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Biz Launch: It’s not Field of Dreams

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Starting a business is a lot easier than it used to be 20 years ago.  With the invention of technology, the internet, and the acceptance of virtual companies, you can start a company in a couple of hours including tossing up a website.

So, what’s the inside skinny on the success story?  Why do some win and others fail?

For starters, it’s not “Field of Dreams” as in if you build it they will come. Even if you have the most amazing UNIQUE never been done before product or service, you need to let people know you are in business.  Many people think if they have a website, a Twitter account with a couple posts, and a Facebook page the phone should be ringing off the hook and orders/jobs rushing in.  That’s not how it works.  It takes sales, networking, sharing.  It takes TIME – typically 3-5 years before you work out all the kinks, show a real profit, and settle in.

Toss in the towel too Early. Back to the above, you’ve got to give your business time to grow, you have to nurture it, change it, be passionate about it and devote many many hours to its soul.

Knowing it won’t always be easy, but it will be worth it.  Many entrepreneurs aren’t prepared for the FAIL.  Suck it up Buttercup because you will have more than one OMG, WHY! moments in your business.  From staffing issues to product delivery issues, to cash flow issues (this is a biggie) to simple brain burnout issues.  Prepare yourself for them, but don’t dwell on them.

Look forward not back.  Speaking of dwelling, you can’t can’t can’t overthink all of your mistakes and failures – they are simply learning opportunities.  It isn’t easy.  Not my first rodeo and I still have to remind myself of this.  When I or my team make a mistake it keeps me up at night.  When cash flow is tight I get anxiety. I need to remind myself that this is simply a bump in the road, I address the issue – come up with a solution and look forward.

Know that innovation is King.  You will change your business multiple times, what you start with is not what you will end with.  That includes products, services – hell even your brand and your name.  Be flexible and know that change is good.

Manifest your Destiny.  This too is about looking forward.  I always coach my clients on mindfulness and focusing on WHAT YOU WANT versus what you do not have.  Sounds new agey, but it’s true. When you dwell on what you don’t have it consumes you and freezes you. When you focus on what you want and can picture yourself as a success – it happens because you easily can overlook the bumps in the road.  Read “Think and Grow Rich” #gamechanger

Be Grateful.  Don’t focus on the money.  Trust me, this is so incredibly important.  People who focus on the almighty dollar sometimes make choices they shouldn’t.  Plus if you focus on all the above, the money will come.  Sure – determine what you want to make, have some goals but don’t let being a millionaire blind you.  Be grateful for what you have, your clients, your family, your possessions, your senses, your ability to be an entrepreneur. So many others don’t have nearly what you have.  Focus on that – think deeply on that.

When I see entrepreneurs struggling, I go over this list and try to identify where the roadblock is.  Once identified, I can coach them through it.  Looking in the mirror is the first stage of acceptance that something needs to change – it isn’t easy but the results are AMAZING!

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The Marketing Strategy – Yes, You Do Really Need One

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We get asked ALL THE TIME by prospective clients if they REALLY need a Marketing Strategy. After all, they only want to grow and promote Product/Service A so what do they need a comprehensive strategy for. Having a strategic plan for the next 12 months is just smart business and it doesn’t matter if you are a solopreneur or a Fortune 500 company – you need one.

Spontaneity has its pluses – last minute road trip to the beach, AWESOME – throwing spaghetti at the wall to figure out your marketing strategy for the next year – not so awesome. A marketing strategy takes time, research, and planning to be effective. It takes creative visions, thinking outside the box at times, understanding your ideal client(s) and validating all that good stuff with in data and research.

The strategy also sets the objectives and timeline – putting those goals on paper and being accountable. However, a marketing strategy is fluid and can change as new opportunities present themselves or new challenges come into play. A Strategy is NOT meant to sit on the shelf until it’s past its expiration date. Tasks need to be assigned, executed, and measured!

