This is Week 27 of a 52-week project/experiment in DIY marketing. Armed with nothing but a copy of the 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar and my bare wits, I’m applying the skills you need to grow a business in real time, day by day, and reporting on them week by week here and at the Marketing Mix blog.
Well, the second half of 2009 already feels different than the first half, and it’s only been a week.
Small joke, but really, there’s more than a little truth to it.
For starters, if I was Q1/Q2 me, I’d be hyperventilating over all the things I did not get done thus far, as it would mean that:
- I am a failure
- I have a DOUBLE crap-ton left to do if I want to accomplish the goals I established for myself at the beginning of the year
Strangely, I neither feel like a failure nor am I fretting over the prospect of all I have to do if—and I do mean “if”—I want to meet the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. Instead, I’m pretty pleased that not only have I downshifted a bit, but that I’ve reordered my priorities and even bumped a few up to the head of the list that weren’t on it at the start of the year. Like taking a full day off once per weekend and attending to uprooting and examining some crusty, old habits rather than spending that slice of time dreaming up new ones.
And what’s really amazing is that in one week of focusing on this one-two punch, I’ve already made some significant progress not only on these crusty, old issues, but I’ve dreamed up a slew of ideas for re-focusing my business and for creating some stuff I can actually sell for cash money.
In short, if you’re a Type-A who questions the ROI on downtime, I’m here to tell you, it’s significant.
Accountability
As I mentioned a while back, I recently joined a Master Mind-like group that meets once weekly. It’s a big time commitment—there are four of us, and with each person getting 20 minutes of attention, plus chatter, it can run on for three hours if we’re not careful. For now, though, I don’t care, because it’s been profoundly transformative: I’ve moved ahead two projects that have been stalled for over a year!
Even bigger than that, though, has been the many-minds idea generation and support around gently changing some habits that are no longer serving me, like working my goddamned ass off until I turn into a big crank and everyone hates me. I took a whole day off this weekend, and half-days for the two weekends before, which has done wonders for my mood and the mood of those near and dear. I also got support for getting more support, which has made my experience of being in class more enjoyable and fruitful; my homework assignments have been fun and I’ve met three outstanding fellow travelers, to boot. Win/win!
Speaking of which, I cannot stress how much having baked-in check-in times helps. One thing we do for each other in the group is offer to call someone on the phone to gently nudge them about a hated (but necessary) task; we also do bookending, where the person who has the Hated Task gets to call a designated buddy before (for support) and after (for celebrating). It is a slice of heaven, having this luxury of support. I’m also doing scheduled calls with my homework buddies for class. Seeing the calls in my calendar helps me get the thing done.
If you’re having trouble getting something done, see about buddying up with someone else. Because everyone has something she’s avoiding!
Flexibility
I am not my to-do list. And while my to-do list helps keep me on track, when held up against life, it is a serving suggestion.
This weekend, I’d scheduled some writing time to start at 1pm Sunday. (Before you squawk, writing time is not a hardship, but a pleasure—at least, this type is.) But the opportunity to spend some quality time with an awesome 9 1/2 year old and our beloved dog came up: how could I say “no”? I could not, nor did I want to. Writing was gently pushed back, the three of us are the better for it, and no one missed that I spent less time writing.
Similarly, a few pretty important things came up on Tuesday that conflicted with my usual newsletter prep time. After struggling with it a bit—okay, it was me, exhausted, at 11pm, giving up—I decided the world would not end if the newsletter went out on this coming Wednesday, instead. Which it will, and it will be more awesome, as I came up with a MUCH better, more helpful theme. Seriously. If you’ve been on the fence about subscribing, you should do it now.
Room
The new idea for the newsletter and the slew of ideas I came up with for products, workshops and services are not accidents. They’re the outgrowth of leaving a little breathing room, something I seem doomed to forget. Or blessed to be able to remember, over and over again. (Here’s me, lookin’ on the bright side!) I’ve loved my morning walk with Arnie for a long time; now I’m excited about building in more space. For now, that means tricks and hacks like accountability partners and calendaring, but I know that eventually, it’ll be second nature.
Right? 
Don’t forget: Workshop! Chicago! July 17! Me and PAM FREAKIN’ SLIM. Escaping your hateful day job. Be there or be employed in the salt mines!
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