#8 It’s not because you know how to do something, that you should actually do it
Podcast transcript:
Are you someone who gets excited about new ideas? Do you easily get carried away with your enthusiasm? Are you the one, when something needs to be done, whatever it is, that will raise a hand and say "I'll do it!" If you said yes to any of these questions, then this episode is for you! Today I want to talk about something very important, both in your life and especially in your career or business, something that I took a long time to learn and that I tell creatives and entrepreneurs all the time: it’s not because you know how to do something, that you should actually do it.
Why do I know this? Because it's a trap I fell into so many times in my life, and so did many of my clients. Often, I've gotten into trouble by overestimating my own capabilities to get something done in a certain time frame or taking on too much at once. I used to be the one that would always raise her hand when something needed to be done at school, or that would always try to learn new skills when something needed to happen in my business or start a new hobby, even if I didn't have time. One time, I offered to sow a gala dress for someone, even though I had absolutely no experience or idea on how to do it at the time. Luckily, my friend found an amazing dress online and I was off the hook. Mind you, if she would have taken me up on the offer I would have done it, I'd have figured it out, but it would have been with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears and I would have had to steal time away from other work or projects to be able to get it done. That alone, makes overpromising and overextending yourself this way something to be careful with.
Another time, I offered to put a complicated website together for a project, even though I was only asked to give advice on the strategy and direction. Because I know how to make websites (I used to own a web agency) and because I hate it so much when people spend too much budget or time on creating websites that could be done better and in a shorter time frame, I just couldn't help myself. It's still hard to do so, but I've learned my lesson!
Other things I've overextended myself with over the years include:
horrible accounting tasks - because I knew more about spreadsheets than other people on my staff, I would be the one doing all the crappy work
photoshopping pictures - because I was the one with some photoshop experience early on in my career, a very bad idea believe me
creating content for various projects - because it seemed easier to just do it myself than explain to somebody else how to do it, again not very smart.
Each time I overextended myself, there were two things that happened: 1. The project wasn't completed as fast or as well as if I would have just let someone else do it in the first place; 2. Other projects got stuck in the process, because I didn't have enough time and energy to focus on them properly.
You can't be everywhere at once and you can't do everything alone. One person should never take on an entire project by themselves. It's not sustainable and it won't bring out the best in you or whoever else is involved in the project. Of course, when you're bootstrapping or starting out, yes, you'll wear many hats, but even then it's important to surround yourself with people who are skilled at what you could learn and do. Especially if you're creative, and a fast-learner. Because there is literally nothing that you can't learn to do or get good enough at to produce results, but that doesn't mean that you should actually put all of your time into doing that, especially if you don’t have enough time or resources!
The same thing can happen in our professional lives. We have the tendency to take on more and more tasks that are outside of our area of expertise or job description, thinking we can easily manage it all. Unfortunately, that's often not the case. Not only do we end up burning out but we also miss deadlines or deliver poor quality work because of lack of knowledge or practice in a certain field. One of the things I see working with multi-passionate creatives and entrepreneurs is overextension because of too many ideas and things they get excited about. Too many options are available to them, and everything seems so cool and shiny it's hard for them to choose and let go of some of the options. The reality of what I see in my work every day as well is people being stuck. Often, being stuck is not about not having any option, it's about having too many.
There's a sweet spot for creative generalists and creative entrepreneurs of a number of projects, ideas, things they can be working on at the same time, and I've found that that sweet spot is between 3 and 5 projects simultaneously. If I work on more than that amount of projects at the same time - and when I say 5 I mean 2 big ones and 3 small ones for instance, not 5 big ones, for me 3 big ones is an absolute max at all times - you dilute your effort too much. The result of this is so little progress that you actually don't move forward at all.
There's another thing to be careful about when we know how to do something: it's not only about doing too many things at once, it's also about not doing the right things. Both can feel like they come from a different place, but they can have the same result: we feel like we're working hard, but we're not making any progress.
Lack of progress when we want to do too many things at once is because our efforts are spread too thin. Just like with a slice of bread, if you spread peanut butter or Nutella on super thin, you won't get much flavor, it gets lost. On the other hand, if you focus on just a few projects at once and put in more effort into each one of those, short-term results can be better and long-term progress will be much higher. To do this well we must develop thicker skin to say no to opportunities. I know it's hard, but not everything that is presented to you is worth it, even if it often feels that way. That's why having a vision of where you want to be in a few years is important, it helps to stay on track. More about that in a future episode of this podcast.
