Episode 43: Is this mistake stopping you from getting things done?

00:00 Before we get going, I have an invitation for you. If you're ready to find out how much easier it becomes to get things done when you have Make It Happen Club in your life? The doors are open to new members right now and i would love for you to join us! So Make It Happen club is a calm quiet sanctuary where you get the clarity focus and motivation you need Hello and welcome to Unfrazzle with me Louise Miller. If you're a solo business owner and you have a big exciting vision and loads of ideas that you want to get out in the world but without drowning in a sea of overwhelm, then this is the podcast for you. Each week I'll be sharing bite-sized insights to help you stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world It's time to step away from the hustle and find a kinder more sustainable approach to productivity So grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started

01:30 What do you do when you have a brilliant strategy or idea that would love to bring to life? Do you plan it all out, or do you jump right in. And this topic came up during a virtual cuppa I was having with someone recently and the coach that I was chatting with realised she'd been getting herself into pickle because she kept skipping what she referred to as the middle bit of planning. So, she said that's she is really great at strategising and figuring out what she wants to do and then she'll put all of that top level stuff all of the ideas and things that she wants to accomplish She will pop all of that on post-its on the wall and then she will dive straight into trying to get it all done So that high level strategic stuff kind of becomes her to-do list and she wants to get it all done by the end of the week. And then when that doesn't happen, she ends up feeling like a failure and our conversation got me thinking about the role that effective planning has on our ability to get stuff done and how we can find the balance between that between the planning and actually taking action because we don't want to spend all of our time in planning mode

02:30 Waiting for all of our ducks to be in a perfect row before we take any action. But we also don't want to dive straight into the doing without giving things a little bit more thought first because when we do that, when we dive straight into the doing it's a bit like deciding to cook a delicious meal let's say a veggie lasagna without first checking the fridge so you grab the dish to cook it in get the lasagna sheets out of the cupboard put the oven on start frying an onion But then you pull out the salad crisper thingy in the fridge and all you've got are three browning mushrooms and a shriveled up green pepper. That's not very appetising! And then you realise that you're almost out of milk, and if you use the last of it to make a cheese sauce for the lasagne, you're going to have none left for your coffee and crunchy nut cornflakes in the morning so you could turn the oven off and head out to the shops but it's dark and rainy outside so you abandon the operation entirely and make yourself some beans on toast instead

03:23 So if only you'd checked what was in the fridge before heating up the oven and frying the onion. If only you thought about whether today's lasagna would mess up tomorrow's breakfast, if only you thought about what to have for dinner before you walk straight past the co-op on your lunchtime walk! You would be digging into a big plate of cheesy vegetably goodness right now but because you skipped the bit between idea and execution...you didn't get the dinner you wanted So all of that to say, the middle bit of planning where you look at those post-it notes that outline what you'd love to accomplish and then when you get clear about what actually needs to happen consider the best order in which to do things and figure out how to actually do those things whilst still delivering the things you've already committed too

04:06 That's the key to actually bringing your projects and ideas to life. And yet it is the bit that so many folks miss because it feels like a waste of time, you're excited about something and just want to get on with it! Also that can be tricky if your brain doesn't naturally work that way figuring out all the different pieces in the puzzle It can be really hard and uncomfortable but taking that pause for that middle bit of planning will give you the clarity and focus that you need to move forward with so much more ease. So I promise you, i know you want to get cracking and you just want to get started but i promise you it's time well spent! And if that is something that you struggle with on your own then get some help right we don't all have the same strengths we've all got our own different kind of zones of genius and if this is something you find hard that's okay you don't have to do it on your

04:55 Is there someone around who can help you? Maybe I can help you and the link to more information about working with me is in the show notes. So does any of this resonate for you, do you notice yourself going straight from idea into action without taking a bit of a pause to figure out how you're gonna make it happen or do you get stuck in planning mode and want to have everything perfectly lined up until You know, know exactly every step of the way before you even start. Both of those approaches will keep you stuck they're going to stop you taking action and stop you moving forward so just have a little think do you notice and recognize yourself in either of those two extremes? Maybe you're somewhere in the middle but just give it some thought notice what your patterns are is there anything you might want to do differently And as always I hope that this helps and I look forward to seeing you again soon

05:42 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