The other day, while I was doing my weekly Target run for diapers, I bought a book for myself.
This wasn't revolutionary for me-- I buy books all the time (book shopping>clothes shopping every day of the week, amiright?)
What followed, though, changed my entire week.
I asked my mom to babysit an extra hour and I drove myself to a cafe and spent that hour READING FOR FUN.
I haven't read for fun in over a year. (GASP)
And I cannot tell you how amazing it felt. When I read, I recharge. When I read, I get all kinds of amazing ideas that pop up in my head-- ideas for fun family outings, or new products to launch, or what I want to make for dinner, or what to write about on this blog.
Each day last week, I prioritized my reading. Before I started on my daily tasks, I gave myself one chapter and a cup of tea.
I. FELT. SO. GOOD. THIS. WEEK.
Mind you, this is the busiest time for me personally and professionally. My responsibilities in my offline life to the school districts I support is ramping up, holiday sales at Compliment are at an all-time high (so much making, packing, shipping!), and it's my baby's first Christmas.
This is why it was so revolutionary for me to say
Hold up.
Imma read now.
Do you find that you tend to prioritize everyone else's needs above your own?
Um, duh...
Of course you do. You are a woman.
I don't know anyone among us who is exempt from falling into this trap at some point.
But here's the thing.
When you get prioritize the activities and projects that matter to you, you're putting gas in your tank to keep going for those you love.
It's the same in business.
I prioritize client work over creating nearly every day. I take customer service really seriously and so once all the emails are answered and the projects are completed, THEN, I can start dreaming up new ways to be of service to others through Compliment.
Yeah... it actually doesn't work that way.
And I know this is a problem for nearly EVERY SINGLE business owner/side-hustler I know.
They can never find the time to do xyz that they KNOW they need to be doing to keep moving forward.
This is the exact reason I decided to create Better Together.
Better Together is a 90 minute accountability session, where 20 of us meet up online from all over the world at the same time in the same place, learn a little nugget of information to help us improve our craft, and then spend the rest of the time WRITING. (Did you realize that so much of owning your own business is actually sitting down and writing?)
I run two circles per week, each for 90 minutes, which means, I get 3 hours per week, dedicated to working on my own creative projects. THIS HAS BEEN A GODSEND for me and the others who are in Better Together.
Dedicated time and space makes SUCH an impact on how we do everything.
One of my goals for 2018 is to find ways to be more proactive, rather than reactive.
I'm starting now and here's what it looks like:
1.) Showing up for myself with as much energy and fervor as I show up for others.
2.) Putting my creative/happy-making tasks on the top of my to-do list for the day so I have the energy to plow through my other responsibilites.
3.) Putting my phone on Do Not Disturb during my dedicated working time.
4.) Turning off my email client while I write so I don't get sucked out of my focus.
5.) Getting quiet for a minimum of 5 minutes a day to meditate.
6.) Making time each day to read, because I love it, it helps me grow, and it fills my tank.
How are you showing up for yourself, even during this busy holiday season?
How do you make yourself accountable to prioritize your special projects so that your tank stays full?
@Kris, Thank you so much for that feedback and your kind words. I love having you part of the group and am so grateful that you show up with your whole heart each week!
@Jillian, YES! YES YES!!! We have a Tuesday afternoon from 4-530. If you can swing it, it might be cool to sneak off from your classroom to a cafe and join us! Keep it bookmarked for the new year! You would be so surprised at how awesome it feels to just carve out that special time!
Beautiful words Melissa. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of Better Together on Tuesdays. It has helped me so much having that accountability of “being together” and focused without a strict agenda because my life doesn’t work well with strict agendas. at this point. I’m working on that but for now. I have to have some flexibility. During the Better Together time I am always focused and I always get important things ACCOMPLISHED which is huge for me. It may not be writing content as I originally envisioned I would be working on. These days though, I am crazy-grateful for accomplishing anything. This time is THE only time so far that I feel I pick a project and actually get it done. I have made good strides in the short time I’ve been a part of the group. I look forward to it every week and I make sure that I show up for it. The only times I have missed are when I physically was not able to be there. And both of those times I found myself missing my group and wondering what you all were working on while I was away. :-)
Thank you for this wonderful post. Thank you for your heart. Thank you for inspiring in such an authentically caring and encouraging way. You are the real deal and I am super-grateful for you. Also in awe of all that you do. Good job making time for reading. I bet you will do a better job of carving out that time now that you have seen the major effect it had on you. Proud of you mama! :-) xoxoxoxo
THIS is so my goal for 2018. I was just complaining to the other English teachers last week about how I haven’t made time for myself to read since Barrett was born. I miss it. I need it. Are there better together time slots that would be teacher schedule friendly?