Well, this summer certainly came in like a wrecking ball! We are teetering on August and that means the majority of people are getting the last bit of vacation in. Probably even more so this year than ever!
So if you are sitting there dreaming of being poolside sipping on mojitos and still want a flourishing business, there are a few steps to take to make that happen. We all deserve downtime, self care is essential to a thriving you AND a thriving business. Here are five ways to set up your business to carry you through the rest of the summer and set yourself up for success for the remainder of the year.
1. Master your mornings: you may be thinking “where is she going with this” but let me tell ya.. The way you start the day is a big indicator of how the rest of your day is going to pan out. Wouldn’t you rather have a peaceful morning where you are not rushed for time and feeling like you are ahead of your day instead of rolling out of bed and rushing to the office with no time to stop for coffee? This is where you set yourself up for success. Get yourself out of bed, meditate if that’s your thing, go to the gym, journal your gratitude or intentions for the day. Get yourself prepared for what’s to come and start your day with the energy that you can conquer it all.
2. Timeblock: this one is HUGE. You need to lay out your day, have a clear picture of what the expectations are for the day so you can execute them properly. Your calendar should be planned a week in advance so that when Monday comes you are not flying by the seat of your pants. In your schedule you should have everything laid out, I recommend starting by filling in your non negotiables (Dr appts, childrens extracurriculars etc) and then move on to the daily tasks you have (for instance if you are a realtor or ISA you should have consistent lead generating time) and then move on to meetings/work related appts etc. Be sure to review your schedule for the next day every evening so you know what to expect for the next day.
3. Stick to your schedule: This is HUGE and sounds WAY easier than it actually is. We all know life and distractions can get in the way. However if we are building a business we have to act like it. We have time blocked our day for a reason and sure there are going to be times that there are conflicts with it that you just cannot escape, however that is when you have to erase and replace. Just because something came up during your time blocked lead generation time does not mean you can just skip it… you need to make time somewhere else.
4. Maintain your self care: This is also a big one and is vital to a growing business. We as entrepreneurs have a tendency to work ALL the time. While that is great, we are passionate about our careers, we need to make ourselves a priority too. Schedule in that self care time, weather it is an hour a day or a half day each week, this time is important to unwind, breathe and have those moments to yourself without the hustle and bustle of work ,/p>
5. When you are taking a day off or on vacation UNPLUG: we all deserve time off. When you are enjoying the last bit of your summer please remember to unplug. Set your vacation time up for success by making sure you have someone covering your business. YOU DESERVE IT!
Can professor X be my EA please?
Telepathy is the superpower that allows you to read a person’s thoughts. Professor X is a gifted fictional character in X-man and he has this superpower. He can read minds and in his story he can also manipulate minds. He’s someone I would definitely want on my bus, especially at the negotiating table.
Professor X also known as Xavier, is best known for the creation of a device called the Cerebro, a technology that serves to detect and track those individuals possessing the mutant or gifted gene, at the same time greatly expanding the gifts of those with existing psionic abilities through his schooling & mentorship.
I use this as an extreme relation to being an EA that is held to an impossible standard. We’re expected to create our version of a Cerebro and enhance the production & experience of those who need them. AKA we need to build something that sees all gaps and opportunities which in turn will enhance the support & experience for executives & the consumers of the businesses.
Being held to a standard as an EA is fine, Being held to an impossible standard isn’t always going to play out as one may dream.
Can we seem like we’re mind readers with incredible super powers? Sure. And to me how we “seem” goes hand in hand with the analogy of the swimming duck. Where the duck is kicking like Christano Ronaldo under the water and has their graceful sway above the water. Or that iceberg image that has all the positive enticing words like success, dreams, money, happiness, at the top of the iceberg and below it you see the not so woo hoo words like focus, work, discipline, missed events, tight budgets, etc.. Looks can be deceiving.
Because we work so closely with our executive as their EA we have a different relationship. We begin to move with the same tempo and beat. We nearly have silent communication after quite some time of working with this tempo or beat and we are able to sense the slight shifts of our each others tones, mannerisms, or facial expression And because of this silent communication we can mistakenly assume just that. We have heard silent communication. The executives move quickly and with this assumption of heard silent communication floating in the air they jump right onto the moving car and this is now the “how it is” The EA can now ANTICIPATE MY NEEDS and bam I can drop it and focus on that thing I know I want, need, desire, dream to have done.
As EA’s we have the ability to look at things at a much slower pace than that of our executives. We move behind the scenes & watch things evolve from a level executives just can’t or sometimes won’t. At this level, in our cheap seats, we have the ability to see patterns & habits, gaps & opportunities that can be undetected. We have the ability to see that one man way down the field who is wide open, ready for the quarterback to throw him the ball. We have an ability – Our ability is just that: an ability. Ability means “the power or capacity to do or ACT physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc. We have the CAPABILITY and POWER to do something when we have the ability. So when we truly put in the exercise & discipline to work that ability we can see and begin to predict things to happen well before it even becomes a thought of a thought to our executives.
We can “seem” like we’re capable of being your professor X and the reality is we’re not quite THAT amazing AND when we put our learned & sharpened tools to work we can look pretty damn amazing.
This is all a lot of talking and the truth is you have to believe in your ability before you can begin to sharpen these tools and put them into action. You have to hear that the right EA has the desire to want this ability – we want to be ahead of you, we need to be ahead of you and in the beginning we need to learn HOW and as long as we know our why before we worry about the how the journey to development and growth because it’s way more exciting.