This one is a big one, so pay attention! A marketing strategy also defines who your target audience is going to be. If you don’t know who that is – WE HAVE A PROBLEM! You can’t market to everyone – it’s just not possible. Targeting your audience is the only way that your marketing strategy is going to make any sort of impact. You can’t market Skinny Jeans on Snap Chat to 65-year-old men and expect to see results, right? If your goals aren’t aligned with your target audience, then you can’t expect to move that revenue needle.

You don’t build a house without a budget, set of plans, timelines, etc. So, why would you build a business and its success without a solid plan? It just doesn’t make sense! There are a lot of moving parts and the strategy keeps you organized, on track, and knowing what to do next. When you organize your strategy, you’re ensuring that you won’t miss important opportunities to convert leads.

It’s not just the marketing person\’s job to make the strategy work. That’s right – it’s all hands on deck. If you want success, everyone must believe in the plan and work towards those goals. Sales, writers, designers, client facing staff – everyone needs to be on the same page and working that strategy.

A strategy also keeps your budget in check. Ever do a home remodel without a set budget – probably not. Same goes for the strategy. You estimate your costs and try to stick as close to them as possible to eliminate any surprises. This also goes for allocating resources too. You can make sure staff aren’t overworked while others are underworked.

At the end of the day, a marketing strategy will help you capitalize on your great ideas, stick to a budget, keep everyone accountable, and improve your ROI. Now let’s address the elephant in the room. A lot of people have no clue how much a strategy costs. It’s ok – be honest if you didn’t either.

Depending on your company size, the nature of your business, and what you are looking to accomplish in the next few years, you can expect to invest between $5,000 and $40,000. Now, those high-end ones usually include a business plan complete with a competitive analysis and a product gap analysis. If you are looking for just the basics like messaging, channels to market, ideal clients, and campaigns and initiatives to support your goals, that’s closer to the $5k price, and even lower for some smaller businesses.

Don’t look at the cost as an expense though. Because a good marketing strategy can earn you a significant return on investment. You never want to throw spaghetti at the wall and hope it sticks, you might as well just flush that money down the toilet.

Have questions about how a marketing strategy works, or want help putting one together – give us a call!

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Content Marketing – How to Get Started!

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Let me just start by saying, Content Marketing is all about telling stories, giving away a ton of FREE relevant and valuable content and educating your customers and prospects to the point where they intellectually come to the conclusion that you know what you are talking about.  In other words, you are building trust through content.  

 It’s not rocket science, it is brilliance AND in today’s crazy marketing world – it’s the way to go.  People no longer will buy from you because you tell them to, because you tell them you are the best, you have the best product/service,  because you tell them you are knowledgeable.   

DISCLAIMER:  Content marketing takes time – at least 9-12 months before you see results and some serious work, but it is by far one of the most effective ways to build your brand.   

 Here’s the process we walk our client’s through or if they choose – we do it for them. 

  1.  Deep dive into your core values, your company and your WHY.  You need to know who the hell you are, what you are about before you can tell others.  Don’t skip this part.  Create a list of your core values – why you do what you do, what matters 
  2. Identify who your ideal client is – I’m talking tons of details. 
  3. Create Benchmark Goals.  What do you want to happen 12 months from now – what are your goals.  Do you want increased revenue?  Increased client retention?  Brand awareness and/or expansion – a combination thereof?  You need to know how you will measure success.
  4. Customer Journey Mapping.  (READ MY BLOG HERE).  You need to understand the type of content your prospects and customers would like to read during each part of their journey and HOW they will get that content.  Also, identify the roadblocks and motivations they have going through their journey.
  5. Overarching strategy and editorial calendar.  Get the whiteboard or use an excel sheet – list all the months on one side, and the marketing channels you are going to use.  Now start filling in what you need – types of content, assets needed (writers, videographer, designers etc).
  6. Start writing based on your editorial calendar.  You want to get ahead of the game – at least 3 months.  Make sure you include social media into the mix – this isn’t load some content on your website and they will come.  You need channels to get them there.   
  7. Use email – use email marketing to get your word out – share your content.  Strive to get opt-ins. 
  8. TEST.  Are people reading it?  Is it working?  If not –  mix it up. 

