Brandmerry Blog Archives
How to Improve Your Focus as an Entrepreneur
How to Improve Your Focus as an Entrepreneur
March 21, 2019
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As an entrepreneur, one of the worst things that you can struggle with is having shiny object syndrome, or as I like to call it, s.o.s.
It is so hard to move your business forward if you're constantly jumping from idea to idea, project to project or worse, never actually completing anything.
And honestly, it can be detrimental to your business and kind of your sanity as well. It can feel overwhelming not knowing what to work on, feeling really caught up because you're not able to focus. And if you are struggling with this, know that you are so not alone. So many entrepreneurs struggle with focus and productivity, and that’s what I want to talk about today.
If you don't know a lot about my story, I started my business with a one-month-old baby.
I quickly returned to work two months later was working a nine to five, figuring out this whole mom thing and launching this business from scratch. So optimizing my time, being really lasered in and being productive when I was working on my business was so, so important.
I hear from entrepreneurs all the time about the lack of focus, the lack of productivity, not actually feeling like they are moving their business forward in a way that is allowing them to break free from their nine to five or support their family or travel the world..Whatever that desire might be for you.
Today, I wanted to chat with you about my favorite tips for improving focus, especially as an entrepreneur.
1. FLEX YOUR FOCUS MUSCLE
The first thing that you need to know when it comes to focus is that focus is a habit. If you don't currently have a great method for focusing or you feel like you have squirrel brain (you're all over the place), then it has to be a conscious decision that you make.
To change this habit, you have to make the decision now and create an awareness around it so that you can start flexing that muscle. I often say that focus and productivity is like a muscle. The more that you do it, the more that you practice it, the stronger you will actually become.
It's really easy to stay in this same cycle, to stay in a bad habit. It's like a wheel you're constantly on over and over and over again until you make the conscious decision that you're going to step off of that. The same goes with the habit around focus.
If you struggle with this, then you have to be super aware and on it, on those moments when you're not lasered in and focus and pull yourself into that different mindset. Every single thing that you will create around a new way of focusing and productivity will require daily action on your part.
It can be really easy to slip back into old habits, but I really encourage you to make the decision now to start taking those small actions and you will eventually see that this just becomes second nature to you and you're able to not just get more done, but actually be productive in your business.
2. BRAINSTORMING SESSION
Your girl right here constantly, has ideas. And if I just let those ideas flutter around in my brain, I would always feel overwhelmed. So the key that I have initiated from the very beginning is a brain dump. Like didn't we all learn how to do this in elementary school? We're getting ready to write a report or write a short story and we have to do a whole brainstorming session.
That's exactly what you're doing here. I call it a brain dump because we're taking everything that's going on up here that's driving us freaking crazy and we're dumping it into a list and getting it out of here so we can focus on what we actually need to do.
If you are a creative entrepreneur or a creative person than I know those ideas are constantly coming at you and you can't quite figure out which one you should be focusing on to actually see results. The spinning, the constant spinning back and forth is what's keeping you stuck because you can't see a clear plan of action to get from here to here.
Oftentimes those ideas that we have might not be right for this moment, but we're so hung up on him. We're so clouded by all of the ideas floating around in our head that we can't actually map out our own step-by-step.
So getting these ideas out on paper; I prefer to use Trello for this. You can do a complete brain dump in Trello to get you started and you'll be able to see with your eyeballs the things that you need to do and the things that aren't needed in this moment.
My tip for you, after you do this brain dump, is to actually pull out the pieces that are going to make the biggest impact for you in the next 30 days.
This is a great habit to start getting into because you're looking at the bigger picture of your brand. I'm not going to overwhelm you and be like 90 days out. Like let's just focus on 30 days at a time. By brain dumping all of that information, pulling out the pieces that you think are going to be the most important in the next 30 days, and then starting to prioritize.
Again, I love Trello and for this next step after our initial brain dump, I recommend using some sort of tool like Trello. There's also Asana out there, monday.com, tons of options for you, and organizing those individual pieces into smaller actionable steps.
