Creating Momentum in Your Business

Entrepreneurship can be really challenging, especially when you’re neurodivergent. We’re responsible for our own energy and ensuring that the long to-do list we make for ourselves gets done each day or week.

But long to-do lists don’t work for our ADHD brains. In fact, they probably hinder our progress.

Instead, we need little hacks to create momentum in our business, even when (especially when) we’re just not feeling it right now. I’ve had many of those moments where my toddler brain threw a tantrum instead of getting the work done. So I’ve had to get creative on how I regroup and keep moving forward.

And sometimes, a little bit of accountability doesn’t hurt either.

Listen in this week as I share six ways you can create more momentum in your business if you’re feeling stuck right now. More momentum in business usually means feeling better in life too. Who doesn’t want that!?

Links & Resources:

• Join the Inner Circle membership

Time Stamps:

[0:44] – Having the most productive day, week, or season? Or not?
[1:50] – Creating momentum is so underutilized in entrepreneurship
[2:33] – My brain is like a toddler
[3:55] – Have a realistic to-do list
[6:37] – It’s time to get organized
[8:35] – Have a plan
[10:30] – Be aware of momentum blockers
[11:04] – If you’re going through hard things, give yourself a break
[12:20] – Hormones will impact your energy and productivity
[13:19] – Every time you task switch, you lose momentum
[14:03] – Don’t skip your eating schedule
[15:06] – Have a morning routine
[18:18] – Each day is a fresh start
[22:33] – What little momentum maker will you do today
[22:28] – Get more support for yourself

Transcription:

Amber Hawley 0:01
Business owners are increasingly being pulled in so many directions, feeling like they aren’t reaching their full potential in business and life despite their type aways. With my background as a therapist, entrepreneur, and as a.com dropout with ADHD, I interview and coach high achieving business owners like you who want to stop struggling for success by using psychological systems, strategies, and the occasional care for entation. This is the easily distracted entrepreneur, your place to slay, overwhelm perfectionism and shiny object syndrome so that you can get done what matters most to you.

Amber Hawley 0:39
Hello, hello. Do you ever find yourself thinking, wow, I just had like the most productive day or a week or sometimes it’s even a season and then it can feel like also the opposite. That you kind of look back and reflect and think, man, like, it’s been, it’s been a real struggle hard to get things done. I’m sure you have, I don’t think you can be an entrepreneurship and never have this experience, right? And it’s something that, like I sit and obsess over, because I’m like, Okay, what are all the things that are happening right now, that are impacting my ability to get shit done to be consistent, to have the business and life I want really, then so you know, I take a look at that stuff. And then I tried to adjust sometimes, you know, easier than others. But I have found that there are certain things that when I’m doing them, or I put them into place, it creates a lot of momentum for myself, and then things just feel easier. So I call them momentum makers. And I think creating momentum is so underutilized in entrepreneurship, there’s kind of this idea of, like, we’re all just going to be, you know, compliant adults who just do exactly what we’re supposed to do, which, you know, hey, that would be great. But sometimes we ain’t failing it. So it, you know, I think what can be helpful is using momentum, because it makes things feel more useful. And sometimes it makes getting things done feel possible at all. When you’re neurodivergent, often it can feel like your brain is working against you. I think sometimes my brain is like a toddler, I can tell it exactly what I want to do, I can know that it’s important and want to get it done. But then it’s up to my brain if it’s going to cooperate or not. So there are just those times where I’m like, Yeah, this needs to be done. This is really important. And it’s like time critical. And sometimes I’m like, yeah, it’s not gonna happen today, my brain says, Now, my brain is throwing a tantrum. And, you know, I just got to, I got to do what I got to do to get through the day, which you can imagine isn’t super helpful when you’re trying to get shit done. So in that reflection process, and kind of paying attention to what’s helping me with momentum, and kind of what’s getting in my way, I’ve come up with six things that I think can be really helpful for creating momentum in your work structure and day. So here are my six momentum makers as a way to shift the likelihood of getting things done consistently without struggle, stalling or stress. Who can beat that? So number one, number one is have a realistic to do list.

