0:03
Hey, TPT sellers, ready to see growth in your business? You’re in the right place. Welcome to the Savvy Teacher Seller. I’m Kristen Doyle and I’m here to give you no fluff tools and strategies that will really make an impact on your sale. Let’s get started y’all.
0:24
Hey, y’all, welcome to this episode of the Savvy Teacher Seller. I’m your host, Kristen Doyle. And today’s episode is one where I’m gonna get a little vulnerable with you. I shared with my email list a couple of weeks ago that I’ve been struggling a little bit, the last, well, I’m a little better now. But at that point, I had been struggling for about a week and a half or so to get back in the swing of things with work.
0:47
I had taken an unplanned, almost an entire week off work, because I got injured. I did a little work on the couch, but kind of got behind on work then. And then I had a planned vacation. That obviously did not let me catch up on the work I had missed while I was recovering from my injury. Then, I took this vacation in paradise where it was sunny and warm and wonderful.
1:12
Then I had to leave the beach and come back to a cloudy, dreary January in Tennessee. And when I got home, of course, I felt like I had 1000 things on my to do list. And when you put it all together, I was just feeling super overwhelmed, super behind and I was honestly just having trouble getting anything done. I’m sure you’ve probably had this experience before, you know it happens to all of us at some point in our lives.
1:40
Sometimes we’re just having a hard week or two or three. So I asked my email list, what do you do to get back in the groove of working when you’ve been away, whether it was something on purpose, like a vacation, or it was something completely unplanned or like me, sometimes you have a little bit of both, and they just kind of all happen at the same time. And it leaves you feeling frustrated and unproductive.
2:05
So I got an incredible amount of responses and such great advice. Some of you brought me to tears. If you are one of those people who took time to reply and share a tip or two and some encouragement. Thank you so so much, you just can’t know how much it meant to me to get to read your messages.
2:25
The other thing I got though, was replies from several of you who were telling me that you struggle with the same thing, or you have something coming up in your life that you think is going to maybe lead to you struggling with the same thing. A couple people said surgeries and maternity leaves and things like that. And you wanted to know if I could share the tips that I’m getting.
2:47
So consider your wish granted, today I am going to share some of my favorite advice that I got back in those replies. These are some very, very wise words from some very wise entrepreneurs. And I can just about guarantee you that they will help you break out of whatever funk you find yourself in one day.
3:08
All right, let’s dive in to all of this great advice that people shared. Some of it is very practical, some of it is a little bit more headspace advice. But it is all fantastic and I can’t wait to share it with you. Alright, Jen said, I take my to do list and break it down by day. Then each day, I still feel accomplished even if I haven’t tackled the whole to do list. And that helps a lot.
3:33
And I shared with her that I have been slacking on my to do list lately. But it really does help to have a to do list that is doable, so you feel like you’ve accomplished what you set out to do for the day. Chris shared something really similar, she said that she writes down just three things for the day, that if she does those things, she can call that day a success.
3:53
And she said when it comes to that list of her top three priorities, she tries to eat the frog first, if you’re not familiar with that thing, it just means to do the thing you don’t want to do and get it out of the way. She said she picked something that’s not necessarily time consuming, but it’s just something she doesn’t feel like doing. Because when she eats that frog first she can get that quick win and feel like she can conquer the rest of the list.
4:17
While we’re talking about list making, Janice said that for her a lot of times getting in that funk, where you’re feeling unproductive and you just don’t know where to start. She said a lot of times that the feeling of losing control, and I’ve never thought of it that way. But I thought that was such a good way to look at it.
4:35
And to recognize that when we do feel overwhelmed and stressed out and out of control, which is definitely part of where I was a couple of weeks ago. Making a list, adding that small number of tasks to every day, spreading it out over you know a week or two or three whatever you need to to get your list done. She said that puts me back in control. And I’ll slowly plug away at getting it all done.
4:59
When there’s a plan and a light at the end of the tunnel, I usually work faster than what I anticipated and start crossing stuff off my to dues for days past today. So I thought that was really good advice and a really good just perspective to take about what’s going on and just recognizing the bigger picture that you’re feeling a little out of control sometimes when we get into that funk.
