Getting Back to Basics
Over the past few week I feel like I've been spinning my wheels. I've been so focused on making tiny tweaks that I've ended up straying too far from the goal.
It's not about success or failure. It's not about winning or losing, it's about losing sight of what I'm here to do.
It's about getting back to basics.
I'm a writer. I love sitting behind a keyboard, and even the occasional notepad, and writing. I love sharing my stories and lessons learned with the people who read them.
However, during the last part of 2014, I got sidetracked. I tried to do too much too fast, and forgot to focus on what I love. What got me to where I am today.
If you're in the throes of building your business, always remember what got you to where you are (even if you don't feel like it's all that far). Always remember the fundamentals. For me, that's remembering why I love to write.
Clarity
There is something about writing that clarifies our thoughts. If an idea, a plan, or even your goals, are jumbled up in your head, write them out.
By writing out your thoughts, you form words and phrases into coherent sentences. You develop connections your mind couldn't put together while the thoughts were still in your head.
Freedom
Writing also brings with it a sense of freedom. The blank page is full of possibilities. If you have an open canvas in front of you, the future is bright!
Writing also brings freedom in the form of liberation. Every time I write about struggles, pain, or heartache, I feel liberated afterward. By getting our thoughts out of our heads, we cleanse our mind.
Distractions
But, the past few weeks, I've lost sight of that. I forgot about the purity of thought that accompanies writing. I've rushed blog posts out the door because of a deadline, not because the message was ready.
I've spent days learning about email marketing tools. In a 30 day time frame, I switched from MailChimp to AWeber, then from AWeber to GetResponse. I got caught up in learning the tools instead of writing.
Sometimes we look out across the vast landscape of life and see only possibilities. But, instead, we need to focus on the goal.
What, at first, seem like millions of options are actually millions of distractions.
Yesterday evening, I spent six hours switching the layout for my site, only to switch it back to the original eight hours later. I wasted an entire evening pursuing an opportunity I thought might be there, but wasn't.
Back to Basics
At the end of the day, you and I both know what we need to do. If we think about it, we know how to put one foot in front of the other and take the necessary steps to achieve our goals.
We know what needs to be done, but we lose our way.
It's time to get back to the basics. It's time to eliminate the distractions and focus on the goal.
Whatever your art, do that.
Whatever your talent, do that.
Whatever your passion, focus on that. Let everything else go and get the things done that need to get done.
Over the past few weeks I've started several side projects that fall into the “nice to have” category. Now it's time to get back to basics and re-focus on the “need to have.”
Question: Do you ever get sidetracked? How do you get focused and moving forward?
*sigh* I am wrestling with this right now. My struggle is that I have two sites, two “brands” that I have done a decent job reconciling but I have the urge just to combine and or scrap to simplify. To stop focusing on building two different platforms, and just have time to create (write and podcast). The only problem is, I do feel like in order to simplify I need to “rebrand”. But am I doing that because it’s fun and exciting, or necessary? How to find the balance…
Hey Jennifer! Thanks for commenting and sharing about your journey.
I too went through an identity crisis. In April of 2014, I changed my brand to what it is now.
My question to you would be, “What does Jennifer want to be known for?” I see you just read or talked about Covey’s 7 Habits; Habit #2 is where I got the idea for that question.
Maybe a better question is, “what gets you up in the morning?”
If I can help, let me know. If you want to hop on a Hangout or something, I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing!
Thanks for reading Jennifer, have an awesome day =)
I get distracted far more frequently than I’d like to. My #1 way of getting back to basics though is to take the time to think through everything i’m trying to do and create my process. Once I can write down the exact things I need to be doing every single day to get where I want I feel clear and able to focus again.
Hey Gregg! You’re right, focusing on the next step is key. We can’t usually plan out the whole trip, but we can focus on getting out of the driveway and down the street.
I can definitely relate Ellory because as a blogger we want to standout and be noticed so we can get our message across and in doing that, we try, as hard as we could to learn everything we need to know on how we can make our site standout. I’ve been sidetracked more times than I thought I should have experimenting and doing some trial and error on my site, trying to see if my modification will make it better. I guess we just have to stick to a strict schedule. My days are mapped out for an entire week and I allot 2 days for writing and the rest for other stuff. Great post Ellory! Want you to know that I’ve been listening to your podcast too and it’s really been a big help for me also.
Hey Noel! Thanks for reading AND listening!
I don’t have much of a set schedule. I have a long list of “to do” items and generally work from that list.
It’s good you’re testing though. I test almost everything to see if I can improve my results. However, we can get too caught up in the testing, and not enough in the doing what works.
Thanks for stopping by Noel!
Have you joined my email list yet? It’s full of some pretty amazing information! http://www.ellorywells.com/awesome