When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.
- Joyce Brothers
Taking Time Out To Clear YOUR Mind
It has been nearly six months since we left Melbourne on our great Australian journey. We have not traveled very far up the East Coast, yet I have come a long way – in my business that is!
One of my goals whilst traveling was to start my new coaching business, here at Feeling Fabulous Forever. Although it is taking longer that I would like (like most things) it is moving forward. Every day I am working on some aspect of the business and if you are a solo entrepreneur (mumpreneur), like I am, you will agree that there is so much to learn.
Blogging
SEO
Driving Traffic
List Building
Just to name a few!
One of my biggest problems is that I get distracted by the next bright shiny object. You probably know a person or two just like me. I am sure that if I was ever to be diagnosed that I would be labeled ADD. Thankfully I am not at Primary School now days as maybe they would want to medicate me.
There are so many people and products on the market today all giving out different information and it is so tempting to just read, listen and learn every day without really getting anything done.
And that is what I was doing!
Taking Drastic Measures
My inbox was getting bombarded every day and I was getting overwhelmed by it all. So after listening to a call with one of my mentors, Carrie Wilkerson, I made a huge decision to hit the unsubscribe button as many times as I could. I choose a few experts that I was going to continue to follow and I ditched the rest. This was something that I found very hard as I was thinking that I would be missing out on all this information. The funny thing is that I had not even opened 75% of the emails from most of the people and businesses that I unsubscribed from.
After the initial shock of hitting the unsubscribe button so many times came a wave of relief. It was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders. I felt freer.
Gaining Clarity
Another thing that I have been struggling with is gaining clarity and drilling down to who my niche market is, who my ideal client is. Although we think that we want to be everything to everyone it just doesn’t work that way. But that is a whole post in itself.
So I decided to take a few days out from my business. And I mean truly stepping away from my business – not laptop, not internet, no answering my phone. So I turned everything off last Thursday night.
Quality Family Time
My parents and my Aunty Barb had flown up to the Sunshine Coast to get away from the cold Melbourne weather and to see us of course. So Maddi, Riley and I got up early and headed for a drive up North. The weather lately has been so beautiful during the day, so we were able to spend a wonderful day on the beach and catching up. Filling our lungs with fresh sea air, clearing our minds, and enjoying the great outdoors.
A beautiful pattern in the sand from a very productive crab.
One of the reasons that we decided to embark on our great Australian journey was to spend quality time with our children. It was wonderful to spend some quality time with the extended family also.
Property Seminar with Phil Anderson
On Saturday I took some time out and volunteered as a Crew member to help out at Phil Anderson’s Property Seminar in Brisbane. I love learning and I also love hanging out with other people who love Personal Development and Self Growth. It was also great to learn about property investing, something that I am planning on doing in the near future.
Taking some time out to clear my mind was the best thing for me to do to gain clarity. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with everything we need to do when we are working on building a business that we become very unproductive.
I would love to hear what measures or actions you take to help you take time out and clear your mind. Please leave a comment below.
I believe in YOUR dreams.
To health, happiness & living the life of YOUR dreams.
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Dee…just loved your post & I can identify with so much of what you said . I, too, just love learning ,listening & reading and am discovering so much info ‘out there ‘ & so many interesting people …I feel like the butterfly going from one beautiful flower to the next. I also have the urge to try & help everyone wherever I can as I have a broad spectrum of knowledge & experience….but you are right, you cannot be everything to everyone …it doesn’t work that way , so I am looking forward to your post on that! I am really struggling to define my niche & ideal client …so many merry-go-rounds I have been on ! Clarity , where art thou ? I love walking ,just around my local area sometimes , seeing what’s blooming in gardens and pinching the odd sprig of lavender or rosemary & filling my nostrils… or, around the lake just down the road to check out the birdlife ; being still & breathing in sunrise or sunset; sitting on my verandah (with the sun on my back , preferably!) ,watching the honeyeaters & their acrobatics as they balance to slurp the nectar from the flowers. …..just a few of my head clearers. Of course , any time spent with the littlies in my life does the same ! How wise & wonderful spending precious time with family ….don’t you just love the artistry of those little crabs? …I can spend ages observing their work ….’specially on Cable Beach
Thanks for sharing your journey and keep on smiling 
Thanks Kathy, WOW your comment is nearly a blog post in itself. I can understand where you are at with gaining clarity about your target market. It took me quite some time. Please let me know if you would like some help here.
I love that you take time out going for a walk around your local area.
Enjoy your week.
Dee
Hi Dee
I can so relate to getting clarity on your idea niche market and really honing in on who they are and what you can do to serve them. Such important questions.