In the beginning it's gonna feel like snail-like motion, but eventually you're going to really create a rhythm. The only way to do that is to actually get clear on all the little bitty nitty gritty details that you actually need to do in your business.
With each of these individual projects that you have prioritized, I use Trello to create different cards for those projects and add in all the tiny steps.
The key here is for you to take that big idea and break it down into all the tiny little details that are going to help you get that done. Remember, it is in the small actions, we start to feel really overwhelmed when we're just looking at one big task and we're like, how do I get there? What do I need to do now? And we're Ping ponging around.
If you can break it down into these small little actions, put a little checkbox next to it when you are completed with it and know that, oh if I do all 10 of these things, I will get that done.
3. embrace your calendar + MAP IT OUT
Okay, let's talk about scheduling your time. I know you're an entrepreneur. I know that you decided to break free from the nine to five life or maybe you've gone part time or whatever because you want complete control of your schedule. You still need to use a calendar. I don't care if you are an entrepreneur, I don't care what you're doing.
You need to embrace your calendar by giving yourself time to schedule out these individual task is going to save you so much time and energy in the long run.
Remember, you don't always have to be scheduling every tiny little detail as you start to create this habit, but especially in the beginning, I want you to start scheduling and time blocking all of those individual tasks.
If you caught my post last week where I talked about content creation and the four tools and tips that I use, I talked about batch scheduling. This is also something that you need to get into the habit of scheduling, not just the tiny little parts, but also those batch scheduling sessions that you use in your business, whether that is creating content, filming videos, engaging with your audience.
Start putting those in your calendar as well so you can really see where you need to be laser focused and on which project and where you a little bit more breathing room and flexibility.
So again, being your most focused and productive self is a habit that you have to practice. You have to flex that muscle.
These tips are what's really going to help you get started in creating this habit. Remember, we need to get all of those ideas out of your magnificent brain, onto a piece of paper or some sort of computer software so that we can start strategizing how you're going to move forward.
After the brain dump, you want to identify the most important pieces, the ones that are going to have the biggest impact in the next 30 days. Then you went to breakdown each of those individual tasks into tiny little actionable steps and get them on your calendar. This way, you know every single day what you're working on, where your energy and focus needs to go and you know and you trust that each of those small actions is leaving to the bigger goal, the bigger picture and your business.
4. PRODUCTIVITY HACKS
Another thing that I absolutely encourage you to do is use something that allows you to take multiple breaks. One of the ways that you can increase your focus and productivity is not staring at a screen for like eight hours. Get into the habit of taking frequent breaks while you're working on something every 50-60 minutes is usually a good mark, but if you're the type of person who needs every 30 minutes to get up, walk around, meditate, do something, then go ahead and do that.
My favorite thing to use is those little cute productivity cubes and finally one of my brand new favorite tools that I absolutely love is called habit lab. It is a chrome extension and it monitors the time that you've spent on various platforms.
Nothing will break your focus more than your inability to walk away from Gmail or your horrible obsession with spiraling on Facebook.
If you find yourself wasting tons of time on Facebook or Instagram and Gmail, then you are missing out on your focus and your productivity and therefore you aren't moving your business forward.
Putting a chrome extension onto your browser is going to help you get into that habit of not going to that platform every time you have a little bitty break. Utilizing these tools is only going to help you, you guessed it, flex that focus muscle.
You want regular tips and tricks on productivity. Be sure to follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/brandmerrycoaching.
I'm talking about all the behind the scenes of how I run my business, how I manage being a mother, how we're traveling full time, how I work with my husband, the communication that needs to happen. It really comes down to being super productive.
Don’t forget to grab my free content planner, which will support you in improving the focus when it comes to creating awesome content! You can get that at brandmerry.com/contentcalendar.
P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.
4 Tools To Improve Your Content Creation
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It is no freaking secret that if you want to create a strong personal brand, you need to be showing up consistently online.