 Most people don’t comment on our blogs ON OUR WEBSITE. We get some – the real magic happens when we share them on social, we get asked to speak at events based on content we’ve written, we build credibility with our prospects.   

This isn’t rocket science, but it’s science.  If this is completely overwhelming to you – hire it out.  Don’t spend time on something you aren’t great at – spend time in your business doing what you do best! (Yea, I suppose that was a sales plug for Red Barn here – but it’s the truth.) 

Content Marketing works.  It’s not a fad, it’s the way of the world and you should be part of it!! 

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MK’s Cake Theory

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I always learn something from my clients – always!  That’s what makes my role as CEO at the Red Barn so fascinating and well, fun!

One such client is Mary Katherine (MK)  Moore, Director of Marketing at NeuGroup.  She is a quintessential southern, fierce red-head with some great stories and tons of great analogies.  MK is a firm believer in do what you do best and stop wasting time on what aren’t your superpowers.  I call it her Cake Theory.

As MK tells it.

I’m a great baker.  I know the process for making a fabulous cake. The perfect texture in the crumb, delightful filling, and frosting that doesn’t mask the taste of the cake but compliments it.  I also have all the right tools – Kitchen-Aid mixer, scale, measuring gadgets and of course an oven that doesn’t burn everything that’s put in it.  Oh – and add in some fabulous cool aprons  – because you have to, of course, look the part.  I also ALWAYS have the perfect ingredients on hand at all times so when the urge hits me to whip up a cake – boom, I can do it and have that baby in the oven in 20  minutes.  Depending on the recipe and the size of the pans (of which I have every which one you can imagine) my cake is out of the oven and cooling in 25-60 minutes on the perfect cooling racks.  45 minutes later it’s ready to frost.  Of course, it’s displayed on a delightful vintage cake stand that every southern grandmother would be proud to put on her linen covered porch table, with a pitcher of sweet tea on the side.

The result – no stress, a perfect cake, and super happy guests who have been invited over for afternoon tea and cake.  BOOM!

Now – ask a non-baker to do the same task.  No tools, no ingredients on hand, and hell no on the knowledge that you need to alternate the flour mixture (sifted not once but two or three times) with the milk, and that you need to beat it just the right amount – not too long, but not too short to get the perfect cake.

The result – STRESS, hot mess, bad cake, unhappy guests, and super unhappy baker.

Now equate this to business.  When you ask someone to go WAY OUTSIDE not only their comfort zone but their skill zone you will indeed get the unskilled baker’s barely edible fallen cake – one like you would see on a Pinterest FAIL list versus MK’s fabulous coconut cake with 7 minute frosting that would win a blue ribbon at any county fair.

Moral of the story:  Do what you do best, outsource the rest.  No one is GREAT at everything, but we are all great at something.  Stop wasting time, money, and energy trying to be something you are not.

Be like MK, be a blue ribbon winner not a Pinterest Cake Fail.

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What drives you matters

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Y’all know I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” (ps affiliate link). His philosophy states that people don’t buy what you do or how you do it, they buy based on WHY you do what you do.  That WHY is what creates brand evangelists, followers, groupies – they drank the proverbial Kool-Aid of you and your brand. It’s kind of magical on so many levels.  #gamechanger

Here’s the thing, what motivates you to act matters.  When your WHY motivates you, you have a sense of thrill, a sense of pride, and a sense of calm about your actions even about the unknown.  I’m not suggesting it isn’t scary at times, but your deep seeded emotional motivations will carry you in an amazing way IF you remember WHY you started on the course you did.  Kind of sounds like marriage therapy – doesn’t it?  When couples are at a rough patch, therapists will often ask them to remember WHY they were drawn to each other in the beginning? Why did they fall in love?  What do they love about each other?  The WHY motivation is no different.  What drives you should not only inspire you, it should inspire others.

