How do you know when you’re ready?
Hello,
Do you know what day it is? Nah. Me neither.
This Thursday Brew has been in the writing for a few weeks - the reason for which will be revealed in the next section. Life simply hasn’t gone to plan. Sometimes you need to say: “I’m out” so you can come back with a better plan.
And that’s what I am looking at in this week’s Brew. How do you know when you need to do that thing? Try too soon or force it through and the results will be less than great. Spend too much time over-planning and it’ll never get done. What are the signs you need to look out for when you’re ready to get on again?
There are two times in the year when I need a full cut off from all things online: Christmas and summer holidays. It amounts to a few weeks over the whole year but it’s a break that leaves me feeling refreshed and energised.
This year was partly because my 18-year-old cat passed away right before Christmas and then both my kids had Covid. It’s been a quieter, different, more relaxing break than usual.
The chaos of my break aside, knowing when you want to come back to work after a holiday can depend on a lot of things when you are your own boss.
Back in the days when I was employed, I didn’t work in an industry that was open over this period. No one releases records in the final two weeks of the year. There are no bands touring, And so, my finish and start times were all clearly set out for me.
Get your new year sorted - sort of
As a business owner, this is less true. While pretty much all of my clients are enjoying a rest, there are always things to be done in quiet times. In fact, it is one of those nice periods where you can even - dare I say it - get ahead.
Now, you’ll be reading a lot over the next few days about planning your 2022, setting your goals, getting your shit sorted for the New Year. All about using this quiet week of the year to get ahead of the coming year so you can start on a high.
But here’s the thing: you only have to do this if you want to do this. Don’t feel compelled to because that’s what everyone else is talking about. If you don’t want to plan out your first quarter of social media posts over the next couple of days - don’t.
The same is true for anything else you have going on in your business.
This is not to say don’t do those things at all. You will at some point have to sit and plan and put that plan into action. But trying to force it when you need some downtime is not going to make for a successful outcome. Nor is feeling guilty about not doing it.
This is one of those lessons I’ve learned from the pandemic. I went to a talk by a much-more-established-than-me company about putting out content during lockdown. They said that if you keep going through the lockdown then you will be three, six or even 12 months ahead of your competitors who are simply getting through it.
But during that time I had to simply get through it. There were other considerations to my unique situation that wasn’t applicable for this advice. Not least that having had post-traumatic stress disorder before, I could recognise that actually getting through was going to be a challenge in itself. I didn’t have the capacity to feel guilty about not doing more.
But is doing nothing the right thing?
Then there is the flip side to this argument. Sometimes when you do push through and get it done - it was actually good fun.
There’s an episode of Spaced that I think about in times like this. Daisy Steiner, the co-character, wants to be a writer. In this particular episode, she’s seeing if doing nothing breeds laziness. When I’m unsure if I should get up and do something or carry on doing nothing - I check that I’m not being Daisy in this situation.
So - here are some signs that it’s time to switch your brain back on and start thinking about your business for 2022.
1. You’re feeling restless
There is something you should be doing but you can’t put your finger on it. At times like this, it’s worth starting with a mindless and mundane task, like clearing out your emails. Start the year with an inbox you can wade through. Don’t forget you can always press ‘schedule send’ if you’re not officially back.
2. You are getting ideas
I love that when we have some quiet time, our brain switches to a different speed. We get the chance to absorb information and create new ideas from them. If you’re starting to think of things to write, create, talk about or do then grab a notebook and start working them out.
3 You’re starting to open up again
It might be that you’re looking at social media or have even opened your laptop. At some point, you will start to open up again to the idea of work. Go with the flow on this.
I’ve spoken before about the power of journaling. If you are starting to feel the urge to do something but can’t bring yourself to open up the email just yet, start with journaling. It’s a small way to warm yourself up to working again.
Every year, I start by putting down my annual goal. Honestly, I find it hard to think of one thing and end up with three - which is always two too many. But I do this so that I can look back at the end of the year and see how far I’ve come.
Finally, I want to take a look at the signs that you aren’t ready to go back yet. Or rather one sign in particular…
The Dread
We have all felt The Dread at one time or another. That Sunday night feeling when you have work the next day and you’d rather call in sick. It’s an actual pull to get yourself in because you can’t face it. If you are feeling like this about January and opening up again - that’s okay. Don’t ignore it.
That’s your minds way of telling you that something about your business is no longer working for you. Figure out what that is and either change it or work on it. Running your own business is hard enough without having to deal with The Dread. If that’s the reason you’re not ready to plan for 2022 - it’s time to face that problem head-on.
So whether you’re ready to start cranking up your content plans for 2022 or you need to gather yourself for a few more days - accept it. Don’t look to what others are doing, how they are using this time. Think only of what’s right for you.
And enjoy the final few days of the year.
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.
Content Clinic - Unblock your content conundrums
Content Strategy - Building you a sustainable content strategy
Content Creation - Clever content for compassionate businesses
The Thursday Brew will be back to its usual weekly schedule from now on - barring any other unexpected life events.
See you next Thursday
Fiona