All these years have taught me the secret to getting things done as an entrepreneur.
It begins with a certain mindset, a way of thinking consciously, with planning realistically, and with consistency.
Earlier, I used to feel dissatisfied about my work. Rather than looking at things in a positive way, I felt low and judged myself for not accomplishing as much as I had planned. I ended up feeling disappointed. I soon realized that being an entrepreneur was more challenging than what I would have thought when it comes to getting things done.
Speaking from experience, more often than not, we have more ideas than we can actually process and execute. And this is where the problem begins. We overcommit…to ourselves, and then find it difficult to get everything done. Often we procrastinate because we feel overwhelmed and discouraged just by looking at our to-do list. Else, we start too fast, even before we have any clarity. We rarely take the time to get organized with a strategy on paper. And if we do have the strategy on paper, we tend to forget what we have already accomplished, being too hard on ourselves and focusing only on what still needs to be done. The moment you will read this, you will think, “Yes, this is exactly what I do.”
Overplanning has not helped any entrepreneur in the long run. We end up being overwhelmed by what is to be done rather than being proud of what we have completed.
Being an entrepreneur sounds all glamourous but it is not easy and you have to wear so many hats. I have learned that the best way to not just get things done, but to ‘last’ is to allow ourselves a pause (like listening to salsa music) and go back to work with a different mindset, as often as possible. A quote I read this morning made me think about this:
I am doing things at my own pace and that’s okay.
We live in a world where we constantly, consciously or not, compare ourselves with others and when it comes to the entrepreneurial journey, and the online world, the ‘likes’ look always larger on the other side. We tend to complicate the process when the process could be much simpler. If you pause, think about your own journey, look how far you’ve come and take the time to think strategy, things become lighter. Take a moment and pat yourself on the back.
Not everything works for everyone the same way and you need to find what works for you. I cannot guarantee that what works for me will work for you but I wanted to point out this:
What if you realize at the end of this month that you’ve accomplished much more than you thought you had. What if the small victories start making a big difference and give you motivation instead of that ‘not good enough’ feeling. What if you’re really getting things done as per your agenda? What if you are actually doing great?
Let’s say that you start planning ahead, consciously, and challenge yourself on something you can actually do.
Let’s say that you decide on a plan for each month:
- 2 blog posts
- A clear editorial content calendar where your pictures and captions are always ready one week ahead of time
- Reach out to 3 new people to touch base, start a collaboration or sometimes, simply to say hello
- Finish a project you had in mind for a long time
- Learn, learn, learn—you don’t have to know it all and you can learn so much in the process if you are disciplined enough and can point out the areas where you feel less comfortable. You grow when you learn, and this is a victory in itself when it comes to the entrepreneurial journey.
You won’t realize you have accomplished many things unless you actually start acknowledging them. So write everything down—what you have to do and mostly, what you’ve done.
I may be repeating myself about consistency but this has helped me put things in perspective and get things done. Take care of yourself in the process in order to avoid doing too much, getting burned in the process and feeling discouraged. Listen to the signals. Make an appointment with yourself on your calendar to allow for some ‘doing nothing’ time. Go slowly but surely. Take small steps but don’t give up.
If this simplified monthly tasks summary works for you, email me and let me know.
Digitally yours,
Marie