There's a lot of information out there on what type of content to create, but we very rarely talk about how you can show up consistently for your audience and I can't stress enough how important this is.
If you currently have no content strategy and you're showing up periodically, if at all, then this blog is going to support you with my four tools that I use to create consistent content.
I absolutely love content creation and I really don't think that you can have a strong social media presence without it. I don't think that you can create a strong bond with your community if you aren’t consistently showing up for them.
Not to mention when you are showing up and delivering amazing content, you are positioning yourself as the expert that you are.
Therefore they know what you offer, why you will be great for them and they want to take advantage of the product or the service that you're laying out for them on the table.
If you aren't showing up for them regularly, how do they know who you are and therefore they probably don't trust you? A really strong content strategy is needed to build trust with your audience.
One of my favorite quotes, you'll probably hear me say it in about a hundred different times, is from Zig Ziglar and he says, “If they like you, they will listen to you. If they trust you, they will do business with you.”
Consistent content is one of the key pieces that you need to build trust with your audience.
If you want more content on content creation, just let me know in the comments below by typing “content please”.
Today we are going to talk about four tools that will help you create consistent content in your business.
1. ORGANIZATION
All right, I'm a Virgo. I get it. We're not all amazing and organization and planning and strategizing and all of that, but I'm telling you, if you are flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to content creation, you're going to keep struggling uphill and not in a good way.
Creating content on the fly is always going to feel like you can't come up with content ideas and you're going to be stressed out in the moment and writing emails. It's going to take like an hour as opposed to eight minutes because you do not have a clear plan in place.
Now I have a big fan of using a content planner and there's a lot of word on the street that planning out your content isn't great because you cannot be inspired. And I say, no, I do not believe that.
When you have a clear plan of when you are showing up for your audience, where you are showing up for your audience, and if you already know the topic, fantastic pencil that in there too, then guess what?
You're less stressed, you're less overwhelmed and it allows for inspiration to come more easily. Here's the beautiful thing about a content calendar.
You are in control of your content calendar so you can move things around as inspiration strikes, but there's not going to be any room for inspiration if you're constantly stressed out about what you're going to say to your community and how you're going to show up.
When creating a content calendar, having that clear organization really is key to a strong content strategy and therefore a strong personal brand.
One of my favorite ways to organize content is using my signature brand containers. Now you might be like, was that Michelle? So I made you a free gift. I have a free downloadable content planner for you, which includes a training video on the core brand container strategy that I use. It shows you how to use that to create content, how to organize content, and I've created, let me just say a very, very cool content planner for you.
You can get your hands on that with the link below or by going to brandmerry.com/contentcalendar.
So the first thing you have to do again is organize your content, have a very clear idea of what you want to say to your audience when you're going to say it, and where you're going to be showing up to relieve that stress and that constant overwhelm of, “oh my gosh, what am I doing today?”
2. GET A SCHEDULER
The second tool that you need to have as an online entrepreneur is some sort of scheduler. This is where you would input to your content and it would push it out onto your social media platforms.
Now I also understand there's a lot of, “oh my gosh, do schedulers work?. Do they not work? Oh my gosh, does it not give me the biggest reach?”
But here's the thing, if you're currently not showing up at all or you're showing up so sporadically that your audience has no idea who you are, then your reach is kinda sucks anyways.
So you need to be using a scheduler, especially in the beginning to get yourself into that routine to regularly show up for your audience and build trust.
Later on if you notice your reach isn't as great or whatever, you can stop using the scheduler if you want.
If you are starting out in your business, and even today I still use schedulers in my business and my reach pretty good. It saves my but time and time again.
My favorite schedule that for this is actually SmarterQueue. We're going to go ahead and link it in the comments below. I love SmarterQueue for a few reasons.
It allows me to post content on multiple platforms.
I particularly use it for my Facebook page and my various Facebook groups, my free one and my one to actually evergreen content.
I can create monthly posts that recycle in each of these groups.
