Episode 61: Productivity is not my passion…or is it?

00:49 Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with the big vision who are ready for a kinder more sustainable approach to productivity. I'm Louise Miller and each week i share bite-sized insights to help you step away from the hustle stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world So grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started Why did you start your business? Was it because there was something you were passionate about that you wanted to make money from. Did you have a really strong sense of purpose that led you to where you are today I didn't and i certainly didn't have a passion that i wanted to turn into money

01:31 So when I quit my job to go self-employed it wasn't because i had a big idea that I wanted to pursue. I didn't really know what I'd end up doing, to be honest. I just knew that I needed to break the cycle of having a regular job, doing that job brilliantly getting promoted and then realizing that I was in the wrong role before quitting to start all over again And the job I had right before I started my business was great on so many levels, but it wasn't right for me and it was actually making me ill. So I quit for the sake of my health and decided that it was time to try something different But because I didn't have a big dream or really specific skill set that made it obvious what I should do next... ...I actually wasn't entirely sure what my next move was going to be

02:14 So in the run-up to leaving my job I read books and signed up for courses that were all about finding your thing, figuring out what makes you tick and what you're passionate about then finding a way to turn that into business. And I hadn't ever done that sort of self exploration before as much as i loved it was also like pulling teeth I felt stuck and frustrated, and i was putting myself under a huge amount of pressure because i had this idea that whatever i did as a self-employed person needed to be a thing i was passionate about. That i needed to find my purpose with a capital P and then follow it. And unlike my sister who always knew she wanted to teach and friends who'd gone off to uni to study to become an accountant or a dentist or a graphic designer...I've never known what i wanted to do when i grow up

02:58 And I can still remember really clearly those feelings of existential panic and if i'm honest, denial as graduation day got closer and closer. And I still had no idea what sort of work to apply for so I was 36 when I quit my job and whilst I'd learned a lot about what I was good at over that time I still didn't have a passion that I wanted to pursue So I'm thankful that the courses I was doing during that time of exploration didn't only talk about passion and purpose They also encouraged us to explore our strengths, to think about the things we find easy. The things that feel in flow. Things we didn't actually realize other people find hard and for me that was things like creating order from chaos being single focused and having an eye for detail

03:41 And it was leaning into all of that stuff that led me to the business I'm running today where i help people get stuff done so they can grow their business without drowning in overwhelm. So, I talk a bit more about my journey with all of that in episode five of this podcast which is called The Day I Found Out I'm Boring. So, I'll pop a link to that in the show notes in case you want to go and listen to that But all of that to say that I haven't wanted to help people be more productive since i was a child, right? but the more that I started to see my strengths out in the world. The more I worked with people who needed my calm approach to getting things done. The more I could see the positive impact that I was having on people. People like Kelly who still publicly thanks me for helping her prioritize her life alongside her business so that she finally got the support that she and her disabled daughter needed

04:26 People like Janine, who was able to enjoy guilt-free school holidays for the first time ever because I'd helped her to figure out what enough looked like when it came to the work that she would be doing whilst the kids were off school. And people like Vee who has a physical disability which means that she needs rest and an ADHD brain that means she doesn't know how to rest – those are her words not mine – and through Make It Happen Club has found a way to balance the two. What is the point I'm trying to make here? Well, when i started gathering my thoughts for this episode. I thought that the point I was trying to make was that it doesn't matter if the thing you do in your business isn't your passion! I was going to tell you that productivity is not my passion and I am just happy to have found a way to use my natural strengths –the things that come easily to me and make who I am- to help people who are doing brilliant things in the world and to make a living

05:19 But actually through the process of preparing this episode, my thinking has shifted and I've come to realise that maybe that's not true. So i stand by the fact that productivity for productivity sake is not my passion and perhaps I get a huge amount of fulfillment and sense of purpose when I see what my clients experience as a result of working with me.

05:54 So when I started out over eight years ago now, i wasted a lot of time feeling stuck or that i was doing it wrong because i thought i needed to find the thing i was passionate about and turn that into a business. But what i've come to realize now is that for me it's happened the other way around. I started my business doing the things that come naturally to me And that is what's allowed me to find my sense of passion and purpose. So I found it really helpful to think about this because i know that honing in on where i get my sense of fulfillment and purpose, is going to help me stay motivated even when things feel hard! So how about you? How has all of this landed for you? Have you found your purpose? Is that a concept that you've struggled with in the past as well? Would you describe the work you do as your passion

06:39 Or are you using your natural skills and strengths to help other people in a way that feels good to you and is valuable to them? And that is enough, whether or not it's the thing that you're passionate about. I do stand by that this was going to be the original point of this podcast episode...that your business doesn't have to be your passion! If it isn't then that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or you're in the wrong job which is what I used to think As long as you can find a foothold in something that keeps you feeling excited and keeps you feeling motivated so that you can keep moving forward, that is the most important thing. As long as it's giving you the life that you want and the life that you enjoy

07:17 So because my thoughts have been shifting along the way as I've been thinking about this, i feel like today's episode has been a little bit more rambly than usual so i just want to say thank you for hanging in there with me and as always i hope that this helps. Perhaps my musings will help you think differently about what provides you with the sense of purpose in your work and i look forward to seeing you again soon Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life and I'd love it if you could leave me a rating and review as that will help more people discover this podcast. If you would like to hear more from me to help stop faffing and take back control of your time, you'll find the link to join my mailing list in the show notes and I would really love for you to join us! So thanks so much for your support and I look forward to seeing you next time