If you’re like most of the creatives I know, you’re probably overthinking a LOT on the business side of things. When you’re doing the work you love, be it making a new design, writing another chapter, or working with your clients, no problem.
It’s all FLOW.
But when it comes to doing some task on your marketing list, you find yourself overthinking the whole thing to death.
Analysis paralysis comes on strong, and before you know it you’ve been thinking about that “great idea” for months!
Yikes.
The best cure I know for analysis paralysis, overthinking, or any other form of procrastination is to push yourself into action RIGHT NOW.
Here’s what I mean.
You’ve been thinking about doing something ____________ (insert your idea here) forever, and you just can’t quite seem to move out of the planning stage and into the action stage. You might find you’re getting stuck on one little detail.
Say for instance you want to host an in-person workshop to connect with local folks. You know more or less what you want to say, you can imagine how fun it will be to get people together in person, you’re even excited about some of the little details like what you’ll serve to your guests, but you find yourself continually coming back to a question like “but where will I host it?”
And just like that your idea comes to a screeching halt.
All of the wind is out of your sails and you’re just completely stuck.
You can’t seem to be able to answer that question for the life of you…so you put the whole thing on the back burner, and go back to whatever else is on your list.
But the idea comes up to you again and again, and every time, you get stuck on some question you can’t quite seem to answer so, once again, it goes to the bottom of the list.
Enough Already.
If you’re in that space, it’s time to get out of overthinking mode and into action. You’ve gotta get in the game!
It’s time for a sprint. A challenge. A leap.
It doesn’t really matter what you call it, but it’s time to light a fire and just do the dang thing. Because action will lead to learning, and you’ll have more information for the next time.
When I hear my clients using delay tactics over and over, I’ll usually challenge them to make a drastic move. If they say “I’ll announce my new offer to my audience next week” I might challenge them to post about it that night. Or if they’re planning a show for 3 months from now, I’ll challenge them to do a pop-up show in 2 weeks.
Usually they squirm and protest and freak out a little bit…but when they do it they’re SO glad they stopped spinning their wheels and got into action.
So, my challenge for you is along those same lines.
How can you make a bold move in the next two weeks?
We’re not talking about perfection or something huge…we’re just talking about making progress on the thing you’ve been putting off.
A few things to consider:
Be visible. I’d challenge you to NOT do something like update your website or lay out your sales strategy for the next quarter. Instead, a leap should be something that is outward facing. Email someone you’d like to work with. Post about a workshop you’re going to host on social media. Do something that gets you out of hiding and helps you be more visible.
Be quick. Don’t start working on the outline for the entire video course you’re going to create. Instead, record one video and share it within a day or two. Don’t plan a workshop that will take place 3 months from now, but instead announce a mini-workshop you’ll host in two weeks. Don’t wait to finish your entire collection/line of products, instead get one new thing out there to the world next week.
Be curious. There’s a certain amount of curiosity you need to bring into a leap. Instead of thinking “But I want to showcase something bigger” or “What if they don’t like me?” or whatever your inner critic has to say about this, it’s a good sign that you need to tap into some curiosity instead. “What will I learn? I wonder how this will go? I’m not sure, but I’m eager to find out! Let’s just see what happens!”
This challenge should make your palms sweat just a little bit. It should feel kind of uncomfortable. If it doesn’t feel that way, it’s probably not big enough.
This is a concept that has been shared by many because it’s so good. Folks like Seth Godin, Jen Sincero, Tara Mohr, and Eric Ries all talk about this concept in some form, because we get so much more clarity and information when we take action.
So even if you don’t believe me, trust them and know that it’s probably about time for you to take a leap!
Are you ready? Want a little help? Sign up for the Action Challenge today. It’s free, and the only thing you have to bring is yourself!
“What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan.”