Overwhelm always seems to lead to hesitation! With a little work you can have your own roadmap to refer back to when these feelings kick in. Maybe you are hesitating because you don’t know if this move is a right fit for you and your business? Or it feels like everyone is doing it so should you, right?! Or maybe you want to make sure you are moving and creating in a sustainable and green way, and aren’t sure where to start or begin. I’ve been there. I’ve got you.
As a small business owner and creative soul I am easily affected by input. I can get a bit squirrelly, chasing after half baked ideas or shiny objects I see my colleagues and friends going after and honestly kicking ass at all the things. It has taken me longer than I’d like to admit to realize just because it is right for someone else, does not mean it is right for me right now. I’ve developed some strategies for dealing with the overwhelm of ideas and directions.
Want to hear about them?! Keep reading! When I start to get overwhelmed I freeze. I stop being able to make decisions and take actions that move the needle forward towards my goals. I get anxious, and flighty and my head goes into spiral mode instead of focus mode. Can you relate?
Here is how I get out of that mode and determine what my focus really is:
01. I shake it off. Put on music and dance, shake it off, act like a waving arm floaty guy. - IYKYK - What is your musical guilty pleasure? Show tunes? 90’s country? Gangster rap? Pop? Put it on. Turn it up. And move your body.
02. Hydrate. Pour yourself a nice big glass of water. Ice, no ice, lemon, cucumber, what ever your jam is. Take 10 minutes to drink it. I am a scout leader and often utter the phrase: hydrate before you diedrate. When I am not taking care of myself by hydrating my mind has trouble making connections. Be kind to yourself and your mind. Hydrate!
03. Top 3. I look at my vision board (aka sticky notes on my computer) and remember the what and the why I am working towards. If you don’t have your top 3 goals for the month/quarter/year set up, get on it. This is your grounding, your compass, your directions for where you are headed.
04. Ask if this new idea supports those goals. Be honest with yourself. Does the distracting, new, shiny idea align with your goals? Yes? - will it move the needle forward now or move it forward later? Now? Ok. Let’s figure out how to work it into your near future plan. Later? Good, write it down and figure out where in your big plan it fits. No? But it is really cool and lights me up! Awesome! Start a list of ideas to come back to, AFTER your top 3 goals are achieved and you have more head space to really dive in.
05. Ask a trusted colleague and friend. Making all the decisions all the time creates decision fatigue. Have a community. Have someone you can go to who will call you out, tell you that isn’t right for you right now. Sometimes we need someone to just make that decision for us.
What about cutting through the hesitation and overwhelm to expand a product line?
Ahhh yes. This one. This one takes some deep diving. If you are like me, you know you want to be successful, want to have your art out there, want people to love it and want it. And for me, I want to make sure my desires for these things are in alignment with fostering a healthy environment for the future, so producing them sustainably is top priority. But how and what and when and do I do tea towels, or stickers, or T-shirts or all of them, all at once, and where do I get them made, how do I get them made, how do I sell them, what art do I put on it, is that the right art to put on it? Deep breath. You are putting the cart before the horse. The biggest thing I can share with you is that your path is your own. It may be similar to someone else’s, but it is yours and only yours.
First step is to decide where that path is going. I did a self guided meditation once (I know it sounds out there, but honestly this was a huge eye opening moment for me) the exercise was to envision yourself 10, 20, 30 years from now. Where are you? What kind of clothes are you wearing? What do you feel like? What are your surroundings? What is your proudest achievement? What habits do you do daily to support this older version of yourself?
Second step is to start the habits your older self has established that support that version of yourself. Start dressing the way you see yourself dressing. Start acting, eating, moving the way this ideal older version of you does. And when you get stuck, look towards that older inner mentor and ask what they would choose.
Third step write down 3 - 5 words you hope people think of when they think of you. Fourth step write down what absolutely lights you up, things that don’t feel like work but feel like life giving energy.
Fifth step what do you want to be acknowledged for?
The answers to the above are your guide. Here is an example of my guiding principles:
· I want to be: Helpful, approachable, knowledgable, inclusive
· I can do this by: Helping others, being kind to the earth with my choices, working with my hands, using my art to promote awareness
· I want to be acknowledged for: Making a positive impact, refined and timeless artwork
Now let’s put it to practice with the thought of making stickers (AKA squirrel moment):
STICKERS! I want to make stickers! I want to make stickers because stickers are awesome and cool and everyone is selling them but eco-friendly stickers don’t really hold up well in the grand scheme of things. Shoot. I can’t make stickers. But I really want to make stickers!!! (rinse, lather, repeat)
Once I established my guide this is how I handle the same thought: Stickers! Yes, let’s make stickers. But my stickers will be inclusive, maybe even knowledgeable in their content. Traditional stickers are not kind to the earth, but I can be crafty and make wooden or cork stickers. This will tie into making a positive impact with my art.
Then I research all about these materials and the best ethical manufacturers or ways to produce them at home, and develop a plan for manufacturing, promoting and selling my eco-friendly stickers. (COMING SOON!)
What do you think? Think these tips and tricks about overwhelm and hesitation will help you? They have helped keep me on the path that is aligned for me, my goals and desires.
If manufacturing products in an ethical way or wanting to produce sustainable products but not knowing how to start is your biggest hesitation, I have several mini offerings, for the price of a coffee, that can give you the information you need to stop hesitating and start producing and selling products in the next few weeks. If you are looking to learn about sustainability in business and be a leader in ethical and green business practices, my mini offerings and courses will help.
Print on Demand: The Planet Friendly ShortCut
Manufacturing: The Ethical Trap, The Ultimate Green Blueprint, The Sustainability EstimatorArt Making: Sustainable Art Making
Greening up your Business: Green Initiatives for all Businesses
Brand Building: Building a Sustainable Brand
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