Katelyn Brooke

It’s been a while since I’ve been introspective on here.  It’s easy for me to see why that is.  Introspective posts take the most thought.  And the last two months or so, every time I sit down to write a post that goes beneath the surface, well, I have a hard time completing my thoughts.

It’s kind of funny, because at the beginning of the year things were pretty slow.  I spent a ton of time thinking about what I wanted and where my business was headed.  That doesn’t mean that I came up with great answers or anything, but I was definitely putting the time in.

Sometime this spring I put my nose to the grindstone and somehow months started to fly by before I could really look up.  It’s a little bit like I stepped on a hamster wheel and I’m not sure how to slow down or step off.  I spend my days trying to tackle my never-ending to-do list without addressing any of the things that are a big deal to my daily routine.  Is any of this sounding familiar?

{photo from my Instagram}

Let’s be honest- I like the daily work of my business.  I love working with my clients and client projects are really fun and exciting for me.  In a lot of ways, being super busy with that stuff is a great excuse to ignore the scary big questions that come with having your own business.  But that doesn’t mean that ignoring them is the solution.

The last couple of days I’ve been able to snap out of it and remember that sometimes you have to put the oxygen mask on your own business before you can help others (let’s see how many metaphors I can squeeze in here, shall we?)  But seriously- if my system has flaws that are causing things to break down, where will I be in a few months when those things that I haven’t addressed are really taking a toll on my business?

Because I like to use my blog as a way to force myself to be proactive, here are three ways that I’ve found are helpful when you can’t seem to break this cycle of being stuck working in your business instead of working on your business.  And how I plan on setting aside some quality time to look at my big picture.

1. Schedule it.  If I don’t schedule time to think about and work on my business, it’s just not going to happen.  I need a weekly date with my sketchbook to jot down ideas and check in with my goals.

2.  Step away from the computer.  My best thinking happens when I’m not in front of the computer screen.  I really want to start reading more, both for business and pleasure.

3.  Talk about it.  It always helps me to talk it out with others, whether it’s a family member or a friend in the biz.

Do you struggle with getting sucked into the day-to-day stuff?  What do you do to snap out of it?