• Reflecting on learnings in 2021
• What in your world is still in alignment
• What needs to say thank you, goodbye
• Tasks left on your list
• Shutting down business operations for the holidays

Full Episode Transcription

Welcome to Take Control with Nicole, as business owners, we experience firsthand the fine line between our personal and business lives. During our conversations, we will look at simple hints and tips to create time, reduce, overwhelm, and help you to navigate through your journey to where you want to be. If you’re looking for smarter ways to work, and create space and time freedom in your day, then you’re in the right place. All right, let’s go.

Hello, hello, and welcome to another well, actually the final episode of Take Control with Nicole for 2021. Well, how about that, we have done it, we have arrived in December. And we’re about to go off and have a break over the holidays. I will be having a break as of Friday, spending a few weeks away with the kids over Christmas, and we’re going camping on New Year’s, which is something that I really look forward to doing. Being able to just stop and recharge, and have that choice, if I choose to do something in my business or if I actually just focus in on me and let myself have a relax, and be able to really recharge and get set for whatever 2022 is going to bring.

At this time of year. There’s so much talk about New Year’s resolutions, and what are we going to do better next year? And what are we going to do bigger? And what around new goals and all those things like that. But I actually really like to just stop and reflect on the year that has been. Where have we travelled? What are all the nooks and crannies we’ve looked in, we’ve peered across the water and looked around the corner and all those things. What have I discovered about me as a person, about me as a business owner, about the business, about my communities I’m involved in. Being able to really give yourself that opportunity to pause and actually ask the questions about what in my world right now is serving me still, what is still in alignment with where I am and where I’m headed, versus what is just a little bit out of alignment now that it’s time to say thank you so much for everything that you have given me and brought to my attention up to this point. But when now we’re going to say goodbye with love and grace and all those fabulous things we’ll say thank you so much. And I even have a song, that’s a release song, that I refer to that the beautiful Kathy Rast has created as part of our business voice that we’re working on together. Music is such a big element of who I am. Singing is such a release, which you would have heard me talk about before, being able to come back in centrally and listen to the way the flows, all the things that happen in a piece of music is such a powerful experience. Think about that and when you’re looking back and looking not even back, but looking right now in this moment where we are being able to really look and feel through those things, finding those bits and those elements that are working for us and not working for us and being able to arrive into 2022.

Knowing how, what, why, the focus, the direction we’re going in, what are those things that we’re really going to lean into and just go ahead and do it? Are they a little bit scary? How fabulous, that’s even better when they’re like that, when, that moment. I was talking about this today with someone, that moment that you just feel that little bit like you’re about to throw up. They’re normally the ones that are like, yeah, I need to lean in a bit harder on those ones now, because that’s telling me my guts telling me that this is a thing and this is going to be a thing. So I’ve alluded to a couple of times, on the socials that there’s some things happening in the business and little bit of directional change that I am excited to be able to share. For you It’s really no change, I’m going to be me still. But I’m actually going to allow myself as a business owner, as a human to go and sit and play in the space that I know that I can. I found, and this is not just me, from many conversations with other fabulous business owners, we get to a point and we’re like ‘oh it’s nice and cosy here, super comfortable. I, you know, I’m why, why, challenge myself to do anything else when I know that I’m really good in this space?’ But sometimes when we’re in that little happy bubble of joy. If you just like poke your head outside that box that you’ve beautifully created and crafted, that has served the exact purpose, and intent that it was to be your little space for this ride, in this moment, up until now, you peer across the top, you can see what is just over that horizon. That’s that thing that, you know, is where you really want to be getting to.

This is a great time for all this reflection. For me, this has been happening over the last couple of months. And it’s a really, really exciting and challenging and terrifying a little bit time. But they as I said, they’re the things that I know when I get that feeling. They’re the things. They’re the things you lean on into. So let’s have a little bit of a chat about tasks that are left on your list.

