Childhood memories of the big hunt for pussy willowsOne of my fondest memories of spring as a kid is watching the winter snow begin to melt and hunting for pussy willows.
My brother & I knew the places to tromp through the woods to find the best pussy willow bushes and, each spring as the snow melted & formed muddy ground, we'd don our boots and go in search of those wonderful plants. The pussy willow is actually a scrubby willow bushy type of plant and those small, silky buds are actually flowers before they bloom. Those flowers are called catkins. Catkins usually don’t rely on pollinators to spread their pollen. Instead they simply release their pollen into the wind, where it may or may not land on the female flower parts. In order to hit their targets, the catkins must produce a tremendous amount of pollen.
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Have you ever accomplished something that took a lot of effort and made you feel proud, but you still felt less than confident about yourself in general? In psychology, this feeling that we don’t really deserve what we’ve earned is described as the Impostor Syndrome. No matter how much you accomplish or acquire, it won’t satisfy you unless you have self-confidence on the inside. True self-confidence has nothing to do with what you’ve accomplished and everything to do with your belief that you have the ability to accomplish anything you want to do. Your confidence is based on who you are, not what you did. No one or no adverse outcome can take that away from you. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Impostor Syndrome - what is it and how can it be overcome?Have you heard of the term a fake? That's what Impostor Syndrome refers to. It's the feeling that no matter what you do, you are inadequate or incompetent despite that you are knowledgeable, skilled, and successful. Impostor Syndrome, also known as Impostor Phenomenon, knows no particular boundaries -- it happens to men and women, in different cultures, with different upbringings.
These feelings stem from your background, your personality, and your life's circumstances. It's a combination of these that often bring on a lack of confidence. The way to overcome that is to begin with accepting who you are and embracing your uniqueness. We all have something very special to offer and, once you internalize this, it is just the beginning of a new way of kicking that impostor syndrome to the curb. How many hats are you wearing in your business?As a small business owner, there are so many hats that we wear on any given day and this is what can prove to be overwhelming --- with good reason! Let's be honest. As a solopreneur, if you don't do something, who will? So how do you not let that become so overwhelming and exhausting? You can start with taking a look at all the smaller pieces that make up your business. For some, that may look different, but for a service-based business you have essentially five roles:
Like most people right now, COVID-19 has tried it's best to take our attention from our daily lives, our businesses, and has us questioning what is this "new normal"... It's no wonder that so many of us --- yes, me included --- have found it difficult to stay focused and productive. My husband and I moved to our place on March 1. We barely got moved in when it seemed that the entire world took on a whole new meaning of what normal life looks like. Things we took for granted, such as going to a grocery store, have now become a plan & prepare type of situation. Visiting with friends, family, and colleagues is now all done via teleconferencing of some type. I find myself looking forward to our weekend "Happy Hour" visits with our friends and I've never been so excited when the Duo Call from my family rings! But how do we take the situation that has impacted us to the very heart & soul and figure out what our new normal is so that we can remain productive? The first step is being open & honest with yourself and everyone else around you. Let them know that you are still finding your footing in this temporary new world. Here are 3 specific, concrete strategies for how I'm continuing to stay productive and focused.If you've visited my website and looked around, you already know that this quote by Joshua Marine is one of my all-time favorite quotes! I’ve been in business for over ten years and I have to honestly admit that my journey to success has not come without hard work, perseverance, courage, focus, strong support, and lots of passion. That passion has led me through tunnels, over mountains, into valleys, and taken me over many a bumpy path. No matter how much I planned for what might be, there were still unexpected situations. However, because of the business planning I do on a continual basis, I've created a strong and solid foundation for my business --- one that has been able to weatherproof my journey. It’s about creating a vision and then creating the actionable steps to get there. If you're on the fence about what business planning can do for you, then this blog post is for you.I want to share with you five of the biggest misconceptions around business planning that I've found over my years of talking to others and working with my clients.
One of the biggest questions I get from small business owners or solopreneurs is how can they manage their time effectively? This seems to be a universal problem that all entrepreneurs face. Planning your week, knowing what is on your task list that needs to be done, and assigning priorities to your tasks are all important steps good time management and, ultimately, increased productivity. Without a set schedule or prioritized list of tasks, your day can easily be taken over before you realize what's happening. Setting time aside for your most important tasks along with focusing is key to having a super productive day. Here are five steps to managing your time more effectively. Once implemented, these will help you become so much more effective with managing your workload and your workday.
Learning how to prioritize your tasks is key to having a productive day.
Being more productive plays a huge role in your success. Higher productivity simply means optimizing your daily schedule. By staying organized and focused, you'll become more productive. However, finding the right things to focus on can be overwhelming when your task list is a big one. As Steven Covey wrote in "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." I am going to walk you through a couple of the more well-known and well-used methods. Whichever one seems to resonate best with you is how you can start assigning priority levels to your tasks. What does it take to manage one’s time effectively? Let’s break this down into terms we can easily associate with.
From Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Effective: Producing a result that is wanted Time: The measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues Management: The act or skill of controlling and making decisions about something Therefore, it would make complete sense to say that Effective Time Management is to produce the result of measuring an action by using the skill of making a decision. Yet for so many this seems to remain a mystery or a goal that is regarded as hard to reach. Why is it important for you to know what productivity type you are? You want to know what kind of task-driven person you are. Maybe you are somebody that can’t stand to see unchecked boxes on your to-do list, or you are driven by deadlines and can’t seem to get started until the deadline is looming over your project. Knowing your productivity type is going to really help you prioritize your work and ultimately help you accomplish much more throughout your day. Alright, let’s go over the four different productivity types:
You might see yourself in one or more, but you will also find that you identify with only one of them on a much higher level. If there’s one thing we know about goals, they have to be SMART, right? After all, that’s what we’ve been told for years. The only thing that matters is that your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
While that looks great on paper—and clearly it’s easy to remember—it doesn’t go far enough for those who want to achieve big things. Think about it. If what you dream about is a 3-day workweek, time spent with family and friends, and enough money to to pay the bills and take a beach vacation each year, you can write that into your SMART goals. But, it seems pretty clear that those safe, smart goals alone aren’t going to get you there. |
AuthorIf you struggle with managing your time or staying focused on the must-do tasks, Pamela is your business soulmate. Archives
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