Lessons Learned in Year One Pt.2
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Lessons Learned in Year One Pt. 2
Automate savings and investments when possible
I don’t know about you but I can’t for the life of me save a dime if I have to put it in my savings myself. Maybe it’s the “pain” of putting it away or the temptation to spend that money instead, but putting away money, albeit for my own good, is tough. But I can’t NOT have anything in the case of an emergency! So I decided to automate my savings and investments so I didn’t have to. Depending on the app, you can either set it to a specific amount, round-ups from your change, or just random numbers you might not even notice. And so far so good! My savings have come through for me in a time of need and I’m really thankful that I set that up to start working as a safety net even from the beginning.
Plan for the week, game plan for the day
I used to put so much pressure on my daily to-do list and would get so upset with myself if I didn’t complete all my tasks. I would take it to heart and let it spiral into a negative narrative in my own head of how I didn’t perform enough or how I didn’t “crush” it that day and it would really upset me. I learned this all the hard way when I started noticing the bags under my eyes and my perpetually-grumpy attitude. Then it clicked - I was doing it to myself. I was setting myself up for failure thinking that I needed to hit a certain number of tasks per day - which, don’t get me wrong, is still a great recipe for success, but it’s not sustainable for the long run. So now I switched and blurred the lines a little bit. I give myself a weekly to-do list and a daily priority list instead. This gives me flexibility and enables me to tackle bigger things during the week instead of pigeon-holing myself to my precious 24 hours.
Get into a nightly routine
Just like your morning routine, a nightly routine will be different for everybody. It can look like putting the clothes you’re going to wear the next day, or meal-prepping your lunch, or both! It can be anything you want it to be but the key is to note that this process is supposed to help you set you up for success the next day. For me it’s putting down my priority list for the next day. This helps alleviate any anxiety and stress figuring out what I need to do the following morning.
Never stop learning
There’s always room to grow especially in business. I immersed myself in so many books, podcasts, talks - anything that was remotely interesting to me, I learned a little bit about. I think when you’re first starting out it’s really easy to get overwhelmed with all the do’s and don’ts. At the end of the day, what works for someone else won’t really fit you to a tee, so you have to go and figure out what does! The key here is to realize that none of us, and I mean none of us, know exactly what we’re doing but it’s our job to figure out how in our own unique way.
Imposter syndrome is real, but you don’t have to take sh*t from it
It seems like no matter how far along you are in your career (or personal projects), we all at some point deal with imposter syndrome. It’s part of human nature. But that doesn’t mean we need to just sit here and take it either! Every time you practice your craft and move your project along is a vote of confidence to help get you to the next step.
I hope you found some value in these posts and I’d love to know how you survived your first year of business! Also, I’d love to know what other questions you guys might have. Looking forward to your responses below and cheers to the new year!