So while there are a ton of schedulers out there, I personally love SmarterQueue because of the evergreen option. And so if I have a really great piece of content, I love to extend the life of it. So why not have a scheduler that does that for me and SmarterQueue is my top pick at the end of the day.
You just need to choose one. There are a ton of options out there. Play with them a little bit. It started with one and start scheduling your content. So you're showing up consistently for your audience.
3. CANVA
Can we, can we get an amen for Canva? Can we just for a second think about what it was like before Canva and how hard it was? I love Canva. I remember one of the very first blog post I wrote was all about Canva cause it was like all the only thing I knew how to do it in my business at the time.
I love Canva for several purposes. Here's the thing. Creating content needs to have a visual component to it. It's just going to make it stand out even better than if you were just to post something blab that just like everyone wants to scroll through. So having some sort of visual component that grabs the attention of your audience and then keeps them really engaged with the actual content, it’s key.
Canva is going to be your best friend there as well. The free option and a paid option. So you can take your pick. I use the paid option because it allows me to seamlessly create branded content, which is so important for me in my business. But y'all, most of my clients use the free version.
Here's why Canva’s so cool. You can create templates for all your different pieces and I'm such a big fan of bulk scheduling, which is why we just talked about the scheduler as tip number two.
But bulk scheduling allows you to sit down for a chunk of time, get in your zone of genius, right out your content, create your graphics and schedule so the rest of the week you can focus on building relationships and nurturing that audience, not coming up with the content, scheduling it and trying to do all of that while running a business.
So I love Canva because as I'm creating my content can go into Canva, find my favorite templates because they have them all laid out for you, customize them and add them to my scheduler. It is so very cool.
If you are not using Canva now, I highly, highly recommend that you check them out. I’m not even affiliated, just obsessed.
4. BULK SCHEDULING
If you struggle with creativity, if you struggle with getting your head in that space, into that zone where you can write and create that beautiful copy that resonates with your audience, you need to embrace bulk scheduling.
Bulk scheduling was a game changer for me at the beginning of my business because I had no other choice while working a nine to five having a new baby and trying to build this business from scratch, I didn't have a ton of time to actually create content, but I knew how important it was.
So along with a scheduler and the use of Canva and obviously the organization told that I made for you for free below, I use bulk scheduling to my advantage.
Back in the old days, I used to book schedule on Sundays. I would carve out three hours of time on a Sunday. I would sit down, I would write out all my content, design it and schedule it, and now I actually do that on Mondays.
Get into the habit of blocking out time in your schedule. You can do this. Whether you work a nine to five have children or full time entrepreneur. It does not matter if you can make it the same time every week even better because it will get your brain kind of in that routine of, “Ooh, tomorrow's content day. I've gotta be on my a game to write amazing content for my community.“
These four tools are so basic, they're so easy to start implementing in your business. I highly recommend you start tomorrow. Creating content is a non-negotiable.
If you want to create a strong personal brand and therefore a profitable brand through your content.
Don't forget to grab your lifesaver tool, the free content planner and my training video on brand containers. You can get that at brandmerry.com/contentcalendar.
Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!
P.S. Planning and creating your content doesn't have to be a constant struggle. There is a better way to research, plan, and create your content as an entrepreneur and it's all inside the Content Planning Blueprint!
The Content Planning Blueprint is perfect for online business owners who know the power of content creation but are tired of spending all of their time coming up with ideas, organizing their content, and wondering what will attract their dream clients.
In just a few hours, you'll have 90 days of content planned, a repeatable workflow to save you hours on creating and distributing your content every week, and content topics that will keep performing for your brand for years to come! Get your blueprint now >>
Four Tips to Improve Productivity While Working From Home
Four Tips to Improve Productivity While Working From Home
October 11, 2018
When I was getting ready for my first week as a “full-time entrepreneur” I was freaking out! I turned to the power of the internet and reached out to other entrepreneurs asking, “What tips do you have for working from home?”
