Is there something in your life that feels like it’s always an uphill battle? Well, my friend, as much as you might not like to hear this, that’s a wonderful sign that your process needs improvement.
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A recent email from marketing guru Seth Godin got me thinking about this. Here’s what his email said:
A naive dream is that it’s possible to go on a long bike ride–and enjoy the journey going downhill in each direction.
Newton had it right… you’re going to need to go uphill in order to go downhill.
Too often, though, we set up our projects and our freelance life in a way that makes it always an uphill slog. If you don’t build an asset and don’t invest in your reputation, all you’ve got left is grunt work.
The hard work is digging in deeper than usual on the uphills–that’s the best chance you have to earn a downhill later.
At first, I thought about my business. I intentionally differentiate between working in my business and working on my business. Working in my business – checking all the boxes and moving from one task to the next – doesn’t make work easier. It will always be uphill until I create the time to work on my business, developing systems and processes that make things easier. Patterns. Habits. Processes.
The same thing is true in every other area of life.
You can stay very busy trying to eat clean, trying to workout regularly, trying to get enough sleep. If it feels like it’s always an uphill battle and isn’t getting any easier, that’s a red flag that it’s time to establish some routines, efficiencies or habits.
Instead of staying busy and leveraging that white-knuckle willpower, ask yourself what would have to change for it to be easier. Then, get to work on those things.