Also known as, how to find your mojo! No matter how much you love your job, or how well your business is going, we all have times when it feels like our pizzazz has got up and gone through the nearest window. Perhaps you're a blogger who's suffering from writer's block, a designer who can't see past their latest collection or things just having been going your way recently. We all have times when the pile of paperwork on our desk couldn't be any more inspiring, or when you start your day with the best of intentions only to find its 5pm and all you've achieved is the worlds' best collection of cat Vines. Here are my top 5 tips to kick start that fire in your belly!
Firstly, step back from that computer, my friend. The majority of us spend 10+ hours a day glued to a screen and when inspiration just isn't happening, you're more likely to start procrastinating and wasting time than to have a brainwave. Give yourself five minutes, an hour, a whole day if you can afford it - and do something different. Take a walk, run a bath, do some mundane chores, anything to take your mind off whatever you were struggling with. Sometimes, we just need to reset our brains and get out of the panic spiral of not being inspired, which can be utterly terrifying if your business relies on your creative juices flowing with abundance. I usually get my bouts of inspiration during a spin class, you'll often find me scrabbling for a piece of paper at the end of the class to jot down my latest brainwave.
If you're continually struggling to find motivation, drill down a bit deeper - take a look at the sorts of tasks that you are avoiding or procrastinating about and I'm sure you'll find it's actually a lack of discipline. We all have tasks in our business that are a complete bug bearer - for me, it's the bookkeeping, yuk - and when you're starting out and probably doing everything yourself it can be really easy to gloss over tasks you're not keep on like accounts, emails or reports. But you just have to put your big girl panties on and get on with it! Until you reach a point on your business where you can outsource the things you dislike or aren't your strongest at, try breaking down daunting tasks to manageable chunks, employing a reward system once a task has been completed and make it the first thing you tackle on your to-do list; swallow that frog and move on!
And lastly, a bit of tough love here, but I'm afraid the only person in control of your business - and motivation - is you. No-one's going to hold your hand and do it for you. If you're constantly unhappy or unmotivated by what you're doing, it may be time to evaluate what has changed in your business to make you feel this way and adopt a change of pace. And that's absolutely ok! Some of the best businesses take twists and turns and often end up completely different to how they started. My favourite example of this is ASOS - who remember when they were known as As Seen On Screen? They sold rip-offs of the clothes the likes of Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and Lyndsey Lohan were wearing - think denim hot pants and cheap slogan tshirts. No-one with any fashion credentials would be seen dead wearing them. Fast forward 13 years and ASOS is now dressing the celebs, the likes of which they once ripped off, and is one of the world's largest online only fashion and beauty stores.
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Images; Abbey Lee Kershaw by Lachlan Bailey for Vogue China via Fashion Gone Rogue
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