Amber Hawley 4:00
Ah, people hate this one. And I think what makes it hard is that it’s hard for us to take the space out of our busy days, especially if we’re feeling overwhelmed, and we’re feeling like life is you know, at going at a hectic pace, it can be hard to take that step back and really prioritize like what really is most important, and sometimes people don’t have a lot of clarity around that. Right. And so having a realistic to do list, though, is one of the most important things to me and just creating that momentum, talked about it on other episodes. I think the one I talked about the one thing and that’s like the quarterly workshops that I do in my membership, we try to identify your one thing and try to really break it down so that you don’t create this overwhelming daily to do list that isn’t realistic, and you’re not going to do anyway. So having that one thing that’s most important for the day is far better than having a list of 10 things that you say, oh, I need to get these 10 things done today. And if you get seven of those things done, you end up feeling like shit. And that, you know, that brings you down, and then the next day, it just feels like, Oh, now I have to add, those three things I didn’t get done today, and it just keeps piling on and piling on until you’re completely overwhelmed. Which conversely, if you had three things, at the most, I say one thing, but you know, sometimes there’s little tasky little things that you have to do. If you had three things on that to do list that, you know, you would feel great. At the end of the day, if you accomplished those three things. And you actually get those three things done, you feel great, you feel accomplished, you feel successful, you have energy, you’re not stressed out, you’re not, you know, sitting there dwelling on it. So when you’re done with your workday, you can actually be present in you know, your the rest of your life, your personal life, right. And so in the other way, you might get seven things done, but you’re pretty miserable and stressed out and overwhelmed. Or you can get three things done and feel fantastic. So having a realistic to do list to me as one of the most important things. And what kind of goes along with that, though, can be my number two, which is get organized. And I know that’s pretty big and vague. But being organized, I think varies from person to person, kind of what that means to you. But I do think like having a organized workspace, or having some like not sitting there living and looking at clutter all the time, that impacts your energy, right. And all of these things that to create met momentum, we want to, we’re trying to be mindful of how we’re impacting our energy. And so I think there is a lot of value. And sometimes it can feel like, Oh, I’m procrastinating, I’m cleaning my desk or whatever. But I do think that there’s a lot of value in that. So sometimes if you are feeling stuck, and you’re feeling kind of in that overwhelm space, just cleaning up your physical space around you now, don’t go organize your whole house, right? It’s not going to be helpful. But the place where you’re working, the space that you’re in, getting that physically organized can be really, really helpful. And I find like I, you know, I had I had somebody locally who was helping me and staying organized and on top of things. And, you know, the year kind of went on, and I have this pile of paperwork sitting there staring at me, if I look over to the left here. And I knew ultimately, if I address that pile, I actually will have more momentum and more flow in my work days. But, but I had to kind of say, Okay, well, but I have some critical things that need to be done. So they have to be done first. But my actual, like workspace that’s immediately around me, is very organized, and supports me in feeling like I can get things done. The third thing is have a plan. I know this is all rocket science, right? If you’re only looking at, okay, what am I going to do today? And you know, I really advocate not making that decision, the morning of, or the day of, I think figuring out ahead of time is really important because then you’re less likely to, you know, kind of cop out on yourself or just choose the easy fun things. But having a plan as part of that, like you have to understand how can you prioritize if you have no idea, like what your goal is, what what you’re wanting to accomplish, what you want your life to look like what you want your business to look like. So having a plan is really important. And again, it can be hard to take time to create a plan or get organized when you’re feeling all this pressure and you’re feeling behind. But I do think that even giving yourself like half day or a full day for each of those things can be so transformative, and creating that momentum, that it’s absolutely worth it. Because I think we really minimize that impact of being constantly stressed and drained. Because we’re working at a slower pace. We’re not as effective, we’re inconsistent. It really does impact us. And so sometimes we can look and say, Oh, how could I possibly give five hours or something and maybe it doesn’t even take that long? Right, but how could I give three hours even? Yeah, I don’t have time for that. We don’t make time. And I think it’s really, really important. In fact, just thinking about it, my quarterly workshop was three hours, and we got a lot of things done, and people got a lot of clarity out of it. And, you know, the feedback was it did help them refocus, and like, Okay, what is what’s going to be the big thing I need to accomplish in this next quarter. The other thing number four, is be aware of momentum blockers. So that can be you know, if you’re having resistance in doing something, like if you’re not really wanting to do it, you’re afraid to do it, you’re don’t really know how you don’t know what the first step is, if you’re in that kind of space, you’re always going to be putting that stuff off and doing other things and not actually focusing on the one thing you’re supposed to do for the day. So be aware of that. Also, if you’re going through hard things, like sometimes we need to just give ourselves a break, and really understand that we have a lot of stuff going on. And so again, even you have to be more diligent, like ruthlessly prioritize what really is important. So paying attention to that, because there’s going to be things that impact your energy, right. And some things are one offs, it’s just like a bad day. And sometimes you just gotta acknowledge that and have a bad day and move on. Or sometimes it’s something chronic, that you’re going through, or something extended that you’re going through. And so you know, pay attention to that pay attention to the things that drain your energy. I mean, that could be types of work. It could be certain clients, it could be people in your personal life, friends, family, you know, it could be your health, there’s all kinds of things that can impact your momentum and energy. And so paying attention, like, instead of just beating yourself up, get curious, ask yourself, Okay, I wonder what’s going on here, instead of just like, oh, there’s something wrong with me, I can’t get anything done. And you know, yada, yada, yada. So, I know one thing that I think I’ve talked about before, a big one that’s really impacted my energy, you know, beyond the pandemic, oh, just that is a hormones, like having this hormonal shift in my time of life that I’m in is awful.

