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Sometimes the reality is you just don’t feel like it…. so how do you make sure you stay motivated even on those down days?

The answer is: it depends on you. We are all different and so have different motivations. Motivation isn’t a thing that just exists, you have to generate it. The key thing to understand is what motivates you… what gets you excited in your business and will keep you going even when you are tired or feeling a bit Meh… Some people listen to music, or do some exercise to wake themselves up. Here are a couple of things that I do.

My key motivator is learning, I am always intrigued to learn something new. I get excited and want to know more… so if I am erring for the side of Netflix I start with something that I know is going to capture my attention. Something new. Something that intrigues me and makes me forget about the box set. That way once I get started I will carry on. Motivation is also partly momentum…. once we get started we keep going… the more we do the more we are motivated to do more. It is often the getting started that is the stumbling block.

For me another is planning. When you are tired or overwhelmed we suffer something that is called decision fatigue. Our brains are done with making decisions… we just don’t want to think anymore. It happens all the time… when you go to the supermarket after a long day and have no idea what to buy for dinner… you spend ages picking things up looking around putting them back.. then just opt for the pizza because it was easy. You don’t want to make a decision.

However, had you decided earlier in the day and made a shopping list, you would have been fine. All you would have had to do would be go to the shops…. and buy the things on the list. No decisions needed. The same works in business. If you plan out what you want to do in advance and time block your days even if you wake up one morning not feeling the best your day is already planned out for you.

You can start with what is on the list, no decisions needed. You don’t have to motivate yourself to decide what to do it was already planned out for you. And again this is where the momentum kicks in… once you start and complete the first task the progress pushes you forward… the drive to move forward is always there you just have to pay attention to your own behaviour and learn the best way to jump start yourself when needed.

Do you know what tasks you could turn to to get you started? Have a think about what you were doing the last time you lost track of time and were completely absorbed in what you were doing. If you can identify what type of tasks appeal to you make a list you can go to next time you are struggling to stay motivated.

However sometime as business owners we just need a rest. We all need a day off to recharge and come back stronger. And that is OK too.

Yes I can. However I am probably not going to. Not yet.

My clients often come to me asking me to teach them how social media actually works. How do I post? How do I make a story? What is the grid? They know they need to do something so want to get started and worry about the technicalities of the app itself.

But that isn’t where you should start. Not unless you already have a strategy.

To quote one of my coaches, Lisa Johnson, marketing without a strategy is basically spraying and praying. Spraying some stuff around… and praying it works!

To use any social media platform effectively you have to know who your audience is. Who are you talking to? What is it they want to see from you?

Then you can work out what you want to post. Taking my cake business as an example, my Instagram is targeted at brides. Because that is where brides are. Facebook, not so much, Facebook is where I get my celebration cake orders from. It is a different audience. So I post different content on the different platforms.

My Instagram grid is like a shop window, it is the first thing someone is likely to see when they find my account. So it is full of pretty pictures of wedding cakes, ready to entice them in or in Insta speak follow my profile.

Now I have them as my audience, what do I do next? I speak to them everyday and remind them I am there through Insta stories. Everyday I can drip feed them the information they need to make them know, like and trust me. I plan out the content, I don’t just guess and randomly post. Everything I put on my feed serves a purpose so that they eventually trust me enough to buy from me.

But what happens then? They ordered the cake, they had the wedding, everything was perfect, what next? The second part of my strategy. In my stories I also post my celebration cakes. Not on my grid only my stories. My couples continue to order their cakes from me. For baby showers, 1st birthdays, Christenings, friends and family birthdays. By using my Instagram strategically I keep them as my clients.

Having a plan means you can capture and keep your clients, maximising your efforts. Only once you have this plan of who you are talking to, and what it is you need to say will I teach you HOW to post!

If you would like to work on your plan get in touch to arrange your free discovery call so we can get you Insta ready too.

A strategy is simply a plan of what you need to do to get where you want to be.

In business your strategy can be broken down into different parts, you might have a strategy for your marketing, for your finances, your business growth.

Normally we start with a yearly overview… top level targets and goals per month. Adding in any events or themes we need to remember as the year goes on. Something where we can quickly see the whole year at a glance and the key things we need to know/do. What we want to achieve and by when.

Then you break it down for the next three months. Working backwards with any goals… what needs to be done and when, to make sure they are done on time. We put in more detail of what needs to be done, not all of it, just enough so we can see how it is going to work. Is it feasible.. do we need to change it?

Then we break it down some more… into a plan for the month coming up… we add more detail. We focus on when things need to be done, and who is going to do them.

It continues, at the beginning of each week you check the plan to see what needs to be done and you plan out what you need to do each day… adding more and more of the details of the what, when, who and how. Until you are sitting at your desk with your daily to do list… that all started with a yearly top level overview.

When you break it down like this into smaller steps it isn’t so daunting. It helps you see the bigger picture first and then break it down into actionable steps as you go through the months, weeks and days.

Knowing what you are doing when, helps remove the overwhelm, when you get up each day you know what you have to do. It is all there for you, written out in the plan. So when are you going to get started and write your strategy?

If you like the idea but think you might need some help then get in touch to book your free consultation and we can see how best to get you started.