What to do if you haven’t gotten done what you intended (yet)

I find myself having the same conversation with many business owners lately.

It goes something like this, “Stella, I haven’t ___.” Typically, the Not Doing Of The Thing You Intended to Do was triggered by some surprise, life event, or other priority.

It looks something like this:

“I haven’t gotten my newsletter and blog habit going like I intended. I started writing, and it took longer than I thought. I still haven’t sent the first one.”

“I haven’t been coming to the Q&A calls with you to ask you questions about my writing project. Summer was bananas and my feet didn’t touch the ground.”

Maybe you find yourself in a similar boat. There’s something that you fully intended to get done by now, but for whatever reason, it hasn’t happened.

Look, I’m right there with you. I haven’t been running or exercising with any regularity all summer. Which was fine, because, you know, it was summer. And that ice cream wasn’t going to eat itself. And I was walking everywhere. And I took a lot of road trips. And I had fun.

But it’s fall now. And although I started running again, I stopped three weeks ago when I felt a tickle in my throat and the weather shifting. “Health Excuse,” I told myself. (I reverted to restorative yoga, biking, and walks in the forest).

So, my dear, it’s time we take stock of what’s not getting done, and we go do it. I’m right there with you.

Step 1 – Admit you want it. Whatever the thing is you intended to do, but haven’t done yet… admit you want it. For me, I want to run because I want to be fit and strong and have plenty of energy. Why is your undone project important to you? What will it give you?

Step 2 – Let yourself off the hook.  Let go of the story you have about why you haven’t done the thing yet. For me, I haven’t run regularly because I’ve been on summer time and then was worried that too much pushing would get me sick. Let those reasons, excuses, and stories go.

Step 3 – Recommit. Devote yourself. Marry your project. Say “I want this”… and let the resulting energy and passion course through your veins.

Step 4 – Tell yourself an extraordinary story. When I recommit to a running habit (I’ve been running since high school), I think of all the races I’ve run and all the running partners who kept me going over the years. I conjure up the faces of the people I’ve dedicated my runs to over the years (my teaching partner in college who was killed, my neighbor’s baby who was in NICU a few weeks ago, my grandma) and call upon them to bless and fertilize my tender fresh commitment.

Populate the bleachers of your imagination of the people to whom you dedicate your work, and you may just find fuel reserves you’ve never used before.

Maybe you think of your teachers, mentors, and the people who are rooting for you (please count me among that group). Or maybe you call upon the strangers in your audience who will benefit from your lessons and your work, before they even meet you. Maybe you want your kids to see an adult who is joyfully doing the work she is called to do. Whatever your reasons, use them.  Make it about more than you.

Step 5 – Do it. You’re smart. You’ve got your methods of getting things done, whether it’s to schedule time in your calendar or rope in a buddy or set a deadline. The only thing I suggest here is to take the fun road. How can you enjoy the doing more? What would make it fun for you? 

Whatever project that you rededicate yourself to this fall – remember, many projects have their own time frame. If you’ve had a writing or marketing project stall, there is a good chance it wasn’t procrastination or failure on your part. It may very well be that there were things you needed to learn or more time that needed to pass before that project was ready.

Now, go get it done. I’ll see you out there.

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Ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work? The first step is to join me for my Craft Your Message lab, a 4-week class where I will show you how to create a moneymaking message for your business. First class is October 14, 2015 from 1-2:15 pm EST. This lab is regularly $200, but it’s your free this fall (I’m auditioning as your writing teacher and my sneaky plan is if you like this course, you’ll want to take more classes with me. Or not. Like I said, sneaky.) To sign up, got to https://stellaorange.com/9more/ — you will also get my new Writing Guide, too.

Mighty thanks to Marlies’s Flickr photstream for the image