Amber Hawley 12:34
And it has made things a struggle. And so I needed to prioritize actually addressing that stuff, in order to actually create that space and energy so that I could get momentum in my business, again, other momentum blockers can be not working out your ideal time of day. So trying to force yourself to do things, you know, when you’re exhausted, or depleted at the end of the day. Or for some of you, if that would be doing it in the morning in your brain hasn’t come on board yet. So figuring out when energetically, the best time of day to do certain tasks is really important. Also link grouping together, like tasks, so that you’re not task switching, because every time we task switch, we lose momentum, it costs us time, and it also impacts our energy. So you know, if you’re, you’re having a day of seeing clients, and then you expect yourself to do some writing, for a lot of people, they’re unable to switch those kinds of doing those kinds of activities, like back and forth, because they, they need some kind of time to kind of get into the groove of it. So being really mindful about how you structure your schedule. And another thing that can really impact your momentum is not eating. Which, you know, this is the thing with ADHD, we genuinely do forget to eat sometimes, like we get so into the groove of things, or we’ve overscheduled ourselves, or, you know, just not planned ahead. So you know, we’re extra exhausted and you know, that’s going to impact your momentum. So even just handling the basics, of course, getting rest is important. Prioritizing rest might be an excellent way to keep momentum going and to keep you on track, but also eating so managing your blood sugar, making sure that you’re having those little breaks because when you give yourself those breaks, you actually have the energy to keep going. So it’s that paradox of of taking breaks to get more done. So those are a couple of practical Other things that do impact our momentum. Number five is a morning routine.

