Episode 1: Welcome to Unfrazzle!

01:30 For the first episode of Unfrazzle, I thought i'd set the scene so I'm going to just share a little bit about my journey and let you know what you can expect from this podcast in the future. So first of all a little bit about me and how I came to do what I do...so I think we've all heard the phrase if you need something doing give it to a busy person and that was me for 15 years! I was everyone's go-to person until back in 2015 everything started to unravel I was in my office with its beautiful brick wall view and really harsh fluorescent lights, you know where my eyes were permanently bloodshot from forgetting to blink. I was absolutely wrung out and absolutely exhausted and i remember it so clearly that one day i stood up because i needed a drink of water so i picked up my glass and i walked to the kitchen which was literally 20 paces away

02:26 And somewhere in the middle of those 20 paces, a question popped into my head. Louise why are you always rushing to get everything done? And in that moment I realised the futility of all of the pushing and the rushing and fighting to keep up What did I think was going to happen? That someone would lean over and say well done Louise! You did everything...you can rest now. And I realized there would never be an end point No point at which things would feel totally under control. No point in which I could declare finished and then relax, I knew in that moment that I needed to choose. I could either stay on the hamster wheel where I was appreciated and praised and rewarded but I was also exhausted and at that point I was diagnosed with work-related stress and anxiety or I could find a way to get off

03:18 And that was the start of my journey into the work I'm doing now. But it took me a while to get here because, of course, I didn't quit my job straight away! I'll cut the long story short and just skip ahead a little bit to a cold December morning We'd got married a few weeks before...I was recovering from the flu I was curled up on the sofa with a beautiful view out onto a deserted Northumberland beach and I finally felt that I had space to think And I knew that the pushing and the rushing and the fighting to keep up had to stop. So, I picked up my phone and asked how do i slow down? That one Google search opened a whole new world for me. I discovered the Slow Living Movement and everything changed from that moment. Fast forward again to a few months later... I finally handed in my notice and knew that I wasn't going to get another job so was really excited to strike out on my own

04:18 And then I had an existential crisis. So what i realized as I was exploring what my options were to start my own business, I realized that my strengths which are very much around helping people to focus and get stuff done felt in conflict with my realization that there is actually more to life than getting stuff done. And I knew that I didn't want to feed the damaging narrative that had made me ill which is our self-worth is tied up in our productivity But I also knew that small business owners, particularly those who are more comfortable in the right brain space of creativity and ideas. I knew those people needed my left brain to help them get their fabulous work out into the world and i really wanted to support those people

05:04 But before I could feel comfortable doing that, I first needed to change how we think about productivity. And so i came up with a brand new definition and in my definition productivity isn't about doing more in less time it's not about cramming more and more in just so that we can keep doing more doing In my definition, productivity is about doing what's important as efficiently as possible So that you can create space for what you love You know it's about doing what's important not doing all the things And it's about creating space for what you love rather than, you know doing things so efficiently that all your creating space for is more doing. It's about enjoying the life that you're creating for yourself So all of the experiences I've had up to this point have led me

05:50 So three core beliefs that underpin everything I do, whether it's with my one-to-one in it together clients. Whether its inside Make It Happen Club and I know that this is going to flow through everything that I share here on Unfrazzle so here are the three things that I believe to be true Number 1 Life is richer when we slow the heck down and enjoy the journey! So I don't believe in 24x7 hustle And number 2 If you find it hard to finish what you start, if you don't love the detail. If you struggle to stay organized or have a hard time prioritizing there is nothing wrong with you! You're a creative ideas person and you really don't have to be good at everything

06:33 And the third thing that I really firmly believe is that getting curious and understanding what works for you, is the key to finding the joy in your business. So I don't believe in quick fixes and one-size fits all solutions so I'm afraid I won't be sharing any of that here on Unfrazzle What I will be sharing are approaches and ways of thinking ways of doing things that will be sustainable for you in the long term. So if that all sounds really good to you then you are in the right place Nothing gives me more satisfaction than helping people find clarity in the chaos and then seeing them take consistent aligned action that will move them closer to their goals. That's what I aim to inspire through this podcast, I'll be sharing practical tips and ideas and i'll be encouraging you to think about things a little bit differently all so that you can get the important things done with less stress and more ease

07:23 So, lastly a really quick word on the format of this podcast. So I know that you're busy so i'm keeping my episodes really short we're going to be talking anything from three to ten minutes per episode and my hope is that by keeping them really bite-sized you'll be able to dip in whenever you need a hit of inspiration or to find a pocket of calm in your day I know that you're full of creativity, passion and ideas. And that possibly some of those ideas have been buried in notebooks or rattling around your head for too long now! My hope is that a regular dose of Unfrazzle will inspire you and help to get more of those brilliant ideas out into the world So I hope you enjoy this podcast It's such a pleasure to be on this journey with you and I'll see you next time

08:12 Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle. Sharing is caring, so if you loved this episode please share it on your socials or head over to Spotify iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and leave me a review not only will I be hugely grateful Your ratings and reviews will help others to find this podcast So that even more people can make their ideas happen Thanks so much and see you next time