We've all been there, woken up on the wrong side of the bed, dropped a mug, had to deal with screaming kids, had an argument, forgotten something, stubbed a toe, ripped our favourite jeans, the list goes on... minor things that can totally throw you off your alignment for the day.
Most of you that follow me on the socials know my story, I left my job as a senior designer in London a decade ago, took a leap of faith and ran with it. I had a sort of business plan, scribbles and dreams jotted down on sheets of A4 strewn across the living room floor, a couple of small clients but nothing on the scale of how I work now.
I'd had no 'business training', I am not a born seller, I simply love design, love what I do and adore helping my clients reach their goals. And that with a bit of serious motivation, late nights and hard work has seen me reach where I am now. I'm not a millionaire (still working on that!) but I have a pretty fab work life balance which is only getting better.
Many of you, like me are Solopreneurs, mothers, fathers, juggling work and home life, small business on the side, wanting to make it bigger, better, bolder - so you'll know that showing up and being productive in those precious moments you have between the rest of the bustle is imperative to success.
ORGANISATION
Being a { small } business owner organisation is key, and deserves its very own TSBC post, so for now I will keep it brief. I am organised.. I love a spreadsheet, I'm not the queen of it, but I have a little system and that helps me GET SH*T DONE.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A LIST AS LONG AS YOUR ARM AND THE MORNING STARTS BADLY?
This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I woke up with the kids screaming... both of them... it gave me an instant headache from the moment my eyes opened. It was a struggle to get them dressed never mind fed, I had emails coming from multiple clients and I had an argument with my other half. I felt grotty, I had NO motivation to do any of the T.H.I.N.G.S... I was wallowing in a grot of grotbags and it wasn't good.
YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE...
Now I could have done one of 2 things here.. I could have pushed the feeling down.. swallowed it up and ignored the tight twisted feeling of anxiety in my tummy - sat in front of my laptop holding back tears and struggling to get motivated, getting NONE of the T.H.I.N.G.S done, watching my carefully curated to do list go up the swanny... but instead I cycled the kids to the childminders took a deep breath, acknowledged how I was feeling and decided to HIT RESTART.
I got home, I asked my husband for a cuddle and said 'I'm going to start the day again' He looked at me quizzically... 'fair enough'
START AGAIN.. LITERALLY
I went upstairs and had a loooong shower. Washing my hair ALWAYS makes me feel instantly better. After the first 2 minutes I forgave myself for not being in front of said laptop anxiously batting emails half heartedly. After 10 minutes I felt my shoulders physically relax and my breathing slowed. I was ready to face the day... again. This is the only time I really get to myself... R & H often follow me into the bathroom and in the evenings I am either back on the laptop or spending time with Steve. Find the one thing that resets you - a bath, a walk, a run, a shower, ironing, staring out of the window, reading a poem, yoga. Try and make it a moment away from your phone / social media / emails, away from TV, away from T.H.I.N.G.S.
If you need too, physically get back into bed and literally start the day again.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
I put on a nice outfit! This may seem silly.. but lockdown, 2 toddlers, working from home, living in the middle of nowhere - you get my drift. I don't think I've EVER in the last 10 years worked in my pyjamas all day. The power of power-dressing is incredible. If its red lippy, a fave top, doing your hair, matching undies, putting on your best socks.. whatever it is DO IT, however grim you feel.
A great quote I heard once;
DRESS LIKE TOMORROW DOESN'T EXIST.
Or in my case, "dress like my toddlers after a dig in the dressing up box" :D
FORGIVE YOURSELF
I forgave myself for feeling down. There's alot going on in our lives right now. Some personal stuff, between us 3 businesses which we run by ourselves. Covid. Toddlers. My mind is full (another TSBC post coming your way) of fluff.. some important, some not. But I forgave myself for feeling full yet empty.
COFFEE
Yep - simple. I made a good coffee. I brought my husband a Nespresso machine years ago and have been a self confessed Nespresso snob ever since. I gave Steve another hug and honestly felt a million times better. If you don't have a Steve then find some human interaction. A neighbour, a phone call to a mate, someone who can be accountable with you. The power of human interaction especially after the last few years is SO important. Even if you work alone you are NOT ALONE. There is ALWAYS someone worse off.
I GOT SH*T DONE
It took me around half an hour to reset. But if I hadn't stopped, looked in, addressed the situation the grotbag feeling could have continued for hours, days! I headed down to the office, I put on my favourite radio station (yep bad 80s rock ballads every time!) and ticked off the easiest things on my to do list. After that I felt ready for anything and had a truly productive day. MUCH more productive than if I had sat staring at my screen feeling angry and tight.
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HOMEWORK ~ A.C.T
A. Acknowledge
~ Try and acknowledge how you feel throughout your working day.
C. Calm
~ Find 1 or 2 things that help you calm down and reset. ~ Find an outfit / physical thing that makes you feel good inside and out. T. Take Action
~ Write these down and next time you find yourself feeling grotty - TAKE ACTION and implement them.
Remember the positive feeling when you cross something off your to do list and the pride that you are MAKING IT HAPPEN, you can do this xxx
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