Step back to go forward

A few years ago, I was on the search for a productivity system that would keep me focused, efficiently schedule every nanosecond of my day and land me in the bullseye of every goal that I set.

Because I thought that’s how one succeeds, you set the goal, follow a granular detailed plan and hustle yourself silly to smash the target.

Even though this is NOT how I work and get things done, I’d convinced myself that a planner like this was the magic pill I needed to swallow.

I tried such a planner, then abandoned it after a few weeks.

My curiosity led me to dive into the concept of being vs. doing and those breadcrumbs led me to being AND doing which led me to a planner called “The Monk Manual.”

Part of the MM system includes a daily review. 

I’ve always resisted reviews because that sent me right back to days of going over tests or assignments and focusing on where I fell short or why I didn’t get an A. 

Reframing what a daily review looks like has by far made the biggest difference in how I get things done. Adopting a growth vs fixed mindset was key to this.

Key insight #1: Review now is about looking at facts and getting curious vs. judging and storytelling. Stories and judgment still come up, but I’m much better at handling them. 

It’s also a chance to celebrate progress AND continue to grow. Surprisingly, my review now looks like a Ta-Da! List. When I look back at most days, I accomplish a lot more than I would have guessed.

Too often we check the thing off the list and sprint towards the next goal. We only see the next mountain to climb.

We don’t take credit for how far we’ve come, what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown.

Key insight #2: When I’m planning, my brain is overly ambitious about my capacity AND grossly underestimates how long things will take. #timeblind

Now, when I review my day, I can see what worked well, what could be improved and what might be interesting to try tomorrow. #facts

The daily review is the foundation for the weekly review, the monthly, the quarterly and the annual review.

Do you look back once you’ve completed a project or a period of time like a day, week or month? If not, I highly recommend doing so.

Looking back at June/July provided me with some “Notes from the Field” that I wanted to share with you.

Teaching can help YOU get clear about your work and your process. 

During June & July, I taught the concept of brand uniqueness to four different groups and several 1-1 clients. 

Teaching helped me learn HOW I describe brand differentiation and HOW to help people understand it and implement it in their businesses. 

It also reminded me that my work is the very foundational part of branding…uncovering the essence, and helping clients get confidence and clarity about what they offer, to whom and how, establishing the purpose and north star that will guide all other business and marketing decisions.

FOCUS
I took a lot of action last month, but it was in too many different directions. I said, “yes” to too much. Just picked up my copy of Essentialism and will re-read…again.

STICK TO YOUR STRATEGY
This builds upon the tip from above. Sometimes clients will come to you with problems that you can address, but they’re not in your current suite of offerings. 

But, you like working with that client and if they have a need for it, well, others must, too! So you create yet another offering! 

Don’t do that. 

Stay focused on core offerings and selling those. Are there times to pivot? Yes, but those don’t happen every three months.

Stay in your lane. If you take a detour, do NOT panic, just get back to your lane. 

Remember, the road to success isn’t linear anyway. 

CONTENT CREATION=FOCUS + STRATEGY
In the world of likes, comments, shares and the accompanying hit of dopamine, it’s easy to start playing to the audience. 

Oooooh…that one got a lot of traction, I’ll write more about that! 

You’ll find yourself drifting further and further from your brand and business foundation and purpose and you don’t want to do that. 

Stay in alignment with the value you provide and the work that you do. 

Ship it and forget it. Rinse. Repeat. 

If you’re not currently reviewing days, weeks, months or projects once they wrap, I highly recommend you look to the past, it can help slingshot you forward. 

A quick review to look at the facts and see what worked, what didn’t and what could be improved. 
Remember, this is the time for curiosity, not storytelling or judgment. Pretend you’re in front of Judge Judy and give her “just the facts.”

If you look back at yesterday, last week, last month, last quarter, year-to-date what did you learn?

You got this,
Jocelyn