Tactics & Ideas for Your Summer Slump

Kathleen Shannon 0:00
Hello, and welcome to being boss. Today's minisode is all about how to get out of that summer slump.

Kathleen Shannon 0:13
Hey guys is just Kathleen here today. And I wanted to talk about a summer slump. I wasn't really sure what I was going to talk about today in today's minisode. So I use my number one trick whenever I'm trying to come up with content, and I recommend this to anyone to try is start off by saying what I really want to talk about is, and whenever I did that trick on myself, I found that what I really want to talk about is the fact that I'm in a summer slump. So I'm just feeling like I've been working really hard so far this year. It's really hot outside. And I'm just feeling kind of burnt out physically, literally. And then also in my business and life. So I wanted to brainstorm a few ideas because I'm not about to just get on here and be all blog at you guys about my summer slump. I'm all about finding those solutions and taking action steps to living the dream and being boss. If you haven't looked at Emily's article, by the way, on being boss club about her. It's like her live what you love Manifesto, it actually kicked me into high high gear today. So be sure to check that out. But I want to offer you a few tips and tactics for overcoming your own summer slump. So number one, take a vacation. I think that summer is all about really utilizing a slow time to work on what we like to call it being boss your life hustle. So take a vacation I recently took Well, I've taken a couple of vacations this summer. The first one was to seaside Florida with my whole family. And it's a yearly trip that we always take. And I think because it's a trip we always take I took it a little bit for granted. And I have to admit, I did a little bit too much of checking my phone, maybe writing a blog post or two, and definitely on all sorts of social media. So for my second trip of the summer, which was up north on Lake Superior with my dear friend Liz and her family, and I brought my husband and son with me, I decided to do a complete work and phone detox.

Kathleen Shannon 2:30
So I didn't go all the way with this. I did check Instagram a couple of times, but I really kept it limited. And more than anything. Well, I didn't take my laptop. So like I definitely put some things in place that wouldn't even tempt me to go there. But more than that, I found that when my mind started to wander to work, which is easy to do whenever you're doing what you love for a living, but I would force myself to not think about it, I knew that it would be waiting for me whenever I got back. So I really just allowed myself to take a vacation. Alright, so the second thing that you should do, or that you could try if you're in a summer slump is plan for the year ahead. So Emily, and I just actually, this morning, Emily sent me a document that is all about our third quarter and fourth quarter planning. So really figuring out what we're going to be doing the rest of this year, we're really gearing up for some super fun stuff in the fall, we just signed with a book agent. So we're writing a book, we have a lot of projects and things coming up in the future that we can really look forward to and gear up to. So definitely plan for the year ahead, I'm even taking a look at 2017 for being boss, like the kinds of boss vacations we want to have in 2017, or the retreats that we might want to have. I'm also looking at maybe some vacations that I want to take next year, I did a lot of work travel this year.

Kathleen Shannon 4:01
So I want to maybe plan on taking more personal trips and retreats where I can learn more about things that interest me versus maybe learning more about work, which is usually my jam. Alright, so planning for the year ahead can be a great way to get out of a summer slump. Third, this is a trick I always do for myself. Whenever I'm feeling in a rut. I asked myself, what would I rather be doing right now. And usually, whenever I follow the path of what I'd rather be doing right now, it involves maybe writing a blog post that's maybe more personal in nature. So if let's say it's that I might get more personal with my content, and it doesn't mean that I quit what I'm doing entirely. It just means that I'm kind of taking a little bit of a different approach. Or perhaps right now I would rather be watching Netflix or YouTube, I've been obsessed with YouTube lately, you guys, I will just go down a YouTube hole for an hour. And once I indulge in that craving of what I would rather be doing, I find that after about an hour, I'm ready to get back to work. So ask yourself what you'd rather be doing. And if it's like a larger scale life kind of thing, asking yourself what you'd rather be doing, and really going down that rabbit hole might help you find what you'd actually rather be doing. And for me, that rabbit hole always leads back to where I am. It's kind of like a big, a big, messy trail underground, that light comes back up out the same hole, right? So Does that even make sense? Sorry, guys, it's so weird recording a podcast without Emily I anyway, so my rabbit hole usually leads me right back to where I came in from. So it really makes me realize that what I would rather be doing is exactly what I am doing. So I should just keep doing more of it. Which brings me to the fourth thing you can do whenever you're feeling a summer slump, and that is to rely on your systems.