If you have already started to do your reconciliation of your Clickup or your Asana or your task lists, whatever it might be. You’re already a step ahead of the game. However, if you went and had a look at your list right now, are there things on there that you’re trying to cram into the next two weeks, or the next week and a half to try and not even week where, oh, goodness gracious, we’re a week away from Christmas, when this comes out! Are there things in there that really, the deadline doesn’t need to be the 22nd, or the 23rd, or even the 24th of December? It’s not something that, you know, it’s not like it’s a sale for boxing day, maybe it is and if it is, then that’s a different conversation. But you will find there are nice to have items on there. That really, if you stopped and reflected on the importance versus you reaching Christmas needing asleep and a big massive break, I don’t know how you describe it. Weigh those options up. More often than not, you’ll realise that, that task can wait until you come back from holidays. It might be the first priority when you get back in January and that’s fabulous. Then you know that when you’re on your holiday break, if that is what you’re doing, that you will be able to confidently enjoy yourself and confidently know that when you return to open up that action on, in click up on that first day back in the office, whenever that may be, or your home office or your cafe, wherever you work from, that you know that that’s all organised for you. That’s when you’re going to be focusing in on that thing that seems so important that we have to squish it into before Christmas.

Just interrupting this episode for one little message, if you have been listening and love what you hear and want to come in connect, we have a Take Control with Nicole Facebook community right over there on Facebook, that I would love to invite you to come and join us. We are a supportive community, we are looking to really take action in our businesses and change the way or evolve the way we’re working right now. So I invite you to come on over and join our community and connect with us all. Community is the essence of everything in business, being able to really build those relationships that you can nurture, and grow and support and celebrate each other. Oh, how fabulous. I hope to see you over there. Pop on over to Facebook, Take Control with Nicole. See you soon.

It’s a funny, a funny old thing, isn’t it? I remember leading up to that end of year, there was this mass rush to get all the things done and all the things ticked off. Where really realistically, a couple of weeks. It’s a transition between December and January. Yes, it’s a new year. Yes, we have Christmas. But really, if we think about it, these business actions are not going to stop the wheels turning because the majority of the world is having a break at this time as well. So if you need the permission, this is it as always go ahead, do you uniquely be your fabulous self, be honest and true with what your capacity is between now and then. Make sure you check in with your team to see what their holiday movements are. I’m hoping you’ve already done this already. And if they are working over that period of time, fabulous to them, and you can really start to think about ‘okay, what is your communication process for while you’re away’? Do you want to be contacted or not? Is it emergency only? Is it via text message at, on an emergency or are you going to still be checking in over that time on a particular day or a particular time of the day? Set those things in motion so that your team if they are in play, and you are away, if it is something that you do want to continue to be in touch, that’s absolutely fine. That’s up to you. However, if it is that you’re actually putting your tools away, closing down your business applications on your laptop, turning your alerts off on your phone, avoiding all the things that cause business focus, that’s the wrong words, but you know what I mean, divert you, from the focus of this time, on holidays. Hats off to you. That is a fabulous place to be in and you are going to arrive at the other end feeling absolutely fabulous. Because you know that you have set that intention right now, before you even leave for your break.

Well, I hope you all have a fabulous time away, or time at home, or time wherever you are. Not sure if you’re travelling as we’re allowed to, well, I think we’re allowed to who knows by the time this comes out, things keep changing so quickly here in Melbourne, and in Australia. Whatever you’re doing, though, I hope you have a safe and happy holidays. And you enjoy spending time with your friends and family. Time to reflect, time to focus on what next year is going to become and bring and be able to really arrive to your desk, your office, your place where you are going to do your working next year, happy and ready to know confidently know that you are going to achieve everything that you set your intentions to achieve.

Well, thank you so much for joining. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. And enjoy creating space and time freedom bye now.

Well, there we go. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been such a pleasure having you onboard. Have we connected on the socials yet? If not, please come on over say hi, I’m on all the platforms @theartisansolutions so I’d really look forward to seeing you over there. And if you enjoy today’s episode, don’t forget to tag me and I’d love it if you could leave a review. And of course, share this with others so others can come and join us next time. Alright, then everyone have a fabulous rest of the week and until next time, see you then.