← Daring Forever (Find your Extraordinary)
Daring Forever (Find your Extraordinary)
Five minute magic pt. 60 - Your business won't fall apart because you take time off.
00:09:41
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- [00:01]
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Welcome to five Minute Magic from the Mindful Creative Podcast, a short bonus episode sharing tips and insights from the pages of the book of the same title. Every week, I'll be sharing one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process, your work, your business, or just food for thought for the weekend ahead. These episodes share content from the audiobook, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes below. Life Once upon a time I had an argument with my girlfriend, now my wife, about the fact that she suggested that I don't work seven days a week. She said, have you thought of taking a day off? I'm like, what do you mean? I see clients on my day off. She's like, no, that's still a work. Because as someone who was running freelance business back then, I was afraid that if I was to take a day off, it would all fall apart. It was just my false narratives in my head making me anxious that the clients would go away. If I don't do something on time, you know, it will not just be at end of the world. But it didn't. And I had to learn how to take a day off. In fact, a couple of days off, sometimes a week off. And guess what? I've taken time off and nothing fell apart. In fact, I had more conversations with my clients about the fact that we do take time off and we recharge and we actually come at the problems with a fresh mind. So today we're going to finish the chapter Positive Habits and we'll talk about how to dare to take time off, how to learn to say no to things and how to smile on the inside. Just how to sort of be more confident on the inside and see where it takes us. So I will leave it with this before we move on to the next chapter. But it's been Writing this chapter in particularly was liberating because I've realized how far I've come from being someone who was just so overworked and so stressed and worried, even though it was just a false narrative.
- [02:06]
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Dare to take time Off One of the most positive things we can do for ourselves and our work is to take a holiday every now and then. This isn't about earning or deserving anything. It's about you having the right to rest and recharge. Your batteries, your health, work, family, friends and colleagues will all benefit. To some people this will be obvious, but to others it will be an alien concept. Taking a Break Hitting the off switch hard can instantly lift a weight off our shoulders and help us to see things differently. Yet sometimes, whether we're our own boss or we work for someone else, it can sometimes feel wrong to swan off for a week or even a day. My wife eventually had to force me to have a day off. But why is this? It can be so many things, but it can often come down to fear. If we stop working, if we're not there to answer the call or reply to the email straight away, then it's all over. Deadlines will get missed, clients won't come back, bills won't get paid, etc. Etc. So yes, sometimes we have to dare ourselves to take a day off. We have to learn to trust that downing tools for a short period of time won't signal the end of life as we know it. And in all honesty, the world will be able to cope without us being in the office for a few days. Every now and again you're taking time off for your benefit, but it will also benefit your family, friends and clients. Your rested self will return refreshed and ready to cope with the new workload without the old feelings of stress and exhaustion. When you do take a break, make sure that it's a break. You might want to put your out of office on log out from social media, maybe even delete a few apps for the time you're away. It can feel like you're letting go of the reins, but in fact you'll be gaining control of your mind and your time, helping to bring you more fully into the present. Make sure you're using micro pockets of time to recharge your energy from midday snoozes to power naps. Help your body to stay on track and in tune with circadian rhythms and energy flow. Listen to your body. Both it and your mind will thank you in the long run. Learn to say no. A corollary of daring to set your auto reply to out of office is learning to say no. You might be all set for a day off. When a client rings wanting something in that instant, it can feel like turning them down will end your career. But the likelihood is that it won't. And if they do get funny about it, then they're probably not the kind of client who has anyone's well being on their list of priorities. Similarly, a client might want to set an unrealistic deadline and you have the power to say no in a positive way by offering an alternative deadline and explaining why it's more realistic. Some of you may feel tense just reading this, thinking, but surely they'll just get someone else to do it. However, the thing to remember is that they've come to you, and if they've done that, then they believe you're the right person for the job. Obviously, context matters. If a current news item has to be written that day, then completing it a week hence isn't going to be reasonable. But generally speaking, you'll be surprised how flexible and adaptable people can be when a you're good at what you do and b you say no, but in a constructive way. The less surprising outcome of setting these kinds of boundaries and choosing what's right for you should never be underestimated. The ability to say no to things that don't feel quite right, to follow your heart and gut feeling, and to act in your own best interests. This isn't a blank check to turn down all that comes your way. It's the antidote to saying yes to everything out of fear. If an opportunity doesn't excite you enough, then you should know what to do next. Say no. Smile on the inside throughout all of this, through all of the ups and downs and tedious middles, something that might sound a bit whimsical, even cheesy, but which can really help is to find time and reason to smile and laugh. Not in a bitter, cynical or mocking way, but because you find something funny or because you're happy. Finding something smile worthy every day can help put things into perspective and fight negative thought patterns. A modern life can easily become overly serious, especially if we're working on stuff alone. True, we have the same memes and reels flying past our eyes every day, but we've probably seen them all before. And if we're scrolling, we're likely not concentrating. Whether you can make the time to watch a favorite comedy laugh with mates in person, or in a WhatsApp group, or even Google the worst dad jokes going, keeping a sense of humor when all around are losing theirs is a valuable life skill. What's more, like yawning, laughter is contagious and so if you're around others, a good laugh can help lift the mood, leading us back to the mood action cycle. Keeping Positive Habits the accumulation of positive habits will add up and yield a return, making future days work and partnerships easier and more enjoyable. The constant and often cringe worthy advertising product copy about tomorrow starting today is actually true. It's all about the work we put in. If you don't keep hold of your day, then someone else will take control. And that could be anyone from an overly demanding boss to to soft drinks manufacturers that have you craving their products. The same applies to your mind and well being once again, own it. The final thing to say is that this is an ongoing process. There is always something new to learn and a new way of seeing things. There are new technologies and new approaches. There's new research and new ways of thinking. As you grow and practice positive habits that work for you, then you can uncover new things about yourself. Being open to this can help you to maintain command over your day and therefore your life. Creativity is a habit and the best creativity is the result of good work habits. Twyla Tharp.