It can be easy to start out strong with your business, idea, or project when you are excited about doing something new or differently because you are inspired. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping their beautiful song. You are in your happy place and nothing can stop you.
The problem is that those initial feelings can quickly fade into monotony. Suddenly, you feel overwhelmed, you realize you have to do the same thing over and over, and faster, or you will be quickly eclipsed by the competition. The sun that was so cheery and wonderful is now blinding and way too hot, and the birds that sung a harmonious melody are now annoying the crap out of you.
Especially if you are the only person in your business or one of a small few, all of the hats you wear and the quick turnaround times for areas that you’re still learning are now tearing you apart at the seams. Ok, I get it. I’ve been there. We’ve all been there. And you know what, we’ll all be there again.
How do you talk yourself off the ledge and away from that half gallon of butter pecan ice cream in the freezer? In addition to taking control of your emotions like I discussed in my last blog, how do you tackle all of these tasks that are piling up? Ugh!
For one thing, stick with it. Like everything else in life, these feelings will pass. The way we persist through any situation or difficulty is to just keep going.
This is much easier said than done – believe me, I understand. The way we keep going is by continuing to put one foot in front of the other. In the life of your business, this means tackling projects in bite-sized pieces, one at a time. Take the time to master the first piece. Don’t think about the next one yet.
When you move forward, not only will you do a better job on each task (the way you really want to do them) but you will also start a snowball effect and accomplish subsequent tasks more quickly. This is partially because you are forcing yourself to be focused, disciplined, and growing in your confidence. The tortoise really does beat the hare.
While I understand that you can’t shut out the world and client proposals and deadlines, you can carve out 30 minutes here, an hour there, and an occasional 90 minutes to get something completely done – and done well.
Another tip is to build three minutes of inspiration into the start of your challenging task. These may be difficult tasks or they may be annoying, tedious, or boring tasks. Regardless, you’re not looking forward to it. The best thing you can do is find inspiring quotes or part of a biography of someone you admire and spend just a few minutes getting pumped up by seeing others overcome obstacles and realize that you’re no different from them. The key to this is limiting your time spent on it. Don’t let it overtake your time. You are really looking for a momentary boost to give you momentum. Give it a short time limit and set a timer.
Stop as soon as it goes off.
