Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 057 – How to plan your FREEDOM
Got plans? Cool! Have you planned your FREEDOM? 🤔
Here’s a little secret: Structure creates freedom. You can’t just wing it if you’re going to achieve your goals without burning yourself out in the process.
In this longer coaching episode we look at 3 ways you can be more strategic about your time, energy and attention and create more freedom in your life, business and money.
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
I’ve got a good one for you today, something that a LOT of people struggle with. Partly because its easily overlooked, partly because its a little on the ho hum side of life and business. Its not the flashy cool stuff!
We’re talking about planning your time and implementing systems and processes to support you being more efficient.
Definitely not in the fun bucket for most people, especially when we’re constantly hearing about how to be more visible, make more content, be everywhere doing everything!
But thats the whole point of it. That kind of energy doesn’t feel like freedom when you really think about it.
I mean, a few days ago I saw a reel on Instagram that was super cool and very entertaining, but the creator of it also shared in the caption that it took him 2 hours and 25 minutes to put it together – record, edit and do all the things. I’m exhausted just thinking about it, that is NOT how I want to spend my time!
We really need to take a step back and think about what does freedom really mean for us? What does it mean to YOU? Because my freedom and your freedom might be vastly different, theres no right or wrongs when it comes to this.
Thats also why it pays to take a step back when you’re considering taking on something new in your business. Is it the latest trend? Facebook have just launched their Twitter-like feature, called Threads.
Will it be like Clubhouse where everyone jumped in and because it was by invite only, very exclusive and loads of FOMO? Time will tell. Clubhouse is still around but it was discarded just as quickly by most people because it was yet another time and attention suck.
And side note, yes I’ve joined Threads! If you want to follow me there I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word.
Time freedom isn’t something that just magically happens.
Its not like you bring on a VA and a few team members to support you and suddenly you’re chilling out on random Tuesdays and Thursdays – while you listen to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast of course!
It doesn’t just happen like that unfortunately. Creating freedom, both in time AND money, requires planning and strategy. The whole ‘design your life’ cliche thing is absolutely true, you have to play an active part in the process.
So THATS what we taking a closer look at today in this longer coaching episode. Which differs slightly from the shorter tip, tool or tactic episodes that come out on Thursdays, thats usually something you can implement immediately without too much thought or effort.
Implementing more structure in order to create more freedom may sound like a paradox for some, structure is all about control and planning, and freedom is about letting loose and rejecting control, right?
Nope. It doesn’t matter if you’re someone who is disciplined and follows a strict schedule, or someone who goes with the flow and trusts your instincts, EVERYONE needs some kind of structure if you’re going to take action and create more freedom in your life.
Structure is a plan for freedom.
I’m a HUGE fan of trusting your instincts and following your intuition, doing what feels right for you – I did a whole episode on this recently.
I consider intuition to be one of our human superpowers, and to be honest I wish people used it a lot more because the world would be a much better place for it.
But we also can’t rely solely on ‘winging it’ and operating purely on intuition. Trust me I’ve tried that, and while its quite liberating to trust my energy in the moment and I’ve achieved some pretty awesome results, its also quite stressful when you’re trying to grow a business.
I’d love to hear if you’re winging it in almost everything you do. Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram – or on Threads – and tell me how you feel about it! I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word.
We’ve got to find a balance between freedom and control, and thats where structure comes in.
You probably already know you could benefit with a bit more structure, but it can be hard to break that cycle and really knuckle down with more structure and discipline.
Today I have a couple of tips for you around using structure to help create more FREEDOM, which is ultimately what we’re all working towards.
1 – Reset your calendar and set it up around your goals and priorities
I love this one so much! I’ve been playing around with my schedule for quite a few years now, and I’m always having breakthroughs about it.
For years I’ve heard the concept of setting up your calendar around your life first, fitting your business in and around everything else in the mythical ‘nooks and crannies’.
Please don’t do that. We all know we can fill a nook or a cranny with scrolling social media, liking other people’s stuff instead of maybe doing a quick video telling people about YOUR offer that gets seen by YOUR ideal clients.
You HAVE to give your business and your goals the respect they deserve.
What I mean by ‘reset your calendar’ is to take a blank weekly calendar template, you’ll find something on the internet in about 5 seconds flat, and have a play around with what your day will look like if you’re prioritising your goals and your freedom first.
Make sure your non-negotiables are on your calendar.
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the analogy of a professor demonstrating priorities and non-negotiables to a class, but it goes something like this –
We all have priorities and non-negotiables in varying sizes, depending on their importance and impact on our lives. It could be time with your kids regardless of their ages – I still love making time to hang out with my boys and they’re in their early 20s!
Your big priorities are like big rocks, then the smaller rocks are slightly less important but still important, and everything varies in size right down to the small grains of sand and ultimately water.
Here we all are trying to fit all these things into our lives, but theres only so much space available, so many hours in a day – much like a jar only has so much space.
If you’re focusing on the small stuff first, the easy wins only, thats like putting all the sand and water into a jar and then wondering why theres no room for the bigger rocks, aka your big important priorities and goals.
If you’re trying to please everyone else and putting your own needs and business on the back burner, you’re only ever going to fit sand and water in that jar.
But when you flip the script and decide to put your priorities and important things first, you’re not only claiming back your time and energy, you’re creating space for freedom as well.
Put the biggest rocks in the jar first. Make a note of whats really important to you and put those on your schedule, in your calendar as your top priority.