It’s the same thing when it comes to everything else in life – business, friendships, marriages, hobbies – it doesn’t matter.  What drives you DOES matter.

Compare the WHY scenario  to a fight or flight motivation.  You do something, you take action because you have to, because you are afraid of the consequences or perhaps because you are being forced.  There is no positive emotional connection to the action, it doesn’t bring you joy – the end result, nor the journey

When it comes to being an entrepreneur, I can promise you this is by far one of the most important things to grasp.  You MUST be emotionally and deeply connected to what you are doing if you want long term success.  You must believe in your WHY, so that others will believe it and more importantly so that passion will carry you through the rough patches.

When you don’t love Mondays ( beyond Simon this is my other favorite topic to rant on and on about) – you are in the wrong career, in the wrong space.  If you own a business and dread Mondays you are not driven by your WHY you are driven by a fight or flight.  I’m not talking one bad Monday, I’m talking “Sunday 2pm OMG tomorrow it all starts over type of I hate Mondays”.

What drives you to succeed matters, and it should never be about money. #gamechanger (TWEET THIS)

Money is a fight or flight motivator.  You fear not having enough.  You take actions based on how much you will earn or how much it will cost.  You aren’t driven by your WHY.  Think about that for a minute, I mean really think it through.  How are you motivated?

Sit down and make a list of 10 things that bring you joy, 10 things that you are really great at and 10 things that you want to accomplish in the next 5 years.  If less than 50% of them align with what you are doing right now career wise – consider the possibility that you are not in the right space and that you are driven by some motivations that aren’t aligning with your WHY.

If money is on the joy list – think about why and consider a rethink. What about money brings you joy?  Is it the security?  If so – change the word to security 🙂  just a little mindfulness tip.

This stuff matters, don’t brush it off.  When you grasp this and practice it – it’s a big time #gamechanger

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You’ve started your Facebook group – Now what?

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You’ve set up your Facebook Business Page, and you are ready to create your Facebook Group – but: What should I call it? How do you get members? What do you post about? Should the group be public, closed, or secret? How do you prevent trolls? Should I set rules or questions to join the group? All great questions, and things you need to consider before you get your Group off the ground.

Before you launch your Facebook Group – you should determine what the primary goal of your group is. Yes, the ultimate goal is to increase sales for your business, but people won’t join your group if they think it’s just a continuous sales pitch. Many businesses create Facebook Groups as a place to share some free advice and tips and tricks. It’s a place where you can be seen as an expert so that eventually the group becomes a feeder for your sales pipeline. SO, choose a name that conveys what your group is about. No one will join a group that is the name of your business. Name it something that relates to the topic or theme of what you want your group to be. You can incorporate the company name if it makes sense, but it doesn’t have to be included. Once you determine what you want the look and feel to be, pick a cover photo, create your description, etc.[/cs_text][cs_text]You also want to determine if your group will be public and anyone can join, they need to request to join, or it’s by invite only. Public groups are great for certain things, but if you only want your ideal clients or target audience in the group – I’d suggest a private group where you must manually accept requestors. There are a few instances where secret groups make sense – but those are usually part of a paid membership offering.

Many private Facebook Groups require members to answer a few questions before they can join. This is a great way to learn more about your members. Some sample questions may be: How did you hear about this Group? Have you viewed our free training or downloaded our Free XXX workbook? This helps you weed our spammers or trolls as well. They typically won’t take the time to fill out questions. BUT it allows you to get some insight into how much your audience knows about you, if they’ve viewed any of your lead magnets (free downloads or trainings) or any other info you want to gather.
[/cs_text][cs_text]It’s important to set the stage from the launch on the Group expectations. Create a pinned post at the top of the page so that the first thing new members see are the rules and expectations of the group. A few good housekeeping rules to post are 1. Keep things courteous – be respectful to others in the group. 2. No spam or plugging your business. (You will get trolls who try to join every group and post about what they are selling.) 3. This is your group too, please engage, ask questions, etc. 4. Give value – post things relevant to the group and its members. 5. Be open and share your own personal experiences, struggles, suggestions, etc. If you come across a troll or all around rude person, it’s ok to delete them.

