Plan For Progress, Not Perfection: The Commitment Blueprint
The quest for greater productivity is one of internet culture's longest-lasting and most influence trends. “Life hacks” teach us how to shave a few seconds off of common tasks so we can fit more work into our days. Even my daughter became enamored with life hacks...
What does it take to be able to carve out the time and energy to pursue big creative projects?
Jessica Abel is the founder of The Autonomous Creative and the creator of The Creative Focus Workshop. She’s also a cartoonist, author, and educator. She helps all kinds of creative people juggle the work that pays with the work they dream about.
Our conversation isn’t so much about taking a break from work entirely. It’s about taking a break from one kind of work to focus on the projects we so rarely make time for.
Jessica and I talk about how her work has evolved over the years and how she’s able to juggle so many projects herself, as well as the patterns she’s noticed among creatives, the routines that can help us make sense of our time, and how she paces herself.
Now, let’s find out what works for Jessica Abel!
Our feeds are full of people trying to sell us goals. More money. Passive income. Working far fewer hours. Building a community. Working 1-to-many. Charging more. Writing a book. Building a team. These are all solid goals. But are they your goals? Marketers sell us...
Solid systems, strong client relationships, naps, and art is the perfect blend for my day.
You probably have your own ideal blend for how you spend your time—whether working or otherwise. Maybe you save working on your big projects until after 10pm. Maybe you take 1 week off per quarter. Maybe you don’t schedule calls on Mondays or Tuesdays.
And if you don’t have found the right blend for you yet, now is the perfect time to think about what it might be and start experimenting you way to it.
Today, I have a conversation with one of my oldest business friends for you on exactly this subject.
Jacquette Timmons is speaker, coach, and financial behaviorist who helps people make human choices with their money.
I wanted to find out what taking a break and taking care of herself meant to her. And eventually the conversation got to this topic of finding the right blend—so that whether you’re working, resting, exercising, eating, or exploring your other interests, you feel satisfied and fulfilled with the way you’re spending your time.
Now, let’s find out what works for Jacquette Timmons!
It seems like summer is the perfect time to reexamine and re-establish your boundaries as a business owner or freelancer. And maybe, like me, you're even exercising some additional boundaries to be able to go into full-on summer slow-down mode. I know it's been a hot...
Last week, we took our first trip of this Hot Vax Summer. And later this month, we’re driving out to Montana to enjoy a month in the mountains again. We’ll still be working but the business will largely be in maintenance mode.
Which brings me to today’s topic. When Tara and I decided I’d take over for her this month and explore the topic of taking a break, I immediately knew the first person I wanted to talk to.
My friend and YHM podcaster Susan Boles. Susan is the founder of ScaleSpark and the host of Break The Ceiling.
She has an eye for efficiency, systems, and automation that makes her the perfect candidate for talking about how to put a business in maintenance mode.
And, Susan, like many others, was forced to wrestling with the reality of building a business made for maintenance mode when the pandemic hit and schools closed.
During our conversation, you’ll hear that story and why it’s so important to her to have a business that runs in maintenance mode. You’ll also hear how Susan can fall prey to shiny object syndrome and other distractions just like any other business owner, as well as how she’s combating self-sabotage and how she balances work as a creative outlet with taking breaks.
Now, let’s find out what works for Susan Boles!
Do you ever get the feeling you're white-knuckling it through business ownership? Like if you just squeeze the wheel hard enough and focus on what’s in front of you, you can keep your business from ending up in a serious fender bender (or worse)? I’ve certainly felt...
It’s a huge opportunity to take better care of each other. An opportunity to make our little corner of the world a better place through the vehicle of business. And we just won’t do that alone.
Today, I have 5 ways we can team up to do bigger and better things.
SEO consultant Meg Casebolt shares a story about teaming up to create a truly unique experience. Writer Lee Prescott offers her experience in teaming up to level up the way she serves. Renee Rubin Ross shares her story teaming up through collaboration and partnerships.
Floral artist Linda Ruel-Flynn shares how teaming up gives her a chance to explore her creativity in new ways. And brand strategist Alice Karolina shares how she’s team up to build a movement.
What's the biggest benefit of hiring help for your small business? Plenty of people would assume it's getting more done. Two people can do more work than 1. Four people can do more work than 2. And that certainly is a benefit of building your team! But it's not the...
One of the people I observe who is not only skilled at asking for support but has the professional chops to explain to me how she’s done it and why it matters is therapist and resilience consultant Shulamit Ber Levtov.
From the jump, I’ve been so impressed with the way Shula elegantly names her needs, directly asks for support, and clearly states her boundaries. Every time she shares, it’s a little mini masterclass for me.
So I wanted to bring her into this extended conversation on teaming up.
Shula and I talk about how she ended up working on resilience for women business owners, why she took a month off last year to prevent her own period of burnout, and how she structures the ways she asks for support.
Shula also walks us through some exercises for naming our own emotions and needs.
Host of What Works
Tara is a podcaster, small business community leader, strategist, and speaker. She’s been helping small business owners build stronger businesses for over a decade.
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