Kathleen Shannon 6:11
So here at being boss, we have editorial calendars, we have social media tactics in place like Edgar and we have, yeah, really, like we really rely on our editorial calendar a lot. So even if we're in a slump, we have things planned out in advance. And so we don't feel so aimless, whenever it comes to creating content, or really doing the work that we need to do. So this is why it's always a really great idea to plan ahead and to have systems in place is that you can start to rely on them whenever you really don't feel like doing the work, the work kind of ends up doing itself. Or you can do the most important tasks and move on with Netflix sing or whatever it is that you'd rather be doing. Alright, so the next thing you can do whenever you're finding yourself in a summer slump is connect with other creatives. So whenever you're in a summer slump, it's easy to get into your own head about it. So this is a great time to leverage the Facebook communities that you're in, or call up a business bestie and have a Skype date, or even take it offline and go grab coffee with someone, I know that whenever I take the time to connect with my tribe, I always feel a little less of a rut, I'm always inspired to go do the work or try something new. Alright, so the next thing I'm going to talk about when it comes to a summers slump is to do the work. And I know we always come back to this at being boss. But sometimes it doesn't matter if you're not feeling motivated or inspired, you still are a boss. And that means that you have to do the work. So some things that I've been coming back to time and time again, are my post it note method and the chalkboard method. And I will be sure to include links to both of these in the show notes. But just to kind of recap really quickly.

Kathleen Shannon 8:10
The post it note method is basically where let's say you have a huge list of things to do in Asana, which I always do or whatever project management software you might use. I like to take it back offline and take it old school and write three things on a post it note that I need to do that day. And it can if I'm in a summer slump, it might be a blend of personal and professional. So it might be go to the grocery store that is a victory on a day like today. Or it might be write an email or record a minisode. So take out your post it notes and make a list of three things and stick it to your laptop or your workspace and just get those three things done.

Kathleen Shannon 8:54
The chalkboard method is where I track my bigger goals on a more quarterly basis. And please be sure to check out all the posts and we did even a full length podcast episode on this if you haven't already, we've got hundreds of creatives doing this in our community and it actually works but the chalkboard method is basically making space for the things that you want. And I have been coming back to my chalkboard to remind myself that I do have goals and that I need to do the work every day even if I'm in a slump to get to those goals. Alright, and then the final thing that I wanted to mention for my summer slump and this is actually comes from a question whenever I did a Facebook Live post in our being boss Facebook group, I usually do Facebook Live posts in our main being boss page in Facebook, but I decided to hit up our Facebook group which now has over 13,000 people in it. So if you're looking to connect with other creatives, that's a great place to do it. But someone in there asked me what I'm doing. Eating right now. So the book is called women who run with the wolves by Clarissa pinkola estas. And it is blowing my mind so far. And it's basically looking at archetype archetypes of the wild woman. And it's telling stories and fairy tales, and then almost breaking down all the symbology of each story into what it means. And I think that symbolism and dream interpretation and stuff like that is really super interesting. So I'm reading that book right now. And it's actually a part of the being boss club house book club. So we have a club house, and you can find that at being boss club slash club house, with just about 200 other creative entrepreneurs. And every month we are discussing a new book before we've read Big Magic.

Kathleen Shannon 10:57
We've read what else essentialism, we've read it quite a few books. And this month, we're reading the women who run with the wolves. And it's been super fascinating so far, anyway. Oh, man, I just totally lost my train of thought. That's the book I'm reading right now. And I feel like summer is a really great time to read a book. So get your Kindle out, download something, read a book. It's a great way to get out of a summer slump. Alright, you all that is all that I have. We will see you next week. Bye.

Emily Thompson 11:38
Hey there web design bosses, Emily here and in case you're unaware my main hustle for the past six years has been as a web designer for creatives who want to start an online business. It's been a fun ride. And I've grown my web design business and D shaped Bob Murphy from scratch from a one woman show trying to make ends meet to a small online agency with a small team making a big impact for our dream clients. I know what you struggle with managing clients making deadlines scope creep. I've worked hard to build a business that is easy to run and that lets me focus on what I'm best at. So if you dream of having systems in place to help you better manage your projects, your clients and your time, I am here to help. Check out my free training videos for web designers at beingboss.club/indie for some insights to help you better manage your web design business so you can get back to doing the work you love. That's beingboss.club/indie I N D I E, I hope to see you there. Did you like this minisode Be sure to check us out on our website at being boss dot club. There you can find more from being boss including our full episodes minisodes and blog posts. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our mailing list so that you can get access to behind the scenes and exclusive content from Kathleen and myself to help you be more boss in your work and life. Do the work be boss