The response was overwhelming, ideas flooded in ranging from; don’t make a plan just go with it to only work 3 hours a day for better efficiency. However, there was a slight problem with these suggestions - no one who commented was a mother!
Now, whether you’re a mompreneur or not this post will still be super valuable to you, but it’s an important part of my productivity journey because I had no other option that to make it work. Over the past two years, I’ve freaking mastered productively working from home, even when some of the biggest distractions were injecting themselves into my day (thinking baby peeing on you during a live stream, mid-day screams and 💩)!
If you struggle with getting sht done while working from home, you’ve come to the right place. I’m sharing four of my top tips for Improving Your Productivity While Working From Home.
**Please note some of the links are affiliate links. I only recommend products I absolutely love, but I might receive a small commission from your engagement.
1. PLAN THE NIGHT BEFORE.
I can’t stress enough how important planning is for productivity - I mean thing about it when you fly by the seat of your pants you’re constantly bouncing from one thing to another. Did someone say squirrel?!
One of the best strategies I’ve used for productivity over the past 6 months has been to carve out 15 minutes to map out and structure my tasks for the following day.
The night before I hop into my Weekly Schedule on *Trello and sit with my schedule for the next day. Based on family plans and weather (I’m a big advocate for Zoo days) I’ll move things around on my board. I also like to rank my tasks in order of importance and put a time limit on some of them (i.e. things like writing this blog post).
This allows me to have a full picture of the next 24 hours before I even go to sleep, reducing the overwhelm, allowing me to feel on top of my sh*t and to get more things checked off.
Want to try Trello for your business? Grab a free account here: https://trello.com/michelleknight6/recommend
2. Set a timer
When I was a kid my mom used to set a timer in the morning, you know one of those old-school white timers for your counter? Every morning she’d set the timer and when that timer went off we knew it was time to leave for school. Ok, total disclaimer I was still late like 99% of the time, but just think how late I would’ve been if I didn’t have that timer.
This is such a great trick for increasing productivity in your business as well. When it’s time to dive into the black hole that is social media, set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes and when that timer goes off - GET OUT OF THERE!
I love to use the timer method in my business for:
• Social media engagement
• Writing my emails
• Writing my blog posts
• Answering emails
• Tech (SO important to set a timer with this one)
Think of the areas of your business that are major time sucks and set that timer!
3. Batch Scheduling
One of the hardest things to do when working from home is to jump from one project to another. My greatest strategy since day one has been batch scheduling. Rather than spreading out your writing over the course of 5 days, how would it feel to be in your creative zone for a longer chunk of time, rather than having to start over?
When I try to write a single email a day, over the course of a week, it takes me 2x longer for each than if I were to sit down for three hours and write all my emails and social posts. Batch scheduling will save your bootay if you are an online entrepreneur who has to write ANYTHING (so basically everyone)!
Get in the habit of scheduling your batch writing at least once a week, maybe twice, in the beginning, to start finding a rhythm and routine. Before you know it you’ll be writing 10-minute emails and blog post with ease.
4. USE YOUR TIME WISELY
Efficiency is all about looking for all the areas in which you can use up space. When my son was teething and needed to go on daily walks, I would bring my cell phone with me and create talk-to-text documents for my emails. If I didn’t have the time in the day to sit down, you better believe I was using this time to my advantage.
When I use to drive to and from my 9 to 5, I would listen to podcasts which inspired the crap out of me and would record small ideas and notes in my phone, so I didn’t forget a single idea.
Look for every single opportunity you have to tap into your creative space. We all have the same hours in a day, it’s about HOW we use those hours that makes the biggest difference.
How are you currently using your time? Where are your biggest time sucks?
Some people call me the Get Sh*t Done Queen (ok, not a lot of people, but you get the idea) - I’m really great at streamlining and being the most effective with my time.
It’s because in the beginning of my business I had to be! I built this business from zero to multiple 6-figures in two years while working a 9 to 5 in the beginning and raising a baby. Productivity is my jam and that’s why it is one of the main pillars of my signature group program Roadmap to Freedom.
