The Daily Win

If it’s true that winners are grinners then perhaps by turning ourselves into a winner every single day we can be grinning as well as feeling positive and having a heap of momentum in our business.  The daily win is one way to reward ourselves for all the effort we are putting in. A virtual pat on the back. Or a tick box of warm of fuzzies.

By celebrating a daily win, we are allowing ourselves to sit back and say congratulations on all that we have achieved.  Even if its something as simple as sending an email or getting a meal in the slow cooker before you sit down to work.

Having more than one daily win is fine too.  In fact, I try to celebrate 3 things that I’ve achieved in one day.  I keep it simple, the wins need to be achievable, otherwise it will have the opposite effect and I’ll feel like a failure for not making it.

Why is the daily win important? 

Being a home-based business owner and mum can mean we are working alone with no one to share our wins with or bounce ideas off.  We often have a to-do list as long as our leg because it’s not just business that needs taking care of. By celebrating the daily win, we are saying Yes to the Dress, or rather a big fat Yes to getting stuff done.

Celebrating the wins helps to keep a positive mindset, it brings a sense of achievement and ultimately it helps overall productivity.

Here’s a short guide to how The Daily Win can work for you.

1. Set Intentions

Personally I use a notebook and write down 3 things i’m grateful for every morning.  Coming from a place of gratitude will ensure a much more positive mindset. I then write down an intention for the day and why this intention is going to be good for me and my business. 

2. Set Tasks

To have a win, you first need to lay out your tasks.  I’m a keen user of Asana for my to-do lists. It allows me to list everything that needs to be done and has the all important tick box to show completion. 

 

3. Review

This is the part of the daily win that shouldn’t be missed. To give yourself the all important pat on the back, it’s necessary to review what has been achieved.  As a mum working in school hours, my days are jam packed with work so I prefer to do a little review once the kids are in bed. I take the time to see what has been completed, what still needs to be finished and what the intention and tasks will be for the following day.

 

4. Communicate The Wins

If a review doesn’t seem like enough of a celebration of your wins then look for an accountability partner or some way to communicate your wins out loud.  High fiving your hubbie is one way. Or find another female business owner who is also looking for a way to celebrate wins. We are social beings so its natural for us to want to shout about our achievements.

 

5. Reward

Do something that brings you pleasure and helps you to stay motivated for the next win.  This helps to program yourself to reach more goals. This can be as simple as sitting in the sun for 10 minutes at the end of a task or having a block of chocolate.

If you could use a little help with motivation and being productive, perhaps you could implement a system of celebrating a daily win into your work day.  Let me know how you go and what your system is, it’s always good to learn new ways of doing things.

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5 Ways to Get Over a Slump

It’s been one of those weeks! My children have needed me to ferry them around to different things during the day as well as it being a week of meetings. This means I’ve been in and out of the office. Once I do finally get back to my desk, I’ve struggled to focus – despite my to do list!

Time just seems to have been slipping away and subsequently I’ve been feeling like I’ve hit a slump. There are many tasks keeping me busy but they are not the things that will ultimately inch my business forward. And because I’m not inching my business forwards my mind slips into negative thoughts. I’m not doing enough, I don’t know enough……this is a slump!

Does this sound familiar to you? It’s quite normal to have times where you’re not in full flow. As a solopreneur, it’s just another thing to work through.

To help you., here are 5 ways that I find help me get over an annoying slump.

1. Goal Setting

The first thing I do is go back to my goals and my why.  By reconnecting to my reason for being, I am reminding myself of my drive and what I’m trying to achieve.  Doing this fills me with excitement for my business so that my energy picks up and I can’t wait to get stuck in to creating again.

I have a system for setting yearly, quarterly, monthly and weekly goals and on any day in my business I know what I am meant to be working on.  The to do list definitely helps when I return to my desk after an interruption.  As I said though, even with a to do list it can be tricky to stay focussed at particularly distracting times.  See more on distraction below.

2. Networking & Connecting

A great way to feel reinspired is to connect with other business women.  This can be in the form of a workshop or a networking event that you physically attend. In my area there are monthly business breakfasts for women and I always leave an event feeling inspired and ready to dive into my business.  Connecting can also take place online.  If you are part of a supportive Facebook group then start a thread there to get some advice or inspiration to get started on your next task.  Perhaps you are part of a membership that provides you with inspiration and a place to go back to when you’re stuck.  Whichever works for you; put yourself out there and connect.

3. Daily Rituals

It is so important to have daily routines and rituals that improve your overall well-being and help you be more productive.  If I’m feeling in a slump and my mind is struggling to focus, I will do an extra meditation that morning or make sure I write in my gratitude journal and set my intentions for the day.  Not skipping on your daily rituals is essential to keeping your momentum going.

Help Your Productivity with this Post – Top 10 Working Mum Hacks

4. Distractions

In the middle of a slump you are not helped by distractions of any kind.  This may mean that you need to put your phone in another room for a 2 hour block of complete focus.  Or perhaps you need to work with your headphones on.  Do you ever work in a café or a co-working space?  If you get distracted by household chores or other things that need doing, remove yourself to feel energised by being in a new environment. 

5. Unfollow

Sometimes when we’re in a slump our minds can be in a more negative space.  Be aware of imposter syndrome creeping in at this time.  If you find you are comparing yourself in a negative way to everyone you see on social media you may need to stop the scrolling.  It may even be helpful to unfollow some people that bring up feelings of not being good enough.

This post may be helpful to you too – 10 Tips to Increase your Social Media Engagement

I hope you find these strategies helpful when you find yourself in a slump.  They have certainly helped me this week.

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My Top 10 Working Mum Hacks

We all know life is busy.  We are all chasing our tails, trying to keep all the plates in the air and doing all the things.  Yes, life is super busy and when you’re running a business from home as well as running a family, then you need a few gems to help you through.  Enter, my top 10 working mum hacks!

‘How do you do it all?” people ask.  Well the truth is you don’t.  There are certainly some things that don’t get done but with simple systems and hacks, it is still possible to put a healthy meal on the table and some clean clothes on your kids!

I present to you my top 10 working mum hacks because we all need a little help to make our week seem less hectic.

If you are new to having a home-based business then you might also like to read my post with ten things i’d tell other mums thinking of starting their own business.  Good luck with your journey x

If you can implement just one or two of these hacks and it makes a difference to your craziness, then you’ll be well on your way to creating a great business.

Remember when things get complex, look for simplicity.  This has helped me immensely and why I am always looking for solutions and ways to make life easier for us working mums.  

Without taking action, we won’t have a business.  So it is essential to find more time in our day to allow us to take action.  Use these top 10 working mum hacks to help you find more time.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments.  What are your working mum hacks?  How do you manage to combine working from home and a family?

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