It’s December? Seriously, what?
Like, are we 100% sure we really had October? Because I have doubts.
Whether you are incredibly organized or … more like me, you’re probably getting a little exhausted. Between the pandemic, the coming holiday season, and the giant box of weirdness that is the global economy right now, some days feel like it’s all seriously too much.
Today I wanted to shine a spotlight on a new program my friend Heather has coming out. I’m excited about participating, and I think you might be too.
Heather is designing a series of courses called “Adulting for Entrepreneurs.” Each one is about filling in a business gap that can appear when we’re moving fast and focusing on getting clients or customers in the door.
(Oh, and if we ever meet face to face, buy me a pink bubbly drink and I’ll regale you with many tales of Adulting fails in my businesses. So many tales.)
Heather has partnered with “productivity nerd” Jon Stewart (not the one who had the great tv show, a different one) and they held a really useful webinar called Say Goodbye to Hacks: Productivity for the Self Employed.
Here’s the link to watch the session
3 things I liked about this presentation
First, I dig Jonathan because he gets cranky about a lot of the same things I do.
As in,
- “Just discipline yourself.”
- “Just sit down and focus.”
- “If you want it badly enough, just sit down and write.”
If you ever want to hear me curse a major blue streak, use the word “just” with me.
And even though I’m pretty sure he’d make a lot more money putting together tidy packages on how to solve all your problems by “just” squeezing yourself into a predefined productivity system… he doesn’t. I respect that.
I also like that Jon, who’s a person with Inconvenient Brain, has adapted his differences to become his strengths — which is something that anyone who’s wired a little differently needs to learn to do.
And finally, I enjoyed his four “productivity types” — the defaults we tend to fall back on when things get complicated. (And honestly, when are things not complicated?) I appreciate that he’s provided them as flexible tendencies, rather than hard-sided boxes that we’re asked to squeeze into.
Might be useful …
You might find it useful to check out the presentation, and take a peek at the productivity types. Each type (and you can totally be a blend) has some recommendations for the kinds of systems that will probably suit how you work — as well as a simple starting point.
If nothing else, take away a core certainty that there’s not “something wrong with you” because you struggle to keep some aspect of your business organized. You don’t blame yourself for not being able to wear shoes that are 3 sizes too small for you, so don’t do that with someone’s productivity system that was never designed for who you are.
And if “getting your hot mess shaped up in 2022” is on your list, you might want to look at Heather and Jon’s upcoming course on Maven. It’s tailored for self-employed folks who want their businesses to run more smoothly and with less stress.
If you decide you want to jump in, you’ll see me in the first cohort along with you. (I’m a Pondering Rebel with a healthy side of Confused Creative, in case you were wondering.)
Here’s the page that gives the details for that: Decluttering Your Business Mess: Self Employed Edition
By the way …
I’m not an affiliate for Heather’s course, and I don’t have any financial interest in it. I met her when we were both speakers at the Slow Business Adventure in 2019, and was immediately impressed by the way she balanced Really Big projects and having an actual life.
These days, we meet over Zoom a couple of times a month with our friend (and my business partner) Torill, Heather has given me a ton of excellent advice in the past few years. Which is why I think she, in partnership with Jonathan on this one, is in a great place to do the same for you.
That’s The Fierce for this week!
I hope your year is wrapping up in some good ways. As we turn to face 2022, remember to Stay Fierce.
