0:00
If you've ever struggled with making decisions quickly in your business, then this episode is for you. So let me first start by asking you, have you ever gone back and forth for like two weeks on how to launch your online program or created a sales or a pricing page that you've tweaked like 12 times, or maybe you have a webinar presentation that you've rewritten more times than you can count.
0:26
If any of these situations put your stomach in knots, you know your mind racing with what ifs, but you can feel that pressure building if you don't make a decision, every day of indecision is costing you momentum, clients, revenue, but what if you make the wrong choice? What if it doesn't work? What if you have to start over?
0:47
If you are nodding your head right now and wondering how I got inside your head, then you are definitely in the right place, because tackling Indecision is what we're going to focus on this week. So I'm going to share with you how I became aware of my analysis paralysis so I could make faster, better decisions in the most unexpected of places, out in the waves,
1:06
ready to break free from the solopreneur struggle. This is the ease and impact thriving as a solopreneur Podcast. I'm Frankie Jay, a sofa a mum and an eight year solopreneur myself. Join me as I peel back the layers to a thriving online business without the guru hype or the burnout. I'm going to show you the proven strategies and tools that I use so you can build a sustainable digital business without sacrificing your well being. Let's get you thriving as a solopreneur.
1:42
Welcome back to ease and impact your weekly dose of practical wisdom on thriving as a solopreneur. I am your host, Frankie J and today we are diving into something that we might be holding you back more than you realize. It's known as analysis paralysis, or having a hard time with decision making before we jump in, though, if you are loving these practical strategies to building an online business with ease, make sure you hit that follow button wherever it is you're listening, because every week I'm bringing you insights and actionable tips on thriving as a solopreneur. First, let me paint you a picture from my own experience
2:18
as a surfer. It always amazed me how I can make split second decisions constantly, when a wave is approaching, sometimes I have mere seconds to decide, do I dive under? Can I make it over? Should I bail? And you know what? These instinctive decisions are usually spot on. Occasionally I get it wrong, and it sucks, but also I know that decision taught me something, that nothing is lost, and this isn't a case of me having always been a surfer. I didn't start surfing until later in life, and I only managed to get out once or twice a week, if that. So I consider myself quite a novice surfer. However, I've been running my online business about as long as I've been surfing, and I would consider myself quite an expert in that. So here's the interesting part. When I sit down at my desk to make business decisions, something shifts. I find myself analyzing everything from every possible angle, running scenarios over in my head, sometimes for hours, for days. You know, is it the same for you? So let's break down why this happens and how we can tap into that same instinctive decision making power in our business. So I'm gonna share with you three key strategies that help me. The first is, act, don't react. Now, funnily enough, this is a concept that I learned from a TV show in my youth, Xena Warrior Princess, cues and smirks and laughter from some of you listening, and that's okay, but when I first heard this line in relation to the episode where someone was always freezing in the face of adversity, it really stuck with me. Now, I think as humans, we can't help but react initially. It's human nature, but it's study become, become aware of that reaction that is the first in this key step. So if you're working on a task and you're noticing how you're starting to get more and more overwhelmed, you're reacting to what's in front of you and what's going on in your maybe the fear in your head, something like, Oh, what if I'm wrong, or what if it doesn't work, or something else, say to yourself, act. Don't react. Then just think of one, just one action that you can take right now. Now, let me give you some simple examples that many of us face. So picture this. You notice a typo in your latest email newsletter, your reaction is to spiral into that worry about looking unprofessional, or what will people think your action maybe just make a quick note to double check future emails and move on, or send a fixed email only if it prevents your audience from taking action in that era, in that first email.
4:56
Well, here's a good one. So I had a client the other day called.
5:00
Me because her house's power had been shut off all day on the day of her webinar. Now, sure, she was a little frazzled at first, but she chose to act instead of reacting. Instead of throwing in the towel and canceling it and being like, No, I can't do it. She took her computer, or entire computer, all her equipment, to her daughter's house and set up there to run the webinar. Or Here's another really simple one. When you're staring at your to do list and you're starting to feel that that overwhelm of all the tasks you need to get done,
5:32
act, don't react. Don't react to the list. Act and just choose one task to start with. The key is to shift that spiraling reactive thinking to one purposeful action. So it's like in surfing, if there's a big way of approaching reacting means freezing and letting the wave crash on top of you, which could hurt a lot.
5:54
Acting means making a quick, clear decision, so paddle hard to catch it or deep dive underneath, but that split second choice made with that clarity rather than panic, can make all the difference. Number two is to set decision time frames. So when we work for ourselves, we no longer have someone giving us deadlines. So we're able to spend forever and a day getting a project done, because it's only on us. When we work for an organization, you're accountable to their deadlines, so try giving yourself a deadline or a strict time limit on different types of decisions. So minor decisions, maybe it's a five to 15 minute time limit Max. Bigger ones, maybe it's 24 hours. But the key is to stick to it. The Ocean obviously doesn't give me extra time to consider anything on an incoming wave, but most business decisions don't need a week of analysis. So number three is recognizing intuition versus fear in our heads. So often when we're stuck in indecision or analysis paralysis, it's because of fear, fear of the unknown, fear of making a wrong decision, fear of other people's reactions and judgment. So if, even if I was going to say, I'm going to do this, you know, up would come that little gremlin to throw a spanner in the works. And when this would happen to me, I'd ask myself, well, is this fear or is it intuition? Is it my intuition telling me not to do it because it knows it's not a good idea, or is it really just my fears that are trying to limit me, keep me safe? So here's one thing that works for me, and this was a suggestion from someone in a paid business community I'm a part of when I asked this question, so maybe it's the same for you too. Now I don't remember her name, but what she said to me when I asked, you know, how do I know if it's fear intuition? She said, intuition is quiet. Fear is loud. So now, when I get stuck in that spiral, I'll close my eyes, I'll take a breath, and I'll ask the initial question. So for example, should I use a webinar to launch my course?
8:05
And if the response is a calm, quiet, clear message of yes or no, then that's my intuition. If what then comes after that is some loud noise of Oh, but then I know that that is the fear. So let's try that right now. Close your eyes. For me, as long as you're not driving, close your eyes.
8:24
Take a deep breath in
8:28
and out,
8:31
and ask yourself the question, something you've been struggling to make a decision on,
8:41
did you have a calm, quiet response that came up first and then maybe some noise?
8:49
I hope so, and I hope that now you can see the difference between intuition and fear. The key insight here is we already have this ability to make quick, effective decisions. We just need to transfer it into our business context. So think about it. When you're in your element, whether it's sports, parenting or another area that you excel in, you can make rapid decisions without second guessing yourself. Now, before we wrap up, here is your action step for this week. Pick one business decision you've been sitting on, and use one of the three techniques that I spoke about today, make the core trust your gut, just like you would in your high stakes moment, in your favorite sport or activity that you excel at. If you've got questions about implementing these strategies, or you just want to share your own decision making experiences and tips, drop them in the comments below. I read every single one, and I love hearing from you, so remember to keep creating that impact with ease, and I'll catch you again next week.