Gaining a following in your Group can take time. Don’t get discouraged and give up. It’s important to get the word out about your group. Some easy ways are inviting people you are already connected to who might find interest it in. You can also send out an email to your list of contacts to see if they have any interest in joining. Why not add a link in your email signature or on your website as well? If people don’t know about your group – they can’t join!

Lastly, and probably most importantly, is posting engaging content. Get the engagement started with some posts of your own related to the Group topic. Don’t post salesy stuff about your own business. Share some of your own wins or loses, ask questions around areas that you may have personally struggled with. Share some 3rd party articles you found interesting or infographics. Once you get the ball rolling, others should follow.

As your group grows you may want to enlist others that you know to help moderate the page by making them an admin. It’s important that someone is always watching the group, letting in the right people, and encouraging participation.

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It’s time to lose the Dead Weight!

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You’ve heard of a detox before – whether it’s a diet, cutting yourself off from bad habits, or a break from technology and the black hole of the digital world – but have you considered doing a detox to rid your life from negative vibes and the people who cause them?

You’ve probably become so accustomed to some people’s behavior that you might not notice that their negativity is rubbing off on you or that they really aren’t cheerleading for you to be successful. Positive things come to those who have a positive mindset. You can practice gratitude, do affirmations, and positive thinking all day, but if you are consistently in a negative environment, you are just setting yourself up for failure.

You might not even realize who the toxic people are in your life without taking some time to really think about it. Have you shared a dream or goal with someone and their response was “you’re too old to change paths or try something new”, or “you don’t know enough about XYZ to be successful”? Those people are the dead weight, the toxic dream killers that are preventing you from believing in yourself and your goals. Their negativity will eventually seep into your veins – trust me.

There are all kinds of negative people out there, some are jealous of what you are doing or trying to accomplish, some just hate change or don’t have the same opinion as you do, and others are just downright miserable and want everyone to be miserable too. Some of those toxic, dead weight people might even try to make you feel uncomfortable, guilty, or even ashamed about the positive changes you are trying to do in your life. Regardless of the reason, it’s time for a detox to get rid of the dead weight. Keep in mind there are levels of toxicity and some people you can’t really cut out of your life for good (coworkers and family), but you can create some distance. Someone who is an Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh’s depressed donkey friend) probably isn’t very toxic, but they just bring your mojo down. I’d suggest distance vs. the ax.

These are the people who are most likely toxic:

Those who try to control you. These people usually aren’t in control of their lives, so they will try to control or manipulate others.

The people who ignore your boundaries. If you ask someone to stop behaving a certain way to you or around you, and they continue, then they are toxic and thrive on violating your boundaries.

The takers. A relationship is about give and take. If they only stick around when there is something in it for them, then you need to move on. If they aren’t going to be there when you need them, but constantly have their hand out, the relationship is dead.

The people who are always “right.” If they can’t admit that they are wrong or messed up, even when they know they did, it’s time to move on.

The liars. A little white lie or an exaggeration every now and then is to be expected. But you can’t trust people who blatantly and repeatedly lie. The victims. It doesn’t matter the situation, they are always claiming that they have been oppressed, put down, and marginalized in ways they clearly are not.

The finger pointers. Along with being always right and the victim, are the people who never take responsibility. When they take the role of victim and never admit they are wrong, they refuse to accept that they are responsible for their choices and the outcome of their life.

