Learning Lately: Summer 2018

Learning Lately: Summer 2018

I'm joining Anne Bogel and Emily P. Freeman in noting the things I've been learning every season, and today I'm sharing my summer 2018 collection with you!

1. BATCH-CREATING CONTENT IS A TRUE LIFESAVER.

I love blogging and posting on social media, but it can be draining to feel the need to do it every day to be consistent. It just takes so much time! I realize this is seriously a luxury complaint, but sometimes I just want to spend more time away from my screens (okay, always).

Discovering how to batch-create my content for my blog, videos, and social media accounts has been such an amazing blessing this summer! I now spend just a fraction of the time setting it all up for a month or more at a time, and voila!

Then I'm free to post more organically and spontaneously as I want to on top of the scheduled posts, which is so amazing! I get to spend my time and energy engaging with people instead of just churning out my content trying to be seen (yuck). Everybody wins!

Wondering how you can save time creating and posting your content so you can spend more time engaging with people on and offline? I go into detail about my methods here. 

2. CONNECTION IS KING.

People matter more than profits and relationships matter more than revenue. I've always believed this, but this summer I reminded myself of it daily and made it more central to how I run my business.

I started engaging with people with the sole goal of connecting.

Before, I'd connect with the goal of generating client leads. It wasn't the worst thing ever, but people can sense when they're just a potential sale and when they're a real person to you. So I started treating people like people, asking questions, following up, engaging in real conversation, offering advice and value without strings attached, trusting that if the person needed more help, they'd come to me because we had established a relationship already.

And don't you know, I got more leads. I secured more video and podcast spotlights. I even started my own weekly live video show in another group! All because I focused on connection!

But the biggest change happened inside of me. Instead of evaluating the "success" of my interactions based on whether or not I got someone to sign up for a coaching package or a course, I just asked myself if I was able to connect with someone. And if I did, that was successful for me. And it's made all the difference!

3. ROUTINES AND REMINDERS SAVE MY SANITY.

I've had a morning routine for years, but ever since I started working for myself, it got a little (okay, a lot) lax, and has been taking much longer than it used to for me to complete.

I reached a point where I was questioning where all my time was going in the morning, especially since I knew I used to get everything done so much faster! I realized it was because I had given myself so much grace and extra space now that I "could" go slower and take my time since nobody else was requiring me to show up at an office by 8am. I gave myself permission to move slower at every turn, to take my time with everything, to dawdle between tasks, and to even hit the snooze button (gasp! I used to be an adamant snooze-button hater). My routine wasn't as helpful as it used to be because I wasn't as consistent as I used to be.

I've been tightening up my morning routine lately, and it's been amazing! I started paying more attention to the time, started focusing on the task at hand instead of potential distractions, and challenging myself to not snooze my alarm.

Getting up early and having a plan for my morning that's the same every day allows me to start my days off on the right foot without having to think about it. Instead of wondering what to do and what order to do it all in, I can just jump right in with what I always do, in the order I always do it in! Things get done, and I don't even have to think about it.

And for things that I have to remember to do, I set recurring reminders on my phone so I don't have to think about them, either. It's the best!

4. SOME SEASONS ARE SLOW.

I'm learning to embrace the pace of different seasons. I got knocked out with a virus twice this summer for a week or more at a time, and while I was still able to get some work done (thanks to the flexibility and informality of working from home), I had to dramatically cut things back. I didn't leave the house, canceling all my social plans. I pared back my work to the bare minimum. I slept more. I rested more. I did what my body needed. And that was okay.

I'm now entering a season with a little more in it-- more plans, more projects, more goals. And that's okay, too. Different seasons have different paces. Summer was slow, and I'm glad I cherished it while it lasted. But I'm also glad to be moving forward.

What did YOU learn this summer? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!