Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over and for the last few weeks, I was not in the Holiday spirit at all. Even if Starbucks hands me a red cup and I order drinks with Holiday flavors and eat Maroni it still feels very wrong that we are entering December shortly. It’s also a bit too warm outside. For the last few weeks of this year, I would like to bring more presence to all my interactions with you and my clients. Presence is important as we are constantly pulled in so many directions, and “energy flows where our attention goes” (Robbins, T n.d., para. 2).

I would like to share with you a small confession: Before I launched my business and when I started to blog, I had a tendency to spend a lot of time on social media. There was a time when my family was concerned that I was getting addicted to Facebook or Twitter. Luckily, I got over this by developing healthy ways of interacting with social media. If you are like me, you can hardly survive a day without your smartphones anymore, let alone access your bank account, google account, or any account for that matter.

When we are offline or have low batteries, it creates feelings of anxiety. I have an ongoing experiment where I am trying to increase my productivity and get more done by using fewer and fewer resources (money, paper, time, people). What it boiled down to over the last years is an annual ritual for this time of the year. Let’s call it the “Reduction Challenge”.

1 – Start with an Inbox List

To write this I started an inbox list I am regularly checking. The list became very long. I am not even sure I finished it yet. I’m not surprised that I am occasionally concerned about inbox anxiety. Once you have completed your inbox list, review my simplification principles and check which ones apply to you. Once you have completed your list review my simplification principles and check which ones apply to you. Can you think of other principles for simplification you wish to share?

2 – Develop Your Simplification Principles

Here are examples of your simplification principles.

• People over Robots! Any personal message is better than an automated response.
• Move from DIGITAL to ANALOGUE on purpose. Use paper or handwriting strategically.
• Delete unused apps from your smartphone at least quarterly.
• Turn your phone off from 9 PM to 6 AM. Give it a space for the night outside of the bedroom. (You will still hear the alarm!)
• Have a physical vision board with everything you need to make progress on. Use Post-its for visualizing goals. Paint ideas and sketch your vision of what you want. 
• Say “No, thank you…” or “yes, if…” to any proposal for meetings, work, and tasks right away. Commit fast and decline fast. Don’t ponder on decisions forever.
• When asked for meetings give two timeslot options only.
• Always set a deadline for when another person should come back to you.
• If you don’t know what to wear because you don’t know if the occasion is formal or not, wear a black suit or a black dress. Ask the organizer if you need more clarity, especially if you are new to the cultural environment.

3 – Write your “Accomplishment List”

Go through the RockMeApp archive and review all that you have accomplished this year. For those who are not on our RockMeApp, go through your daily planner or your journal: I’m sure you have accomplished more than you realize in your professional, as well as in your personal life. You should go through your accomplishments before you go through your annual review with your line manager.

4 – Start Working With the “Ideal Week Planner”

I have developed a template for my coaching clients which should help them to define what their ideal week would look like. Use this planner to make more “Yes/No” decisions and if you feel that you are missing a central point in your life because you are generally only working for other people and supporting their needs you might want to work with your “inner child” more. 

5 – Cut Yourself Some Slack

Allow yourself a weekend in another city or in a hotel in your city. Celebrate yourself and that you are working hard and that you are contributing your part in the world. Speak to your inner child and write a wish list to Santa Clause even if you first think this is ridiculous. Remember what kind of activities you most enjoyed as a child and teenager. Plan a such activity in your weekly planner.

References and Further Reading

7 Books That Will Help You Heal Your Inner Child | by Patrícia Williams | The Conscious Way | Medium

Susan Krauss Withbourne Ph.D., Ten Ways to Make it Through Your Life’s Transitions:

10 Ways to Make It Through Your Life’s Transitions | Psychology Today 

Nichols, Lisa, Find your authentic self and your voice with this mirror exercise | Lisa Nichols. 

7 Books To Help You Begin To Heal From Inner Child Trauma – Defying Resistance

Reparenting & Healing Your Inner Child (11 books)

Robbins, T n.d., Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows, Create a Vision for Your Business and Your Life, viewed on 19 November 2021, <https://essaypro.com/blog/harvard-style-citation>

by Angie Weinberger

When you are a business owner you often feel torn apart between taking on more clients and providing better service to your existing clients. Sometimes you might even feel that you deserve a higher quality in your personal life. Most business owners I know work every weekend and when they become mildly successful they realize that they have not been in touch with their oldest friends and even their family is often neglected.

While you are transitioning from being in the start-up phase where every penny counts to be on a plateau of a revenue stream coming in from existing clients and before you develop your business further ask yourself these 10 questions:

1) How much turnover do I need in order to have a basic income that is sufficient to survive?
– Write down this number.

2) If I would have more income how would I spend it? Which of needs are not fulfilled with my basic income?
– Start a wish list or wish book.

3) Am I willing to sacrifice quality time for these wishes or is time with friends and family more important to me?
– Mark the wishes you would still like to see fulfilled.

4) Could I provide a better service quality to my current clients and raise my prices before acquiring new clients?
– Go through your services and write down what you could improve.
– Consider the value of your services and explain them to new clients.

5) Do I work for other providers and do I have clients in my portfolio that are not willing to pay for my new price level?
– Communicate your new price level to these providers and clients.

6) Do I believe that my services are so unique that no one else can provide them in the same quality?
– Review your services for the uniqueness and see if you can make them even more unique so people do not really care how much you charge.

7) Am I happy with my services and do I feel rewarded with my price level?
– Check your gut feeling with the price tags.
– Review all your services again and throw out what does not suit you any longer.

8) Am I still doing work that is not well paid? Is it for a good cause?
– If the answer is yes and the work is for profit and not for a good cause I suggest you decline it going forward.

9) Do I believe that I can make a difference in the world with what I do?
– If the answer to this question is “No.” talk to me.

10) Will I learn to say “No” more often in 2019?
– You can only say yes to this question.

The year-end is a good time to review your prices and your service quality. Sit down with a glass of champagne to celebrate your success. Go through the ten questions above and practice to say “No” more often in order to say “Yes” to the right clients and the right jobs.