How I’m Rewriting the Rules for a “Successful” Summer

PodcastLeadership

May 21

Episode 954: Show Notes

What would your summer look like if peace, ease, and cash flow could just exist together? This summer, I’m breaking up with the idea that success requires intensity and redefining what’s truly productive! I used to believe that the more I worked, the more successful I would be. But I know that I want to work less. Those things are in direct competition with each other!

What if you didn’t need to work harder for the next level? What if less effort actually created more results, space, creativity, and more cash flow? I have spent so many summers working in my office and feeling jealous of the people who were outside. I always felt obligated to be ‘in the trenches’ because I convinced myself that more work equals more success. And that is so wrong!

This summer, I am rewriting those rules and testing what happens when I work less, focus more, and trust that space might be the missing piece between where I am and where I want to be.

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Letting the Work You’ve Already Done Reward You

I was talking to my husband about what was coming up in the months ahead, and I realized that if I do nothing new in my business and only focus on serving my current clients for the rest of the year, I will still make an additional few hundreds of thousands of dollars. The fact is, I already did that work, and it is rewarding me. I built a business for freedom, and while I do take a lot of it, there is still so much more that I could be doing (and have the capacity for) that I have not let myself experience out of pure fear! I have built a steady, sustainable, reliable business, but I treat it like a business that needs me all the time.

Disproving the Lie We Internalize

This is where I want to start; with the idea that working more, doing more, putting in more hours drives growth. That’s what you’ve internalized. What if doing less isn’t just okay, it’s actually more effective? Because here’s the thing, energy output does not equal impact! Busy seasons don’t guarantee you better results and overworking can actually hide inefficiencies and distract from deeper clarity. So, even though it is so scary to say this out loud, for this summer, I want to work fewer hours. My challenge to myself is to work for four hours, four days a week. I have done this in the past! I’ve worked for as little as 12 hours a week and my business has still been successful.

What I am Trying This Summer

At the beginning of the year, I made the decision to only take meetings on a Monday and I have absolutely loved it! This summer, in addition to four hours of work a day for four days a week, I am trying to have no meetings. Absolutely nothing. The only things that will be on my calendar are fun, social activities, and the occasional podcast interview (on a Monday only!) If you want your life to feel different in a new season, your definition of success also has to change. The chances are, if you feel like you aren’t achieving success in certain areas of your life, it’s likely because you have decided that success has to look a certain way.

Redefining Your Success Metrics

The reason the four-day work week worked for me was because I committed for a season, allowed myself to reevaluate, and decided to keep it. It’s not a forever decision, and when you allow yourself to have those parameters, it makes the commitment easier. You realize that you aren’t trying to change the rest of your life, just the next few weeks, and that feels far less intimidating. In the past, success for me has looked like really steady, specific income, but that often meant planning last-minute launches that didn’t see great results. So I am giving myself some space where I can feel good about just making my base of guaranteed income, with more time to prepare for launches. I really want and need less pressure on myself right now.

In the past, success has always looked like a very defined cadence. I do love routine, but that pressure is a bit extreme and quite unnecessary. So now, I am giving myself space to rest. There is an opportunity cost to always working. If you have the financial means to work less and are depriving yourself of living more, that could be costing you your next breakthrough! Working too much crushes creativity and wears you down. We have got to step back and stop equating time with results, and instead, build systems that give us freedom and cash flow. I want to know what success looks like for you this summer, what you’re going to try, and what you’re looking forward to, so send me a DM on Instagram! And if this episode gave you permission to do less, send it to a friend who may want to try too.