Figure out what the next level is and fit those in there as well, your smaller rocks that fit around the bigger ones. The sand is the small stuff that goes in if theres room and if it makes you happy to include those things, and if you really want to you can add some water around everything else.
Keep going with the process until you’ve got your calendar set up the way YOU want and need it to be – with a bit of flexibility, its not overwhelming, and you feel like everything is getting the attention it deserves.
Its not selfish at all to put your own priorities first, in the long run you’re able to serve and help others on a much bigger scale.
Define what your freedom is or looks like, and include it every day. What is your freedom in service to?
For me its my self care, my energy, my creativity. I have to make time for that. Getting control of my calendar then has purpose to it because its in alignment with my highest values.
When I say set it up around your goals, you need to be clear on what your biggest goals are. My biggest goal for the first few years in business was to grow it to a point where I could leave my full time corporate job, it was to have the time and financial freedom to do that.
Obviously I had fixed obligations, places to be at a certain time for work. That was all the motivation I needed to get out of bed at 5am so I could get ready for work, do a coaching call at 6am, out the door by 7:30am, put out a post on social media while I was on the train, and be at my desk by 8:30am.
Now, I don’t get out of bed at 5am anymore because I don’t HAVE to, I’ve structured my calendar to fit my new goals of earning a certain amount per month, and working with a specific number of clients at a time, all while maintaining the level of self care AND freedom I love.
But if you need to wake up at 5am in order to create more time in your day for your business, that becomes your top priority. If you’re a night owl the same thing goes – create the time in the evening for the things you want to achieve.
If your goal is to make more money, you need to be having more conversations with people and making offers. Sharing what you know, and making offers!
Yes, the least popular part of being in business is actually the most important!
We all have to get used to sales and marketing if you’re going to let people know what you do and the results they can get from it. You can do sales calls or sell in messenger, whatever method works best for you.
You have to prioritise the time to have those conversations and make your offers if you’re going to reach your income goal.
If you decide to go through this process I’d LOVE IT if you share a picture of your new freedom focused calendar on social media, and make sure you tag me so I can see it! I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on Facebook, Instagram and now Threads.
2 – Implement processes and systems for EVERYTHING
Systems and processes aren’t just for official things like accounts, or legal things.
No matter how simple or silly it may seem – social media, creating content, business development, sales calls, ALL of those work better if you have a system or a process.
Once you’ve got a process thats working for you, write it down! Create a template for it so you never miss a step and you don’t have to think about it. As your business grows and you add team members it makes your job training them a whole lot easier because you’ve already got your process documented and you don’t have to sit down and thing about it!
Here’s a little something worth making a note of…
Systems liberate you.
Weird, but it makes total sense. When you have systems and processes in place everything becomes easier, your work flows smoothly and you’re not scrambling around trying to remember everything.
I have a system and template for discovery calls, for coaching calls, for podcasts and and speaking events I do.
When I get on a call with my clients, whether its a group call or a private coaching call, I have my notes on one side of the screen or printed out beside me. I’m not winging that! My clients are fully aware that I have notes, its not something I hide and try to pretend I magically know it all.
If I’m going to deliver on the things I promise, you can betcha theres a lot of preparation thats gone into it behind the scenes, and that all starts with systems and processes.
Once you’ve got them in place you’ve magically created a whole lot of time and energy freedom for more of your money making activities, so trust me when I say its totally worth it!
Whats something you know you need to have a clear system for? Make that a priority THIS WEEK and get it done, make a start on it within the next 24 hours.
3 – Set clear boundaries
Boundaries are something we constantly need to work on and upgrade as we grow and develop ourselves.
Having clear boundaries about what you will and won’t tolerate, whats included in your services to your clients, how you communicate with people and how you perform at your best are all critical parts of creating more freedom in your life and business.
I don’t operate well if I don’t get enough sleep, so I have a strong boundary on this. Theres an occasional exception of course, but basically I turn into a pumpkin at 9pm because I know thats my limit if I’m going to be at my best for my family, my clients and for myself the following day.
I’m no good to anyone if I’m tired and lethargic, so I also have clear boundaries on nutrition, alcohol, exercise, social activities and self care.
My question for you on this one is whats at least one area where you can improve your boundaries so you can have more freedom overall?
A quick recap on how to use more structure to create MORE freedom and plan it out:
- Reset your calendar and put the focus on your goals and priorities FIRST. Remember, big rocks in the jar first!
- Implement systems and processes for EVERYTHING
- Set clear boundaries
One of my favourite things is helping people transform their business by implementing simple systems and structure, theres just no need for most of the things you see out there, its all distraction tactics that take your energy and attention away from whats actually important in your business – the value you provide, the enjoyment you and your clients get from it, and making real money to pay your bills!
If you’d like to implement more structure and let go of trying to do ‘all the things’ lets book in a chat about IGNITE, my private business and money coaching program. This is where I help clients to do exactly that – we create more time and money freedom without burning you out in the process.
I have space for a couple of new clients right now, we can get you set up and taking action right away.
Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram, or tag me on Threads, @funbusinessfunmoney.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn and send a message there, just search for Deirdre Amies.
Or you can email hello@deirdreamies.com – you’ll find the links to ALL of those in the show notes and in the description of this and every episode.
Thats what I’ve got for you today, I hope I’ve sparked some ideas for you on where you can bring in more structure to help you create more freedom in your life and business.
Take care, have fun creating more freedom EVERYWHERE, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
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