Winter reflections and business mirrors
Preparing for the winter with a tiny bit of business self-reflection
If I were to draw my nemesis, I believe it would be a frozen statue. It would be that switch between decision A and decision B. it would be a broken seesaw, caught under a mountain of ice.
My nemesis is indecision.
And instead of flight or fight, my brain loves freeze.
So, here I often sit with a blinking cursor. I have a day to work on my freelance business. The careful, tightly wound cursive of the black pen TO DO list is meant to be my safety net.
But without a note on where to start, I begin in the same place most of us do- on the barren edge of a blank page.
I try to write this, I flick over to that. Grind, crunch, ice, ice.
My brain gets a familiar tight feeling before stalling altogether.
Before I know it, it is lunch time. And all I have to show for my day of freedom is three or four subpar unfinished word documents and a taunting list of other far-off opportunities. The pressure mounts.
I could dig my hole deeper quite easily if I wanted to.
But I choose a different tack.
Where it starts to flow is reflection. With telling you how brain-crunchingly painful this newsletter can be to write.
The places we go for inspiration
Remembering we are not alone in the hellscape of indecision is paramount to extricating oneself from the jagged rocks.
For inspiration, I find myself continuously admiring the wonderfully monthly newsletter of Anna Brones. It feels like winter should be – thoughtful, comforting, nourishing with a side of slow-cooked meandering. To reignite my spark, I lean into Homework Club with Beth Pickens.
And I turn to my ridiculous dogs. Because they know when its time to leave the desk behind and contemplate less jarring things.
Itty bitty reflections
Take the time to run a content audit and see if your business is shipshape. Time for some perspective - Are you taking your side project too seriously? Do you need some help taming your side project? Is your freelance marketing on track? As you come to the end of financial year, maybe it’s time to think about accounting software (as unsexy as that sounds, it’s practical!)
The questions to ask yourself
So many times, I have walked up to my business, stared in its shining eyes and asked:
1. Am I excited to be doing what I am doing or am I in aimless motion?
2. Are the trade-offs between my work and relationships well balanced?
3. How can I speed up what I want to achieve?
4. How can I be my most curious more often?
5. If my business continued the way it is now for another 12 months, would I be satisfied?
In quiet contemplation, I can hear the city of Melbourne take a sharp intake of wintery breath. Here is one of those awkward moments where you know a city needs a reprieve but will have to wait to see if it is received.
Nicole Leedham and I recorded a new episode for the Freelance Jungle podcast yesterday (it’s still in editing but you can catch back issues here). It talked of the need to close stress cycles to be able to move on. Because we do need that beginning, the middle and the end. Yet we are so brave, so stoic and so relieved to crawl out from underneath the heaviness of life sometimes, we forget to shut the door. We forget to lick the wounds, admire the strengths, dust off the clothes, straighten the mind and body before taking that vital step forward.
I urge you right now to think about the challenges you face in business and in life. To reflect at what is your present and to reflect on the past. To take that moment and to tense every muscle in your body before aiming for sweet relief. To let yourself know that every day you do well is a day to celebrate. Every day you feel as though it hasn’t been so great is also an achievement in itself. You don’t get your arse handed to you on occasion if you never put it on the line.
And as we enter winter, think about:
1. What ways can I set myself up for success as another financial year rolls around?
2. What did I learn this last financial year that I grateful for?
3. From when COVID impacts began to now, what I have I learnt?
4. Outside of COVID, what were the biggest challenges I faced in the last 12 months?
5. What kind of businessperson do I want to be in 12 months’ time?
Allow the slow cooling to give you the moments you need to stop, ponder and restore.
Be good to you.
Rebekah