One of the big things that can stop you in your tracks as an entrepreneur is finding ways to get inspired and take action on all the things on your to do list. Overwhelm can stop you in your tracks, and when you’re a working mom with a family, you have multiple priorities competing for your attention.This week Liz and I dive in to talk about how you can create a structure and process that works for you, and supports you and the way you work best.
Set up Your Own Process
One of the mistakes that many entrepreneurs, coaches, and service based business people make starting out is that they try to force fit process to their business. Taking inspiration from other successful people, it’s easy to assume if a process works for THEM, then it will also work for you.
“I know how I show up best, so why am I not leveraging that?”
Instead of working hard on trying to fit another person’s process on to your work, the more mindful and meaningful way to approach process is to tap into your own intuition. Liz suggests that you ask yourself the following questions.
What projects have felt good to you in the past?
What was it about that project that made it feel good?
What kind of support did you have at that time?
What were you telling yourself about the project, and that time in your life?
What things do you need to honor for yourself to put you in a frame of mind and space similar to that, and how can you set that up for yourself?
The “Perfect Process” for You
The truly best process for you is going to be one that you create for yourself, and that honors all the things you need to be in the best frame of mind to be set up for success. Here are a few other things that you may want to consider around setting up your process:
-Be mindful of when you get work done in a day, and during the week. Notice when your energy is high during the day, and what days of the week work for you.
-Choose how you do tasks so that it honors the way you work best. How do you prefer to do work? If you do your best writing on a pad of paper with a pen, don’t force fit your first drafts to be written on your computer.
-Consider a change your scenery. Locations like a library, or your living room, might feel more conducive to the work you’re doing. You don’t have to sit at your desk if you’d be more comfortable or productive elsewhere.
-Notice when and where you’re numbing out by binge watching TV or ignoring your work, and be honest with yourself if that’s what you’re doing. (Don’t fool yourself by calling it self care; you know the difference).
-If you’re an extrovert, or miss the interaction of people when working at home, make some choices that support your being surrounded by other people. Find a mastermind, volunteer, work from a coffee shop when you need to.
Habits Equal Success
“Set the space and the structure and the muse will show up.”
There is also a time and place for setting up a time and space each day or week to get work done. By creating a habit of, say, writing, you give yourself the space and set the expectation for yourself that you’ll make some headway on work or tasks. The trick is taking the first step, which often the most daunting. When you make a habit and make the space in your schedule to take actionable steps, you’ll see that your creative muse will show up, and you will get more work done by honoring that habit.
In this episode, Liz and I talk about:
-Taking action, even when it feels overwhelming
-The wisdom of procrastination
-The difference between self care and numbing out (and how to know the know the difference)
-Dreading the first step of something, or getting started with something
-How to keep projects or work moving when you have a family or other priorities in your life
-Finding a happy medium in process and commitments
-Getting curious about your own process, and listening to your intuition about what works best for you
-How to tame business overwhelm
-Setting up habits to support your process and getting work done
Resources
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin on Amazon
A Mastermind Shares Proven Ways to Feel More Confident In Your Work and Life – Episode 132
A Mastermind Group Shares About the First Two Years of Being an Entrepreneur with Guests Julie Houghton and Liz Applegate – Episode 100
Finding Connection and Support as an Entrepreneur with Liz Applegate and Julie Houghton – Episode 41
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