Why It's So Hard to Pick Up A Shiny, New Suitcase: Ideas, goals, and the creative entrepreneur
Most of business owners have the same dilemma at the beginning
of the year. Because we're entrepreneurs, most of us have an
optimistic/visionary side that sees possibilities everywhere. When a
new year rolls around, we tend to think “Fresh! New! Clean slate!” and
hurry toward the brightest shiniest object (plan, goal, etc.). It's
really quite fun and exciting.
I know this because I do
it myself. Then February rolls around and you run out of steam. Work
starts to feel like effort instead of compelling. You're fighting for
your dreams instead of creating them with ease. What happens to all
that visionary creativity and enthusiasm?
Here's
something that many of us know but forget: anything that's left
incomplete takes up a detectable amount of personal energy. For
example, maybe you had projects last year that you started but set
aside. Right now, as you read this, they're taking up some your energy.
Perhaps you made connections last year that you planned to follow up on
and haven't yet. They're taking up some of your energy too.
One
of the things I've been delaying is wrapping up my 2009 bookkeeping.
December's income and expense numbers are not on the spreadsheet where
I want them, but in a basket on my desk full of receipts and bank
statements. You can probably guess how I feel when I look at that
basket. Yuck. And yes, this incomplete project is definitely taking up
some of my energy. I can feel it in my body.
Incompletes
take up so much energy that there isn't enough room in your life for
the new things you want to do this year. Imagine you're wearing a
backpack and carrying two duffel bags of incompletes, and try to pick
up a couple of shiny new suitcases full of new ideas and plans. We all
try to do this – but it's exhausting! That's the reason why you feel so
drained by February.
If you want a really awesome,
productive 2010, spend some quality time with 2009. Bring closure to
the old so that there's room for the new.
One way that you can do this is to make it visible, instead of carrying it all in your head or heart. You can grab a notebook or a big sheet of paper and brainstorm everything you feel is incomplete from last year. Freely brainstorm without worrying about what you'll do with the list you generate. Just get it out of your head. Personally, I like using markers and flip chart paper, but you can use whatever feels good to you.
The next thing you can to do is what I call an
integrity check. Using your intuition, go through the list
item-by-item, asking the following question: “Do I really intend to do
this?” In your belly, you'll get a sensation that feels like a 'yes',
'no', or a 'maybe'. Immediately after, your brain will start thinking
up reasons you really should do the thing. Ignore your brain. It's just
trying to be helpful.
Cross off anything that feels
like a 'no.' You might feel sad about it. Just remember that the more
you cross off, the more room in your life there is for 2010.
Lastly,
go through each of the 'yeses' and 'maybes' and ask yourself. “What's
my very next baby step to bring this to completion?” On your calendar
or to-do list, write that next step down. Commit to it. Schedule it.
And bring it to closure. This is a gift you can give to yourself. You
won't believe how relieved you'll feel.
If
brainstorming and bringing closure to last year just sounds too
overwhelming, that's okay too. You may find it easier - in the short
run - to simply acknowledge that the door from 2009 is still open.
Knowing this can bring some peace when you're struggling, “Oh! This
thing I'm working on is hard because I'd still carrying 2009 with me.”
This
January, I didn't make a resolution for myself. Instead, I set an
intention to bring closure to last year before I started too many new
projects. So far so good. However, when I'm done writing this to you, I
think I'll go finish my December bookkeeping. What would you like to do
next?
Join the conversation about home office organization (or ask Jen a question) on the forum: Ask an Expert: Inspired Home Office Organizing thread.
About Jennifer and Inspired Home Office:
Jennifer Hofmann was not born organized.
In fact, her creativity and ADD meant she started projects she never
finished, was surrounded by clutter, and struggled to keep up with
everyday tasks. Today, Jennifer still isn't the poster child for House
Beautiful, but she understands people who struggle with clutter and
overwhelm and offers unique solutions that help small businesses grow
and thrive.
If you've tried to get organized in the past and failed, you're not alone. At Inspired Home Office, Jennifer's approach helps small business owners discover their natural strengths and how to integrate them so organizing becomes easy and enjoyable. Based in Salem, Oregon, Jennifer teaches teleclasses and coaches entrepreneurs – please visit her at www.inspiredhomeoffice.com.
Question: Does anyone have any
favorite seed catalogs? I'm mainly into food gardening, but we've got
some space for flowers this year so I'm ready to branch out. My
favorite part of winter is curling up on the couch with a hot cup of
tea and all the seed catalogs that come in the mail and planning out
everything that we're going to grow once the snow melts.
...
Question: Which aid organizations do you feel are of the most help and why? It
seems that the biggest, well known ones have (with reason) large
operating budgets, and thus the monies that trickle down may be much
less than the original donation, while the smaller independent ones
have a lot of potential for fraud and abuse. 
It’s no secret that alties love to talk about baby names. On the boards there are at least 
Happy New Year's! Have you written your New Year's resolutions yet? Mmm... me neither.
For years my NY resolution was simply "work less, have more fun!"
because I figured it would be easy to keep. (Heh. Clearly I don't know
myself all that well. It was always a LOT of work to chill out more.
Who, me? Workaholic?)
