I almost didn’t write this blog. I thought it might be confusing; that I’m contradicting the advice I shared in my last post. But I wrote it anyway, because I know it’s important.

Last time I said that if you’re feeling stuck, you should get up and walk away.

I stand by that advice, and know that it works. If you’re eager and motivated to get a particular thing done but you’re just not in the right headspace or your energy is off, walking away can help.

But it’s not ALWAYS the right thing to do.

What do you do when you’re feeling stuck with the thing you’re working on?

When you need to do something important but are getting nowhere.

Let’s say, for instance, that Mildred sits down to write a blog post but is feeling uninspired. She doesn’t know what to write. Has no ideas at all. The words won’t come.

What should she do?

When we run a business doing what we love, it can be very easy to just keep working. To spend all day and all evening on our laptops because we’re having such a good time writing, connecting with people online, tinkering with tech or playing with new designs in Canva (guilty as charged).

But just because it’s fun, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to keep going ad infinitum.

A while ago I shared a story about a meltdown involving a stapler. In today’s instalment of Louise's Meltdown Moments (not an actual thing, but perhaps it should be…!), I’m sharing a cautionary tale about the dangers of decision-making.

Have you ever noticed how many times you reach for your phone during the day? Do you think you could put a number on it if you had to hazard a guess?

No?

If you're anything like me, and many, many other people, you probably pick up your phone without even realising you're doing it. It's like some weird muscle memory thing. It's become habitual.

Setting an intention can be incredibly powerful. Whether big like a goal for your business, or small like the intention I set when I sat down to write this email, having an intention is jolly useful when it comes to getting things done.

Our intentions help us to stay focused on what's important, to stay in our own lane and to stay motivated when things feel tough.

So why is it that even when we have clear goals for our business, even when we can see where we're heading and feel excited about getting there, we still often find ourselves frittering our days away?

How's your to-do list looking these days? Never-ending? Growing more quickly by the hour?

Tiring, isn't it?

In fact, I think that's rather an understatement.

Our to-do lists can cause colossal amounts of worry and frustration.

According to our old friend Google, procrastination is defined as, "the action of delaying or postponing something." According to Tim Urban a more accurate definition is, "the action of ruining your own life for no apparent reason".

A little over-dramatic?

How do you feel when you get to the end of the day? If you often feel frazzled, frustrated or guilty for not doing more, read on!

This month's tip is to write a daily Ta-da List. Allow me to explain why….

One month ago I tried a little experiment. I wanted to see what would happen if I spent one week with no TV, no radio, no podcasts, no internet, no phone and no reading after 5.30pm.

My hope was that I'd have loads of great ideas, be inspired to write, draw and make music, get outside, exercise, play games and bask in a slower, richer end to each day.

I was completely and utterly unprepared for what actually happened.

Today I want to show you how much it’s possible to accomplish in just 15 minutes.

When you set your mind to something and remove distractions, 15 minutes of focused attention on the task at hand can be really powerful.