We’re right at the end of the 3rd Quarter of 2018.
I’d say this year has been flying by, but that almost feels like an understatement.
If you can find the last 9 months, I’d love to know where they went
What worked this quarter:
1. Attempting to find a routine
This one wasn’t particularly easy, but I am definitely a creature of habit.
I’ve missed having regular routine. In fact, I missed having a regular morning routine for almost the past 6 years (I spent Mon and Wed working from my house, but Tues, Thurs and alternating Fridays from my ex’s house while looking after the kids).
Routine helped me to feel semi normal while trying to balance everything else.
It also helped me work out where I could squeeze little bits of work in. If I knew we had to leave for school drop off by 8:30, back by 9, and that Gus would want feeding by 9:30… then I had half an hour to get a couple of things done.
Of course, things didn’t always follow routine. They say never work with children or animals… and the children part of that is definitely true! But having some sense of when things should happen helped me maintain my sanity.
As long as I was also willing to accept when things just weren’t going to go to plan (see point 3)
2. Being Realistic
Again, this one wasn’t easy. In fact, it was hard, really hard.
I’m hard on myself, I know this. I push myself, I expect far more of myself than I ever would of a client or friend, and I always seem to have unrealistic expectations of how much I could achieve in any given day or week. Then, I’d end up feeling disappointed in myself, or unproductive, because I didn’t reach my unreachable goals.
So this quarter, I tried to be more realistic about what would fit in a day.
Tried…
I’ll be honest, this is definitely still a work in progress.
But I’m actively trying to be nicer to myself and my to do list.
3. Acceptance
Life is what it is. Rather than trying to do all the things I used to do, or push as hard, I have to accept that I have a 6 month old baby in the house, and I have to do school drop off and pick up every day (any school mum will tell you, there just aren’t enough hours between drop off and pick up).
Building on the last 2 points, this quarter (especially by the end of this quarter) I’ve focused on acceptance.
Rather than being hard on myself, I’m simply embracing “It is what it is” and the saying “And that’s ok”.
Rather than berating myself for not getting things done, I simply state “they didn’t get done, and that’s ok”
Have I nailed this?
Definitely not,
This is very much a work in progress still too.
But it is working, my attitude towards myself and my workload is changing, and I’m feeling better about my days.
What didn’t work this quarter:
1. Me…
It sounds a bit harsh, but it’s true. I had some serious mental mush this past quarter.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing… looking back, I can see why.
I fell pregnant at the end of June, so this whole quarter also lined up with my first trimester. I wasn’t too sick this time, but I was completely exhausted. Trying to look after a 4 month old baby, my 8 yr old daughter who had just moved in, and balance my partner working away a lot these past couple of months left me drained.
Not just physically, but completely mentally drained. I struggled to wrap my head around work projects and I felt like my brain just didn’t want to play the game.
The feeling has only just begun to pass in the last couple of weeks… it is good to be feeling semi normal again.
2. Sticking to old ways
“You can’t learn anything new, until you are open enough to forget everything you think you know.”
— James Victore
Oh… there is so much truth in this.
The wonderful part of being a small business owner (or entrepreneur, or whatever else you want to call yourself) is that we can pivot. Big business is slow to change, but small business doesn’t have to be. With low overheads and no staff, if I want to change direction or follow a new idea, then I can
BUT…
I can’t do that if I am stuck holding on to old ideas and old ways.
This quarter I’ve had to let go of some of my old thoughts about my business, rethink my business structure, and re think my income generating strategies.
With kid number 4 on the way, sticking to old ways is only going to leave me stuck.
What can you learn from this?
– Be nicer to yourself
Just be nicer! I’m far too hard on myself, and I see plenty of other people who are too hard on themselves too.
Start to look at the way you talk to yourself, and the way you talk about yourself. Listen to the words you use and the reflect on the attitude you have.
For example: I’d often say that I’d achieved nothing all day, that I was lazy or useless.
Firstly, I wouldn’t say any of that to a friend, so why am I happy to say it to myself.
Secondly, It’s not true!! Objectively, I know that none of that is true.
So, go on, give it a go. Be nicer to yourself this next quarter.
– Try new things
This isn’t about following EVERY shinny new thing that you come across (otherwise we run around like headless chickens and get no-where)… but, if you turn down every new idea or new strategy because you are too busy sticking to an old one that’s not working for you, then you’re not going to get anywhere fast.
Take a little time this quarter (it’s the last quarter of 2018, and time to plan for next year, so the timing is perfect) to think about what’s working in your business and what’s not working.
Are you happy with the way you generate income?
Are you happy with the products and services you offer?
Is the way you are building your business moving you towards what you really want?
Or are you doing things a certain way simply because you think you should, or because everyone else is?
Take a little time to reflect.
If holding on to old ways isn’t working for you, then scrap them and try something new.
Pivot.
What comes next?
For me, I’m completely restructuring the way I do business.
This next quarter is all about prep for next year.
I want to change and vary the way I earn income and I’m going to be launching something new right at the end of the year (or beginning of next year).
I refuse to stick to old ways 🙂 it’s time to build this the way I want to.
I’ll keep you in the loop at the end of the quarter, to let you know how it all goes.