Lack of progress when you're not doing the right things is trickier because it's harder to recognise. It's also often where creatives and entrepreneurs who are quick studies and can learn pretty much any new skill they might need for work get into trouble. Because even though they have that ability, a lot of the things they're teaching themselves or learning are not in their zone of genius. They're not genuinely the things they get excited about or get into flow doing. It's important to acknowledge this.
I know you love to learn new things, I know you like to help out and be useful, I know you know in your mind how so many things could and should be done. But do you have the time to do all of it yourself? An amazing client and true creative generalist shared a story with me in a session recently about how, when she decided to make ceramics, soon enough she found herself going out into the wild to dig up her own clay. This wasn't an odd occurance for her, she told me. As soon as she imagines doing something new, immediately her mind goes through the entire production chain and she wants to learn and make everything she needs all by herself. A bio-cotton t-shirt line? No problem, she told me! I'll start by learning how to screen print my own shirts, then I'll figure out how to make my own paint, then that won't be enough and I'll want to make my own fabric dye and maybe even grow the cotton myself.
This is an example of when pushing into too many things at once can result in a lack of progress, but it's also an example of how not doing the right things can look like - trying to do something that you don't necessarily have to do yourself or that you may want to outsource. I know where it comes from, I have the same impulse and urge within me, this need to learn and master new things is as strong as the force in many creatives. The problem is, if you want to do all of the things simply because you know - or want to prove to yourself - that you can, you won't get far with your projects.
The sweet spot for creative generalists and entrepreneurs lies in learning how to discern between our skills, strengths and what we genuinely enjoy doing from everything else we know how to do or could learn quickly. It also lies in focusing on just enough projects that allow us to make meaningful progress without spreading ourselves too thin.
Doing something simply because you know how to do it - the end of year reporting, photoshopping the team's picture to include the company pet, writing the copy for your clients' website when you're the brand photographer, anything really that someone asks and that you're like "yep, I could do that" - is not working in your zone of genius. This comes with it's own set of issues: one, you don't get into flow and find joy in the process of doing it - from experience I know working without flow is something creatives and entrepreneurs can't do for long; two, because of that lack of flow your productivity drops significantly - you'll get bored, and quickly feel that you're skills are underutilized (of course they are, you're not working in your zone of genius!); three, this type of work is often what gets pushed away when we are tight on time or resources and thus --- never.gets.done!
So instead focus on the things you do best! It's so easy for me to say it, haha, but it's been so hard for me to learn how to do it. I feel your pain, believe me. But learning how to say no to some things is essential for growth. It's not only about simplifying your life but also about making sure that what does get done -gets done well. And even if you can learn to do something yourself if it’s outside your genius zone – like bookkeeping or coding a website– consider outsourcing instead. The reality is that projects you outsource will get done much faster and better than if you decide to do it yourself. It’s worth the investment.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to making smart decisions about how much work we can handle at once, what our zone of genius is, and where we should invest our time for maximum productivity. It's important to remember that we are all limited by time, energy and resources - even the most creative and passionate ones among us - so make sure to choose wisely what projects you want to work on or outsource, because they'll have an impact not only on your short term success but also on your long term results.
With this in mind, try to stay focused on doing fewer things but doing them well - and finishing them! rather than taking on too many tasks at once! There's no shame in letting someone do something they're better at than you! - it's a smart way to make your work easier and the results much better.
All right! That's it for this episode! Here's this week's "f*ck it, let's do it" experiment: I want you to be super mindful of your time this week, and how you're spending it. If you've been offered different opportunities or have been playing with different creative ideas, I want you to be brutally honest with yourself and ask yourself what is really meant for you and in your zone of genius. Then I want to invite you to say "no" to anything that doesn't fit the bill.
For me, this means taking a good look at all the opportunities for creative collaborations that I've recently received. I'm going to be as honest as possible with myself and see what truly resonates and what doesn't.
Before I go, here’s this week's little act of daily rebellion for you. Once this week, whenever you feel like it, think of yourself first. Take the last piece of cake at a party, cut in line at the grocery store, don't pick up when someone calls, leave the dirty dishes in the sink.
If you feel like sharing your experiment or breakfast choice with me or if you're not sure what a good experiment might be for you, don't hesitate to send me a message or DM in Instagram @muriellemarie. Thanks for listening, have fun and talk to you next week!
Just a heads up: I am not a therapist or doctor! If you’re not feeling your best mentally or physically, and you need some help, please make sure to consult with a medical professional or a therapist.