The other thing that really struck a chord with me too is as an entrepreneur getting easily distracted by the next big shiny object syndrome. I can so relate. We start one thing and see another thing, or see another person who sounds like they would be interesting to follow and before you know it, we are off following them instead of sticking to just a small few that make it all much more manageable.
I unsubscribed to a lot of emails (always going unread – WHEN is there ever the time to read them all) about 6 months ago and that sure does help with the de-cluttering in the email box. And another good idea is creating rules in your email folder so you aren’t even persuaded to look and just have the important ones coming into the bulk area.
Yes… all these can lead to needing time out to unblock and clear your path and thoughts…
Thanks so much for writing this Dee.. Always love reading your posts… :–)
Toni-Louise it is always so refreshing to now that many entrepreneurs are the same. Sometimes I think that it is just me that procrastinates, gets overwhelmed or distracted. I feel more human by sharing these posts and receiving replies like yours. I really value all your comments. Thanks
Awesome post Dee, keep up the great work.
Thanks Joanie
Reading this article was like reading pages straight from my personal journal! Thanks for letting me know that I am not alone! Gives me strength to carry on with confidence that I am not in fact losing my sanity! ha! Great article, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing Denny. Isn’t it is nice to know that we are human and that many others are going through the same things every day?
I look forward to watching you carry on with confidence. xo
Dee, great article! Thank you so much for sharing this info with us.
Thanks Anastasiya.
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. I have been arguing with myself over unsubscribing from all of those experts that I think I need to be listening to. Today, I am going to do it.
Annie, please share with us how you went unsubscribing and which experts you are planning on continuing to follow. Good on you!
Hey Dee
Fantastic post, I have been there done that as well,with having to have a huge unsubscribe clean out. It is very easy to get information overload and just sit around listening to all the great information there is on offer. Hope your trip is still going well. Love the picture on Mooloolaba beach my favorite coffee shop, just about overlooks that very spot!
Cheers Beanie
Hi Dee….I’m with you! Drastic measures and unscubscribing can be very liberating. I trying to keep my inbox action around things I need right now. I find F.O.C.U.S. is the way to go (Follow One Course Until Successful). I figure I can always re-subscribe later. I also attend training on a ‘need to know right now’ basis, rather than filling up with information that can’t be used straight away, that just gets frustrating!! I think you have come forward in leaps and bounds this year Dee, all while you are travelling – how cool is that! Whatever we are doing, it’s so important to still have fun. Happy days. xxx
F.O.C.U.S is an awesome acronym. One that I really need to follow. So true that you can always re-subscribe later. You don’t now what you have missed if you don’t get the info
.
I appreciate your comments about what i have achieved this year. I often feel like I am pedaling so fast and standing still.
I agree, fun is so important in ours lives.
xo
Hello Dee,
Its so important in life to take much needed time out! It is really important for the mindset and for the body to grow. It also helps to create new ideas…I go for a walk with my boys to clear my head and come back so refreshed and full of new ideas
Thanks for sharing your ideas and hints on taking time out to clear your mind.
Cheers
Lisa
Thanks Lisa. Sometimes we forget that time out from our business is as important as working on and in our business.
Dee, you hit the nail on the head with this post! I can so identify. I have done the unsubscribe thing and it is such a relief the next morning when you open your email to find only a few instead of dozens! (Sometimes if I didn’t check my email all day, I’d come home to find literally hundreds!) Such a waste of time. Yet, if you checked my email today, you’d see that the number of subscriptions is creeping back up there again. Excellent and timely information. I especially liked the Joyce Brothers quote. We tell ourselves we are building our business for our families, and then ignore them in the process forgetting what’s truly important in our lives. Great post. Thanks!
Thanks Cheree, I totally agree. sometimes the email inbox was total overwhelm. It is great to focus back on what is important in life.
Great post. Clearing and Clarity is what I got from that. I think I might post those words on my wall.
Thanks Kama.
Loving the new FB group.
Great post Dee and certainly one that I can relate to. Its a constant challenge keeping up with everything you need to run a successful business AND a successful family.
I love having both and have had to learn to push that unsubscribe button not just to emails but to any other non essential activities as well.
Thanks for the constant reminders to stay clear and calm and enjoy the things that really matter in our lives.
Sue xx
Thanks Sue.
I too love to be successful in all areas of my life.
Focusing on what really matters brings joy and love into our world. x
Great read Dee! We certainly do need balanced time for ourselves; mentally, physically, and spiritually! Thank you!
Hughie
Totally Hughie,
Couldn’t have put it better myself.