5:20
Allison shared something that I have heard many times before, and I’ve honestly just never thought it was affecting me. But in this moment, at this point, coming back from a beach vacation where it was sunny and warm and great, to really dreary, kind of rainy, cloudy everyday for a week and cold Tennessee in January. She said, have you considered a light to combat seasonal affective disorder?
5:47
And as soon as I read that first sentence, I thought oh my goodness, maybe that is part of my problem. She shared with me some of the symptoms with SAD, seasonal affective disorder are just losing interest in activities, being too tired, wanting to sleep too much, feeling hopeless, not being able to concentrate, things like that. And one of the factors that experts have identified as playing a factor in seasonal affective disorder is a lack of sunlight.
6:12
So especially in my case, coming from somewhere where it was warm and sunny and summer outside, straight back to super the opposite of that. Super wintery and just yuck, I feel like that really could be a big piece of it. So I did get one of those lights. And I’m really excited about it.
6:32
She has a seasonal affective disorder, like from Amazon, you put it kind of right beside you on your desk and put it on an end table. So thank you, Alison, for sharing that idea with me, I am so excited to give it a try.
6:47
Noelle said that when she had a similar situation, she had to take a break from things and get back to it. She started slow with the stuff that she wanted to do. And then she started adding on little bits of other things. She also reminded me of a big picture reality that a lot of us forget about. And that is I’m going to read it exactly what she said. She said sometimes I think we just need to not push ourselves all the time. It’s okay to lose focus, especially when we as adults have so much responsibility in our lives. So thank you, Nicole, for sharing that good reminder for all of us that we do need to take time away. And it’s okay to not push.
7:33
Ellen shared something really similar. And she gave me a little bit of maybe tough love. But I appreciated it, it was in the best way. And I’m going to give that to you guys too. I’m going to read you what she wrote me and just imagine me saying it to you. Ellen said, You need to give yourself grace, you have big expectations of your business and yourself which are great, but you are human.
7:55
She said, I know this is hard to hear, especially as a parent, but you need to take care of yourself first. It really is true, be good to yourself, carve out time for you to feed your sweet soul. Once you start putting yourself in front, then you’ll truly have more energy and desire to do the other things. And Ellen, I’m getting teary just reading it right now.
8:14
She put my name and all of those. And so just reading back through that reminds me how important it is that we really do need to prioritize ourselves and our own health and well being over all of the other things that are going on over the business. And as important as it is, as much as I love to work hard on growing my business, we need to put ourselves ahead so that we can be present and do good things in our business and our family and whatever else we are working on.
8:45
From a really practical standpoint, Ellen also shared look at it as if you’re giving advice to a client. Or in your case, if you don’t have clients look at it as if you’re giving advice to a TPT seller friend, I find it so much easier to look at someone else’s problems and see what they should prioritize. So I’ve been trying to take that little step back and think about what is it that I would tell someone else, a friend or a client?
9:09
Because she’s absolutely right, it’s so much easier to look at someone else’s problems or someone else’s struggles and be able to give them advice. So I’ve been trying to take that step back in my own struggles as well.
9:21
Anna Joyce shared a strategy she uses where she said she puts her head in a corner. And basically that just means to put some music or podcasts or something on and really focus in on just one task at a time. And she said to do the easiest things first, so you can gain some momentum, whether it’s business stuff or how stuff she mentioned.
9:42
Whatever is immediately in front of you, something you can make some real progress on, on some simple tasks that gives you enough momentum, that then you can start to tackle the big things. And she said for sure checklists help you keep on task and get that win as you check things off. That’s been a big theme from a lot of the advice that people gave and I definitely love a good checklist.
10:05
Melissa said, I hate it when this happens. But some things I like to do are to give myself something fun to look forward to while you’re working. So maybe a new pen you’re gonna use or a new candle on your desk, something like that. She also said, I usually listen to nothing or white noise while I’m working. And that’s usually me as well. But she said, If I’m in a funk, I like to switch to a playlist with music I love and turn it up loud.
