Don’t let it going 'tits up' ruin your day
Hello,
This week I got a testimonial that was so nice it made me well up a bit:
Fiona has been a critical back bone in both our content strategy and visibility in two of our businesses! She has perfectly captured the two very different brand voices that each business has and her copy has fitted seamlessly into our communications. Not only is the content creation and repurposing spot on, she has a clock work approach to ensuring consistent visibility whilst remaining flexible and responsive to our changing business needs.
An absolute star and service levels that are rarely seen and she is fast becoming irreplaceable!
Thank you so much for all the hard work you do for us!
If you do one thing this week - go grab one testimonial from a lovely client and do a little happy dance.
Don’t let it going “tits up” ruin your day
Recently, Mr B has started ‘ordering’ a car parking space for when we return home. We live on a Victorian street where car parking is a bit of a lottery.
He’s doing this because he’s been listening to The Secret. If you don’t know, The Secret is referenced as the source of manifestation. The idea that if you can picture it you can make it happen.
Only with the car parking spaces, I’m more reminded of an episode of Superstore (it’s on Netflix if you’ve not seen it) where one of the characters follows the advice of an Olympic gymnast to put her dream on a postcard above her bed. Only the heavily pregnant character writes ‘become an Olympic gymnast’ on the note and waits for it to come true.
The problem with manifestation is that it’s not enough to visualise something. You’ve got to have a pathway to achieving it. Now, we have zero control over who parks outside our house. If we arrive home and there’s a space, it’s probably because a neighbour has nipped to the shops. Positive thought and visualisation make zero difference.
Positive Thinking
However, I am a firm believer that how we think about things that are both in and out of our control will also impact what happens to us.
Derren Brown did a documentary (magic show?) on this a few years ago. He took some people who considered themselves ‘unlucky’ and to never win a thing, worked with them and, at the end, had them bet a lot of money on a horse race.
The lesson of the show was that there is no such thing as luck. People who we perceive as fortunate or lucky are simply more willing to take risks. We - and often they - do not see the losses because they are busy concentrating on the wins.
Now, I’m not advocating betting your life savings on a horse race after a bout of positive thinking. What I am suggesting is that as we approach work - specifically our audience-facing content - we do this when we’re feeling full of hope, joy and confidence.
When you lack confidence in your business, your skills, and what you can achieve then that comes through in the copy whether you realise it or not.
It’s not about manifesting but the little cues and tells that we give off when we’re not feeling 100% about ourselves, products or services. We don’t realise we do it and we also don’t realise how much we pick up on it.
We send out a vibe from our actions without realising. This is why books like The Secret and the manifestation industry are such a success. Put some positive thought and confidence behind something and you will see results.
But - and this is a big but - your goal needs to be realistic and for you to know the steps that will take you there. Plus, you need to take the action. Sitting and dreaming about it isn’t going to move you towards realising it.
So it’s with this in mind that I want to talk about what happens when things go a bit tits up.
Re-thinking what busy is
Last week, I read in the Unplugging newsletter that we need to re-think what busy is for ourselves. We simply need to tell ourselves that we are not busy. And we need to not think of our overloaded schedules as busy. Then we can approach the day differently. This struck a nerve possibly because it was still school holidays and I was trying to fit more into fewer hours.
Here’s the idea:
Picture your day where you have neatly mapped it out. You have calls and gaps between those calls to do things like eating and work. Only, your first meeting runs over and then someone calls you with a quick question and before you know it, it’s time for meeting two.
Then during that meeting, you see three missed calls from another client. You call them back when the meeting has finished and they need some time-sensitive work done. So you get off the phone, start that work, finish it and run into your third meeting.
Only, you’re ill-prepared for this meeting as your gaps in the day have been soaked up and you’ve not even hit the first thing on your list. Nor have you done that time-sensitive post for your own content. Plus, you’re hungry, and thirsty and could probably do with a loo break.
Meeting three is done. You snaffle down a late lunch, look at your emails for the first time today and then go collect your kids.
By 5 pm, you’ve done no work, had more added to your list and feel utterly exhausted and stressed. Sound familiar?
This could describe any of my workdays a couple of years ago. Work was done in the cracks of the day and I felt busy.
But what your day goes like this:
You look at your calendar and accept that there isn’t much time for delivering work today. You pop a bottle of water or pot of tea next to you and settle in for the calls.
The first one overruns but that’s fine because you left an hour of a gap to go refresh and prep for the next one. You spot a missed call from a client so text them back and ask if they can message you now and you’ll call them later.
You take a quick break before meeting two and pop outside for fresh air. In this meeting, you pop your phone on charge so you’re not tempted to look at it. It overruns and you’ve got just enough time for lunch before your next meeting.
As you sit and eat lunch away from your desk you notice the missed calls. It’s time-sensitive but will make you late for meeting number three. You reply with what you can do in the time available and what you’re able to do later.
Meeting three ends, you finish the urgent request and go collect your kids. In the evening, you catch up on emails and schedule the replies to go during your working hours.
Do you see how changing your mindset a little and restoring boundaries can help?
It takes time and practice to do this but the premise is that if you don’t think of yourself as busy, you won’t feel as stressed and you will get more done.
I know this because I’ve been trying it for the past week. I had a day on-site with a client this week, which normally would send my week tits up. It did mean I wasn’t ready for a meeting yesterday but I let the client know why and we rearranged.
By consistently telling myself that I’m not busy, I approach work in a much calmer way. Sure there is a lot to stack into the school day but time is pretty magical where you can bend it with the power of your mind.
Sometimes you’ll have manic days and things will go tits up. It’s how you respond to it that matters.
So busy being busy
I used to work with a client who was always having a drama. But always had two hours to tell me in minute detail about the drama. I worried that were they ever actually busy, they couldn’t cope. You’ll meet people like this in life. They say it’s dynamic, rolling with the punches, being responsive to what the day brings.
I think it’s wasting a lot of energy on stuff that doesn’t really matter in the long term.
When you allow that one unexpected call or traffic jam to derail your day, you’ll spend the rest of the day stressed, feeling like you are permanently on catch up. It will set off a chain reaction where everything goes wrong. Or you can let it go and see your day differently.
If you are someone who manifests, make sure you’re taking action to make it happen. If, like me, you’re someone who thinks positive about most situations, try telling your brain that you’re not busy and see how that helps. You’ve still got to do the work but it’s like a little trick on the brain so you don’t waste time worrying about how much work you have to do.
And when it comes to your content, try to write it on the days when you’re feeling your best. See how much of a difference that makes.
How I help
I’m here to help you create better content so you can sell your product or service without it taking over your life.
Pimp My Content - Content Mentoring, SEO and Strategy Programme
Copy Clinic - Unblock your content conundrums
Content Creation - Clever content for compassionate businesses
Enjoy the long weekend if you’re reading this from the UK. We’ll be planting wildflowers in the garden and enjoying any sun that shines down.
See you next Thursday!
Fiona