Managing a small business in isolation
How I spent 2021 as an introverted business woman
I’m an introvert and proud of it!
Having my wanderings cut back because of the pandemic in the
past couple of years has both saved me money – less spending on fuel, which can
be costly when you live in a rural or regional area, and also a saving on
accommodation, food and random shopping – and it has also saved my sanity a
little bit.
As an introvert I sometimes get overwhelmed at large gatherings
and need time to decompress. These past months of cancelled conferences and curtailed
activities has given me time to take a much-needed breath.
Since I started my business nearly 10 years ago, I have been
on the go almost constantly. If I haven’t been travelling and attending courses
to increase my skills and knowledge, I’ve been travelling to present workshops
or consult with clients. Taking some of that action off the table has been wonderful
for me – sorry everyone!
But I’m just about over it now and ready to re-enter the
world.
Despite having some of my activities reined back, I spent a
busy 2021 providing workshops both face to face and online, attended a number of
great networking events and took much of my mentoring and coaching sessions
online on Zoom, which gives me more flexibility with the location of my clients.
My husband, David, and I bought a small caravan, so we could
travel with the Helpful Dog, so I had a wonderful end of year being chauffeured
to various regional locations to talk about one of my favourite subjects –
Networking – as a guest speaker to Women in Business Regional Network events.
This was an amazing opportunity to meet many rural women who are forging ahead
with their own businesses and using the networking for support and advice.
If you live in rural or regional South Australia and are
keen to know more about the network, I’d highly recommend attending an event
near you – go to their website: www.wibnetwork.com.au
I have been working on an online course which will help with
our self care – so important in these current strange times.
Some of my top tips to help manage stress and anxiety
right now include managing my time and making sure I have set aside some of it
just for me.
I am a planner tragic - always
seeking the next shiny object! And I have spent the past week working out the
best combination of planning systems which will work for me this year.
I was gifted the Legend Planner which
has monthly and quarterly goals and which I spent New Year’s Day setting up
with Big Picture goals, dreams and vision. I have a 'Mindful Planner' to keep
myself grounded and mentally healthy and will continue with my Bullet-style
work planning book, plus Claire Mitchell's Awesome Marketing Planner for my
marketing and business planning, as well as my A4 page-to-a-day diary which
holds any necessary paperwork filed under the days when I will need it (ie
blood test paperwork).
I'll also continue with my daily
gratitude book and daily personal journal.
Looks like fun for me! I love
journals, planners, diaries - and I'll also take my appointments and some of my
critical tasks online to coordinate with my Google calendar!
If you’re not a mad journal keeper
like me, then here are some of my top tips to help with your self care:
Refresh Your Focus:
o Unplug completely every now and then and have a
social media free day
o Spend time in nature – take a walk, sit in a park,
have a picnic
o Take a nap – we’re never too young or too old for
this
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