Creative Mornings Talk #Liminal

When we find ourselves in transition between projects, ideas, or phases of life, often we can end up occupying the liminal space for much longer than we’d like.

This space is usually characterized by low energy, ineffective working patterns, increased stress, and unhealthy behaviors. In our attempt to remove ourselves from the discomfort of this emotional space, we turn to problem solving to try and figure out how to move forward, but this rarely helps us make the transition from what has been to what will be. In this talk I explore why it’s so important to get comfortable with the unknown, and use transition periods as an opportunity to look inward and get curious about how we may have changed so that we can move forward with purpose. As additional material from this talk, please download the Liminal Worksheet to help you work through your own transitions.

Why Having a Baby Was The Best Thing I Did For My Business

I always knew I wanted kids and I spent the majority of my 20s worrying about how it would impact my career. I worked really hard, in part so that I could secure a position where I felt I was able to take maternity leave and not fall too far behind, and have the life-work balance that so many of us dream of.

I had always focused a lot on how a baby could negatively impact my career, so I never imagined that having a baby would be such a good thing for my business and for me as a solo business owner.

I preface this by making it clear that at no point has it been easy (that’s a different conversation)!

Here’s why having a baby was the best thing I did for my business:

Improved my Time Management

Doing anything with a newborn is basically like using the Pomodorro method. Whether it’s having a shower, working, or reading a chapter of your favourite book. You have very short amounts of time to get things done so you have to be intentional about what you do with that time. There was no time for scrolling my feed or naval-gazing. I had to decide what I was going to do and how exactly I was going to do it in advance so when I did have the time I used it to my advantage.

Accelerated my Decision Making

We all have those moments in our business when we don’t know how to move forward. Should we outsource the work to someone? Should we try and learn ourselves? I didn’t have time to waste wondering which path to take so made faster decisions on how to keep the momentum in my business. I invested in areas I could not do myself and cut tasks and projects I knew were not essential.

Expanded my Network

Building your network is one of the easiest things you can do during your maternity leave. You meet people from different industries and walks of life than your own because you have something new in common: a baby. Networking happens at the park, at baby groups and wherever mums are getting together. I started a Mom-Mastermind group for members of the Women Entrepreneurs Munich group so that we could share our business ideas and challenges whilst our kids were in the pram sleeping. My network increased 3 fold this year just because I had a baby.

Invested Time in my Development

When I wasn’t talking to others about business I was developing myself, reading books and listening to podcasts. It can be a challenge as an Entrepreneur to carve out time for professional development, so this was a real treat facilitated by hours of walks I wouldn’t usually have gone on, and days of endless breastfeeding.

Let Go of Perfectionism

It is absolutely impossible to do everything at the standard you used to before you had kids, or you end up either burnt out or not doing anything at all. I had to let go of perfectionism because it led me to ruminating over ideas and wasting so much of the little time I had. I had no choice other than to let go of it if I was going to make any progress at all. When I did, so much opened up to me. I began asking for help and coming up with loads of ideas to problems I’d been stuck on for a long time.

Check out my blog post “10 Ways to Rebel Against Perfectionism” for inspiration.

Realised the Value of my Services

Time is money, yes we know, but we only really appreciate it when our time is actually limited. I had been underselling myself for too long. When it came to working during my maternity leave it had to be worth the effort to take time away from my family, so i finally started getting serious about what my time was worth.

How has having a child positively impacted your business?

Purpose Project Co-working Sessions

Are you working on a project you’re super excited about, but struggling to carve out time to focus on it?

Do you get to the end of a busy day and lack the motivation to continue working even though the work is important to you?

I totally understand your struggle!

I was on ‘maternity leave’ all of 2020 and during that time I was running my coaching business in the few hours I had between looking after my newborn and managing the household. There were so many evenings where all I wanted to do was curl up on the sofa and watch Netflix. And no one would have known except for me!

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely watched my fair share of Netflix, but I also made sure I carved out time at least once per week to focus purely on my business. This time was sacred, and it has helped me to achieve so many of my goals, in far fewer hours than I could have imagined.

So many of the women I coach are working on inspiring projects and struggling to find the time to focus on them, so I figured we could mutually support each other in our endeavours and hold each other accountable by doing them together.

Say hello to….

Purpose Project Co-Working Sessions

Free virtual co-working sessions for creative women, entrepreneurs and change makers who are striving to launch and lead projects of purpose in their spare time.

When?
Thursdays evenings from 7-9pm CET starting 11th March (and fortnightly after that)

What is a purpose project?
Something you’re doing that gives you purpose in life, be it writing a book, launching a business, creating a cultural movement, painting, designing, making, re-training…you name it!

What will we do?
In this session we’ll meet virtually on Zoom, and after a short intro we’ll work on our own tasks for 25 minutes (cameras and mics off). Then we’ll have a short 5 minute break where we chat or do an activity. We repeat this another 3 times.

How do I sign up?
You’re ready to invest time in your purpose project? YAY!!!!! To save your seat click the big red button 🙂

Past Co-Working Sessions

What Others Say

That was such a lovely group!
Rebecca Rönty, Translator DE>EN

Hostess with the mostest! Thank you for that super productive session. I have now finished the course plan with my milestone dates 💪🏼 A huge well done to you for hosting such a great co-working event 👏 Looking forward to the next one 💛
Jess McCulloch, Marketing Specialist

Thanks for tonight! I got the webpage done in the time we did the sessions!
Laura Keung, Brand Designer