10:32
And you know, sometimes that just almost a shock to your system, something totally different from your nor can be really helpful to get back in the swing of things. Melissa reminded me like a lot of people have that sometimes we just need to slow down for a bit. And it’s frustrating because there are so many things to do. She said, but listen to your body and take a beat, the business will still be there, it will be okay. You don’t want to burn out completely.
10:56
Laura shared an idea of just changing your scenery, she said she takes her laptop to a different part of the house, somewhere out of her office to get some quick things done. She said that helps me get into the work mindset without going into my office, which seems to help me stop procrastinating. And I do that occasionally.
11:14
But when I need a change of scenery, a lot of times I will go into a co working space in town. I actually heard about co working spaces from another TPT seller, from Megan. And she was telling me about a co working space that she uses. Basically the idea is you just are able to go to this big open space where everyone is just working. They have lots of different, at least in the one I use. They have lots of different types of seating. There are couches and tables and chairs and barstools.
11:43
And there’s even an exercise bike with a desk and ours has two swings hanging from the ceiling that you can sit in and work while you swing. But going into a co working space like that. And being somewhere outside of my house really does help me to focus. I find I’m really productive when I’m there. Because I am not distracted by all the other things around my house.
12:07
So go somewhere different, whether it’s a co working space that you maybe want to get a membership for, or you just head out to a coffee shop that has free Wi Fi and get some work done somewhere else. For some reason, when I’m not at home, I feel like I have to be doing work. I think I’m imagining people maybe are judging me, if I’m scrolling Facebook while I’m sitting in front of my laptop. They’re probably not paying any attention. But that’s okay, it helps me be productive.
12:33
Rachel said, usually I just give myself more time clearly I just need it sometimes. And if I can’t do that, I start with a creative project that feels easy and fun to me, that usually lets me slide back into the productivity groove without too much pain. And I love that strategy. And again, the reminder that sometimes we just need to give ourselves grace and give ourselves that time.
12:54
Kalen shared a super practical tip, she said get a large coffee or a Celsius to get up and moving and out of a funk. And yes, I am definitely living on coffee these days and Celsius every now and then.
13:10
Sherry suggested jumping into a co working group because it can be so motivating to be working on things alongside other people and I find co working groups, a lot of times we’ll kind of do the same thing as going into a different space. So jump into a co working group. If you’re not part of a co working group, there is no reason you can’t just ask some people.
13:31
I have a friend who is an entrepreneur in a different niche. And every now and then I will see her post just on her public Facebook because she has lots of entrepreneur friends. “Hey, I’m going to do some co working tonight, at whatever time anybody wants to join me for some silent co working.” And there are always people who respond and they hop on Zoom and do a little silent co working together and get some things done.
13:52
So if you’re not in a group that offers that definitely think about reaching out to other entrepreneur friends. And then Katie’s advice was to chat with a friend who can inspire you to take your business to where it could be. This works every time and I will definitely encourage you to reach out to your entrepreneur friends. We are nine times out of 10, all struggling with the same things especially if the number of reply that I got to this email is any indicator.
14:20
We are all struggling with the same things at different times. So talk to your entrepreneur friends who understand. I know a lot of times especially as an online entrepreneur, we can feel very isolated and alone and like our real life friends don’t really get what we do. So definitely take time to reach out to friends that you have who do understand.
14:41
There was so much good advice. I didn’t even get through all of the responses in this episode, it was getting long and I had to cut some out. But I hope that you enjoyed all of these different tips and that you found something that stood out to help you get through a funk when you find yourself in one.
15:00
I want to extend a special thank you to everyone who replied and those of you who agreed to let me use your advice in the show today. Hang on to this episode, bookmark it somewhere, for when you find yourself struggling to get in a productive groove. Or you’re just not feeling yourself and needing to do a little something to get out of the funk that you’re in and get back to being you. And take a minute to share it with an entrepreneur friend who might sometimes struggle with the same things that all of us do. Talk to you soon friends.
15:37
I hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you did, please share it with another teacher seller who would also find it helpful. For more resources on Growing Your TPT business. Head to Kristendoyle.co/TPT. Talk to you soon.