The doors are opening for Roadmap to Freedom for the third time this November!
If you are a new or aspiring female entrepreneur who is ready to launch an online business that allows her to make money on her own terms then this program is for YOU! When you join the waitlist before October 19 you’ll get first dibs on all the amazing bonuses + save some serious cash when you sign up during pre-enrollment.
Learn more and join the waitlist at brandmerry.com/freedom.
The One Tool I Used to Scale My Business Past Six Figures
The One Tool I Used to Scale My Business Past Six Figures
SEPTEMBER 8, 2018
Organization - you’re either really good at it or NOT, and I have to admit it’s something I was born with.
I remember organizing my mom’s closet and basement on the regular as a child, teen and young adult.
I like to give a little credit to the fact that I’m a Virgo (shout out to my fellow Virgo’s), but I also know it’s because I don’t like my space or head to feel crowded.
You know the feeling right? You have a million thoughts running through your head, a million things to do, that you can’t seem to narrow in on the must-do task.
Ok, cool so I’m not alone.
Well, when it comes to being an online entrepreneur, a lack of organization and productivity can impact your business, and not in a good way.
I mean think about it, if you’re always wondering what you should be working on and when, and flailing from one thing to another without a clear plan of action, you’re not going to move very fast in the direction of your dreams.
When I started my business, I was a loyal supporter of the good ‘ole pen to paper planner. I would write my tasks every Sunday night in my planner to prepare for the week ahead until I didn’t.
I got to a point in my business where I couldn’t have my planner with me at all times and would often forget to write my thoughts, etc. down promptly. Ever seen those planners that have months missing? That was me.
So I switched. But before I share what I’m now using in my business I want to chat about the importance of organization and planning out your tasks (yes, day-to-day all the way to a year in advance).
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
When I started my business, I was just trying to get by, so if you are reading this and thinking, “Yeah, Michelle that is so me right now!” then know that I totally get it.
But, eventually I just felt like I was spinning my wheels, I needed a better way to look at the big picture if I was going to keep moving forward, but I still was reluctant to take action.
Then I heard something that completely changed the way I looked at planning and organization, and that’s coming from a Virgo. I listened to a podcast in which they chatted about building a 7-figure business. They said, and I’m totally paraphrasing here, “If you want a successful 7-figure business start treating your business like it now!”
What? Mind blown! If I want to get to 7-figures, if you want to get to 6 or 7-figures, then we better start treating our businesses the same way they do.
And let me tell you, they are not flying by the seat of their pants.
ENTER TRELLO
I knew I needed a system to not only organize my day to day tasks but a way to organize every aspect of my business, including my workflows for content, client onboarding and working with my team.
I absolutely fell in love with the possibilities with Trello, the fact that it was free (I mean YES) and how visual the platform was.
As someone who loves a good post-it note, it felt like a much more efficient and eco-friendly way to organize my ideas.
Since using Trello, I’ve been able to create multiple boards including but not limited to:
My Brand
My Weekly Schedule
My Big Picture Goals
Blog Workflow
Podcast Workflow - Subscribe to The Free to Be Podcast
Client Onboarding
Content Creation Strategy
Oh, and the occasional personal board (in fact I used Trello to organize my checklists and to-do list for my trip to Paris and Iceland).
Interested in trying Trello, check it out here →
*Please note this is an affiliate because as the blog post suggests, I absolutely LOVE IT!
One of my absolute favorite ways to use Trello, besides the weekly schedule, is to organize my big goals. I feel like this is what was holding me back when using the planner, I couldn’t see the big picture.
Now I have a designated board which easily shows my HUGE quarterly goals, my ideas for passion projects and a breakdown of what I’m working on and when in my business.
It’s changed the game for me and contributed to me hitting multiple 6-figures in my business this year.
Did I mention it’s free? Ok, cool!
