Ahhh, simplicity—the nirvana that I seek for my business and life :)
And I'll be honest... I can be super-good at making things and my Thing waaaaaaay more complicated than I need it to be if I don't keep them in check. Maybe you do this too?
- Do you feel you need to launch something new all the time?
- When you plan your marketing, are you aiming for every type of media you can think of?
- When you wonder about running a webinar, do you have a LOT of content you could share, but worry about cutting it down to fit in an hour—what DO you leave out? Panic!
- Must you have your website/landing page/video/perfect everything before you share your Thing?
- Do you DO everything in your business—every task and every email?
- Are you always available?
- How often do you repeat yourself when you're working with clients?
- When you do a launch or create a product or write a new presentation or proposal, do you start from scratch every time?
Now, I can be a little smug and say I don't suffer from the above any more (well, mostly!), but these are great examples of where you could be making your business way more complicated that it needs to be and are, therefore, all great opportunities to introduce more simplicity.
Here's what simplifies things
Having systems will simplify your life and this might be as straightforward as a checklist you follow every time you do the same thing—a launch, an event, a client session, a webinar, create a product, write copy, etc.
You also need to get out of perfectionism mode if you want to get sorted on the simple front—good enough is good enough (I am not advocating sloppy work here, just as good as you can get in the time you give it). This is especially important for simplifying when it comes to launches and websites and PowerPoints :)
There is NO NEED to create new content all the time until everyone who needs to hear your Thing has heard your Thing! I often repeat myself when I do a talk or run a webinar. Not word for word, I must add, but I'll make the same points and share the same key ideas (with lots of the same slides!). Because they are my Thing, my Thing evolves and grows organically, but I am not re-inventing it every 5 minutes (that's never going to be simple!).
What stops the simplicity?
Sometimes it's perfectionism that stops simplicity. Sometimes it's that other horror—procrastination. Oh yeah, you know I know you do that :) It's very easy to keep busy in 'prep' mode or in 'repeat' instead of sharing your new stuff and getting it out in the world.
And I am not perfect when it comes to procrastination—truth be told I am quite an accomplished artist when it comes to procrastinating :) But now I catch myself and see it for what it is. I don't need to plan to the nth degree every tiny detail, and in fact the more I keep it simple the better it is. For my events now I don't do a PowerPoint—I just plan out my content and get busy with a flip chart instead. Sure I might have a couple of hand-outs too, but the days I used to spend perfecting my PowerPoint are over... and guess what? I still deliver my Thing just fine.
I am not saying the ditch the tech to keep things simple (although I am very happy now I don't spend hours and hours sorting out slides!). Typically technology makes things much simpler—after all, that's usually why it's created! That said, to keep it simple it's often a very good idea to get someone else to set it all up. Don't stress learning web design when it's not your Thing, don't spend (waste) hours understanding the intricacies of your 'back end' when someone else already knows what to do. Work out what work and processes you want replacing and write a brief... and hand it over! That's how you keep tech simple :)
Make a list now of what you know you can simplify in your business, then start—and if that means handing it to someone else, do it!
Like I say, simply simple (will save you stress!).
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