So now that we’ve identified those who are killing your positive vibes, how do you get rid of them? Burning bridges is never a good idea, so some tact will need to be involved. Depending on your relationship with the person and how involved they are in your life, here are some ways to start cutting ties:

  1. Write down why you feel the person is toxic and negatively affecting your life – these notes are for yourself, you may need them later.
  2. Talk to them. Keep it simple and explain how you feel. Remain calm and don’t offer deep explanations.
  3. If you must see them at work or at family functions, distance vs. separation will be the key here. Try to reduce the number of interactions you have with them. Make polite conversation but don’t share information about your personal life beyond being courteous.
  4. Unfollow them or block them on social media. Out of sight, out of mind. If they don’t see your updates on social media, then they won’t be able to say anything negative about what you are doing.
  5. If they try to make amends, remember step number 1 and go back and review your notes. At this point, only you can decide if it’s worth a second chance.

That’s my PSA. Yes, it’s much easier said than done, but once you start trimming off that dead weight, you’ll start to see how much more positivity is in your life and it might just inspire you to do some great things!

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Market Research 101

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Just because YOU think your business idea, product or service is brilliant and worth a gazillion dollars doesn’t mean the rest of the world will.  The sad truth it, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.  Ask any Real Estate agent – they deal with this on a daily basis.

When it comes to launching a new business or a new product you have to test it.  That means market research.  How that is done will vary dependent on your product or service.  If you’ve just developed the latest greatest ice cream, then you better hit the streets and give away a lot of it, ask for feedback. Rinse and Repeat.  Next you need to do tastings in stores, farmers markets, flea markets anywhere you can get in front of your target audience.  Get feedback. Rinse and repeat.  If you have a target price in mind – ask the people who liked your fabulous treat if they would be willing to pay that price.  If the stars align – you are ready.

Say you have a service – like what we do here at Red Barn.  We are a business and marketing consulting firm.  When we decide to tap into a new market or launch a new program we do a crap load of market research.  We will do workshops, bring in beta clients, write articles, talk to people – all the while collecting valuable data.  Just like the ice cream we are not only looking for the good feedback, we want to hear the negative.  We want to know how we can improve.

Next you really need to understand your market – how large is your potential market base?  Who is your ideal client?   If you need 1000 customers to break even yet in your research you find you only have 2 that would be potential clients, well – Houston we have a problem.

Here’s the process we go through

  1. Identify our Target Client Profile. We are very specific on the socio and psycho demographics of the people, business etc.  I want to know every detail – do they like dogs, do they live in the US, what is their income, do they travel, what is their age, did they go to college…the more details the better
  2. Crystal Clear on our Deliverables. Based on our market research we hone down on exactly what the customer WANTS and how they want it delivered.  So what does their customer experience and journey look like.
  3. We make sure we are profitable.  Giving a good deal isn’t worth it, if you are losing money.  We may offer extra perks or even slight discounts to our early adopters, but our cost…is our cost.  We spend a lot of time ensuring that we understand our COGS and our time.  If we aren’t in a margin that works, then the project doesn’t fly.
  4. We want to spend time with our early adopters to ensure things are going smooth and we scale slowly.  The worst thing any company can do is scale to fast, and get into a situation where you can’t deliver what you promise.

Morale of the story:  Do the research before the launch. This goes for launching a new business or a new product.  The process is essentially the same.  If you don’t, you’ll end up with the proverbial egg on your face.

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It’s never too late to….

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So many of you know I’m a runner. Proudly I’ve completed a couple half-marathons and numerous other races. I’m a back of the pack girl, it’s never about winning it’s always about finishing and for me…not being last!

You see I never considered myself an athlete. In fact, back in the 70’s high school gym class was brutal. There were always team captains (not me) and they got to choose their teams. You guessed it, this girl was always chosen last. Team sports – not my thing.

Fast forward a couple decades and I’m 45. I find out I have high blood pressure, like everyone else in my family. The doc told me if I didn’t reduce it I would likely have a stroke. My options – meds or exercise. For some reason, I decided that running is what I should do. I signed up for my first road race. A five miler on my 45th Birthday – in August, in the heat. Oy Vey!