Want all my Trello workflows, customizations and additions? This month in Free To Be U, my monthly membership community, we are taking a deep dive into task management and organization.
Learn more and sign up today →
I’d love to know in the comments your favorite way to organize your business tasks and if you don’t have one, will you be using Trello?
How to Set Healthy Boundaries for a Successful Business
How to Set Healthy Boundaries for a Successful Business
August 30, 2018
If you start getting into the habit of setting boundaries in your business, even if you're just starting out, it's going to make a huge difference. Today I'm sharing some small adjustments you can make in your business to set healthy boundaries.
You should be creating a business that compliments your ideal life of freedom and not one that takes away from it, but it's easy to kind of let your business take over. You have to make a conscious effort to create harmony between your business and your life.
In today's blog post I'm sharing how to set boundaries outside and inside your business. Feel free to read or scroll to the bottom to watch the complimentary video.
Setting Boundaries Outside Your Business
You have to be open to communicating with your friends and family what it is you really do. You're not just staying at home, or hanging out on Facebook all day. We have to understand that there is going to be a time to dedicate to our business and a time to dedicate to our family and friends.
We have to find that harmony - and you'll notice I don't say balance because to me balance seems like 50/50 and it may not always be 50/50. Harmony is about the ebb and flow, which is more realistic when running a business. Think about a launch - you're not always launching, but it's a time when your business needs more love.
How can you communicate with your loved ones when you're going through a launch and are a little busier within your business?
There is no exact formula or percentage between your business and your family. I don't believe in them because it's going to be constantly changing. So you just need to be aware if you are working all the time or if you're neglecting your business, and make the adjustments where needed. You have to honor the seasons of your business and your life.
Ben, my husband, knows my schedule. He knows when carts open when I'm launching, when I have downtime, and that helps our lives run smoothly. Make sure your family is aware that this is your passion and to support you during those busier times in your business.
Having those conversations is so important, because it allows you to give yourself permission to be fully present in your work and with your family.
One of the biggest things for me was creating my office space, so I can shut the door when I need to. If you need to, move your work. I love blocking time off to go work at a coffee shop if I know that I have something big to get done.
Even for things that aren't business related. If I want to take Cal, my son, to the Zoo on a nice day - I will block that out in my calendar. That is stepping into that CEO role.
Give yourself permission to love your business and also love the people around you. Understand when you need to love on your business or love on your family. And when you're with your family, remove the distractions. Stay off your phone. But also remember that no ones perfect, so don't get down on yourself if you break the boundaries every now and then.
Action Steps: Block out the time in your calendar and honor it, create an "office" space, leave your home to work, when you're with your family remove distractions.
Setting Boundaries Inside Your Business
The biggest areas you need to set boundaries for yourself are on social media, emails (clients) and tech. From my experience those are the most significant time suckers.
Boundaries online. Some of my favorite tricks to making sure I don't get sucked in are to put myself on a timer, so I'm not spending all of my time in these areas. Another strategy is to set one or two times a day where you check your email. If someone emails after that, you can respond the next day and the same for your Facebook groups.
Boundaries with your clients and your audience. It's really important that you are clear from the get-go what your clients can expect from you and what you can expect from them. One thing I do with my clients is give them a 24-48 hour response time. If they email after I've already checked my email that day, they aren't going to get a response until tomorrow.
This actually empowers your client because it gives them room to explore their own answers and ideas. My favorite thing is when I get an email on Friday night with a bunch of questions, and yes some of the questions will require my guidance, but come Monday they have already figured out a lot of their questions and now feel confident taking action in their own business.
Boundaries with yourself. One of my mentors told me some advice that has changed my business this year and I want to pass that on to you. Stop working 15 minutes before you think you're done. We can push ourselves, but that will just lead to burnout and frustration. I could probably work 12 hours straight, but that's not good for me, that's not good for my soul, and that's not good for my family.
Action Steps: Set an alarm for when you are going on social media, block out time in your calendar for emails, stop working 15 minutes before you think you're done.
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