Amber Hawley 15:10
I know I’ve talked about this before, I am never going to advocate like this, you know, you have to get up at 4am. And you have to do these six things. And, you know, like, you have to accomplish more in the morning before people wake up, then, you know, everybody accomplishes all day, right? None of that rhetoric. Fucking bro bullshit. Like, I don’t subscribe to that. What I am talking about, though, because and by the way, if you’re somebody, I have friends that like wake up at 4am. And they do get shit done. Because that’s their, that’s their their energy flow. That’s, that’s the things that work for them. That’s their energetic time of day. So it’s I’m not just saying anybody who does that is, you know, like, I’m saying, but I’m just acknowledging like, it doesn’t have to be that way. You have to go with your own body clock, your own energy schedule, right. And so just it could be that you sleep in until nine o’clock or 10 o’clock every day. But what are the things that you’re doing once you get up, to set yourself up for being having energy and being into that getting into getting some momentum going? Right. So I think that the first things we do, do have an impact on us. You know, I can remember going through a period of time where I would get up. I think this was for sure. During the pandemic, I would get up and I would watch like Real Housewives, have coffee and eat breakfast or whatever. And let me tell you, it just made me a little I mean, I loved it. I got my drama in the morning, it was wonderful. With my coffee, two things, I love my TV drama, that’s the only place I like it. But it it did impact my energy, I didn’t feel like, rejuvenated, I kind of I don’t know, there’s kind of even just feeling a little lethargic, like, okay, now I gotta go into my day, you know, so sometimes I do things because I’m like, I’m going to ease into my day, I’m going to do something that’s fun for myself. But when I really started looking at it, it wasn’t actually serving me the way that I thought it was. So again, I know people that start their day with, with TV. In fact, I just talked to somebody about that this week. And, you know, it’s not about saying you can’t do that, it’s about you paying attention to your own energy and how the things that you do in the morning, make you feel. And so for me, I can see a distinct difference in when I get up and just like, go on a walk or take care of myself and do whatever I need to do. And start the day, I have a lot more energy and momentum in that day when I when I do certain kinds of things. So I want you to experiment with that kind of pay attention. And notice, like certain things might drain you certain things, give you energy and try to incorporate that into your morning routine. And the last thing I’m gonna say is, number six is remember that each day is a fresh start. Because it is and you know, I know, just as well as all of you out there, you listening, I know you’ve had some hard days, maybe even hard few months, I feel it feels like everyone in some, in certain ways, has had a rough couple of years I think we all have collectively. And it can be easy to think, Oh, this is my new normal. And I just like I just I’m going to be overwhelmed and nothing’s going to change and I can’t have any impact. And the truth is you have a lot of ability to impact your energy, your momentum, things that are happening. Sometimes we have to just recognize, okay, I’m telling myself this story. And it’s, it can be the self fulfilling prophecy. Or it can be this thing that’s really keeping you stuck and draining your energy. And sometimes we just, it’s the mindset piece, we need to shift our story we need to say, okay, that’s what was happening. I’m now choosing this, right? It’s not about it being like a miracle, snap your fingers and everything changes. You know, some things take time to change, but we can change our minds in a moment. And so we have the ability to say, Okay, that was yesterday. Today, I get to do it different, right? Because we’re human beings, we’re not robots. So even that morning thing, you know, there might be a day where I’m like, Yeah, screw it. I’m going to watch Real Housewives or whatever shows on it. do that I can make that choice, I get to make that choice. But then if I keep choosing that I already know where that’s going to lead me, right. So just remembering that that you do have a huge impact every single day, you can make a different choice, and you can start shifting things. And I noticed for myself, it’s those small things that seem to set me up for success. And then I go through these periods where I have a lot of momentum and flow. So start with one small change or shift and start building momentum. And with momentum, the more that you reinforce what you do around these shifts, the more powerful the momentum will be, and the more sustainable it will be. So the you know, going on a walk in the morning, I absolutely see the difference, when I get up straightaway, just get, you know, put on my workout clothes and head out for a walk, I can see the difference in my energy and my attitude for the whole rest of the day, then those days that I kind of linger, you know, for 45 minutes on social media, or let’s face it, sometimes much longer, I can feel that I’m moving at a slower pace, or there doesn’t seem to be the same level of excitement or energy going on for me.

Amber Hawley 21:26
And again, I you know, I might start it that way I can always shifted, I can always go for a walk or, you know, do something that changes my energy. Sometimes I have to do that in the afternoon. Like I’m hitting a low point, you know, my circadian rhythms at its lowest like everybody is around three ish in the afternoon. And you know, sometimes I do the temporary thing, but very effective of like, I still have shit I have to get done. So I you know, caffeinate go outside, do something a little bit fun, kind of break it up. Sometimes it’s even just taking like resting, like taking a nap, doing something to shift my energy so that I can finish the day and get done the things that I want to get done, right. I do find though, that for me, when it comes to that sustainability in momentum, it really is better if I’m doing it right straightaway at the beginning of the day. Like I noticed, it’s just much more effective that way. So I want you to take a look at the list again and decide what small momentum maker can you incorporate today to change your energy and sense of accomplishment. I want you to pick one thing to start, we want to make this manageable. So if you would like more support around creating momentum and consistency in your business, then join the inner circle membership. I don’t know what’s stopping you. You can get weekly support with sustainable solutions and mindset so that you can have the business and lifestyle that you really want. while also getting support with like minded people who are going through the same struggles that most entrepreneurs go through and getting the accountability that often we need to keep us on track. So to get more information head on over to AmberHawley.com/innercircle. I would love to have you join us.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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