First “training run” I couldn’t even make it 1/8th of a mile. But slowly I built up and I finished that race. I wasn’t last – but close to it. The rest, shall we say is history. So, what does this have to do with business? Everything. You see, you are never too late to do anything in life.

Change careers, launch a business or hell move to an island and sell shell necklaces if that’s what brings you joy!

Here are some examples:

Leo Goodwin, founder of Geico did so at the age of 50 – it’s no longer a family business and in fact it’s a household name.

Harlan David Sanders – AKA The Colonel, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken launched that franchise at the age of 62. Most of his peers, I would guess, were retiring, not the Colonel.

Robert Noyce with a PhD from MIT in hand founded Intel at the age of 41 – a youngster compared to the above two!

And then there is Reid Hoffman who founded LinkedIn at the ripe age 35, quite old for a tech start up. That company went public when Hoffman was 43.

So when I hear, I’m too old to launch a business, or I’m too old to do this or do that, or I’m too old to run a marathon…I simply shake my head and smile. Because I know better – you are never too old to try ANYTHING!

What’s on your list that you haven’t done because you thought you might be past your prime? Inquiring minds do want to know!

It’s never too late to…. Read More »

Feeling Overwhelmed? You don’t have to!

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Does just thinking about your calendar or to do list give you anxiety? Do you have so much on your plate that you honestly don’t know were to start, or just put off starting anything? Yup – that is the feeling of being OVERWHELMED – but you don’t have to be. Being overwhelmed is actually a choice that you make subconsciously. Hear me out for a sec, because I know that might sound a little crazy. If you can train yourself to follow these rules below, you can eliminate that soul sucking feeling of being overwhelmed and start every day ready to kick some butt.

  1. Stop saying yes. I get it, there are certain situations with clients or bosses or family where you have to say Yes but stop saying Yes to the things that you really don’t want to do. Focus on doing just the things you really want to do.
  2. Get control of your morning. Having a morning routine can help you get your day started on the right foot. It eliminates the hectic, frazzled running around that just throws your whole day off and leaves you feeling like you have no control over anything.
  3. Block your time. Scheduling time for reading, working out, or just taking time for yourself is important. When you let other people control how busy your schedule is, you let them control how overwhelmed you can feel.
  4. Take time to access your day, week, month, and year. Reflect on what you’ve done. Did you accomplish what you wanted to, did you get joy from what you did? If you are just plugging through the day to day tasks but not enjoying them or feeling like you accomplished anything – then you really need to reassess why you are doing these things.
  5. Don’t just focus on the present. If you are always focusing on being in the moment and just crossing the next thing off your to do list, you may be neglecting your long-term goals and dreams. This goes back to #4 and accessing what you are really doing and accomplishing – is it getting you anywhere?
  6. Is it a priority? I’m totally guilty of this. Yes, there are things that must get done, but do they need to get done right now? Set your priorities and work your to do list in that order. If #7 doesn’t get done today, that’s OK, it’s not #1 and a high priority item.
  7. Set boundaries. Be realistic about what you can accomplish and don’t overload yourself. This really goes back to #1 and #3. If you don’t respect your time and what you really want to and are capable of working on, then no one else will respect your time.

Let’s be realistic. This probably isn’t something that you are going to implement in the next 5 minutes. It’s something that you must train yourself to be conscious of and put into place over time. The easiest way to get started – #1. Both in your personal life and your professional life. Saying No to the things that you really don’t want to do and don’t have to do should free up your schedule so that you can truly focus on the things you need to do and want to do.

Yes, unexpected things will come up, but if you are in control of your schedule and managing what you take on, you’ll be better prepared to handle emergencies and shuffle your schedule accordingly. Good luck! And if you have additional tips, I’d love to hear them.

Feeling Overwhelmed? You don’t have to! Read More »