Truthy Tuesday oh how I’ve missed thee!
It’s been three months since my last Truthy Tuesday post and boy have a lot of things happened since then! I’ve been debating about writing this for some time now, but never felt like it would come across the way I wanted to… While considering the topics I had lined up for my next few Truthys, I had this nagging feeling that I couldn’t shake and realized it was because I needed to write this.
This year has been an amazing one! Full of new adventures, new opportunities, new people, new responsibilities… and realizations that I have allowed my bad habits to flourish for way too long. Owning my own business has unfortunately made it very easy for these to continue unchecked without discipline.
What do I mean? For one, I am horribly disorganized. I like to think that I have a bit of order, but honestly my “order” consists of several notebooks and ongoing to-do lists… which is probably not the best way to go about things when you’re responsible for so much. I am a chronic procrastinator & perfectionist… which leads to a lot of wasted time and missed opportunities because things aren’t “perfect”. Nothing is going to be perfect, but that sure hasn’t stopped me from trying and driving myself crazy in the process!
And one of the results of that? I am horrible at replying to emails. Depending on how you catch me, you may get a response in as little as 3 minutes, other times it may not be for another few days… There are only but so many times you can write “please forgive me for the delay” before realizing something needs to change. Responding to comments on my blog and social media? Even worse :(
It’s crazy how you can be comfortable operating in a space of disorder and chaos simply because it is familiar and be fearful of change (even for the better) because it’s different and unknown. I think that’s where I’ve found myself. I feel like I’m laying myself bare saying all this… I know none of these are problems unique to me, but I do feel like they are some of my “hidden secrets”.
I talk heavily about the importance of consistency, yet I struggle with the very same thing. My photography may be consistent, but how long does it take you to receive a response to your email from me? There are always improvements to be made and my goal is to be better.
As artists, we can be sensitive, so we’re affected by life happenings, the feelings of others, and just our own emotional makeup, but as business-owners, there is no time for that! Learning how to balance the two when you answer to yourself is not easy because being a professional means “going to work” even when you don’t want to.
I guess I say all this for 2 reasons: One, I know things need to change and I am on the quest to do so… endeavoring to take practical steps to improve my self-discipline and become more balanced. I do also want to say thank you to my clients for hanging in there with me despite my inefficiency! I’ve shared my struggle, so now I have accountability. Two, I wanted to share that things aren’t always what they seem. The fact that I hear from others that I inspire them is humbling because I still (and will always) have a lot of things to work on. Sometimes I feel like you can look at somebody and wonder “how do they keep it all together?” Well I don’t have it all together lol. And when I look at someone who does seem to have it all together, I ask! There is always room to grow and learning from others is a great way to do that.
I want to get better at being a more efficient business-owner, but I don’t have all the answers and I’m okay with that. We don’t operate in life by ourselves so gaining help from others is a much-needed part of the process. I will share any helpful resources I come across in my quest for efficiency and hopefully can help others along the way as well. And please, if you have any books, tips, suggestions that have helped you, please share them in the comments (that I will reply to lol)!
P.S. For those interested in my shirt, you can find it here!
‘Till next time,
-Danni