“When I work, I work very fast, but preparing to work can take any length of time”.

Cy Twombly, Abstract expressionist artist.

I shared this quote with someone recently and they laughed, assuming that I was talking about lazily avoiding work. I suppose taking time just to think certainly LOOKS lazy. There can even be a feeling that creating time and space for your mind to wander is unproductive.  

But actually… (you can totally see where I’m going with this can’t you?)

Taking time to set an intention and really getting a deep understanding of what you want to create makes everything flow more easily. Decision-making is easier, strategy becomes more obvious, problem-solving becomes less stressful.

The work before the work

It’s about taking time to set an intention and really get a gut-level sense of what you want to achieve.

Taking time to set your intention helps you to work faster, to make meaningful decisions, and more importantly helps you to create something that you truly wanted to create in the first place.

Solopreneurship is all about decision-making

When you work solo you have to make so many decisions all the time… How should I show up? What should I charge? What should I post? How should I respond? What should I call this? What should I focus on? And often all this before midday!

And in this noisy online world full of distractions and possibilities it’s all too easy to get bogged down by these decisions and your time gets gobbled up going back and forth on them.

It’s when you’re clear on your intention, your decisions become easier and more obvious.

There’s no formula for this

…but these little guidelines might be useful:

• Create some time and space for this prep’ work, try not to rush it or force it.
• Brainstorm what you’d like to create and how that sits in context with other stuff you’re doing.
• Anticipate some challenges you might encounter and how you might navigate them when they come up.

Do you get bogged down by decisions? Do you take the time to see that big picture?