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Celebrate the Small Stuff to Stay Motivated

- February 25, 2011 | by April -

{Original Painting from in ameliart on Etsy}

How do you stay motivated over the course of months or years when you’re trying to build new business habits? How do you talk yourself into staying up and working after you’ve put your kids to bed? How do you wake up an hour early to squeeze in more creating time?

In a workshop I led at the Etsy Success Symposium, I talked about a goal setting analogy of the rider and the elephant. I got this analogy from Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard {affiliate link} by Chip and Dan Heath. If you have no idea what I’m talking about when I say the rider and elephant, go back and listen to that workshop.

If you want to reach your long-term goals, you have to acknowledge and celebrate the small goals along the way. This keeps your elephant motivated and reinforces the change.

To build new habits, you’ve got to keep your elephant engaged in the change. One way to do this is to reward him.

Let’s say your long-term creative goal is to quit your day job and run your creative business full-time. There are a lot of little things you’re going to need to do to make that happen.

For instance, you might have to establish multiple revenue streams in case one starts to slow down. So, you decide to sell your jewelry on Etsy and at 6 craft shows per year. You also decide that you’re going to put together hour-long classes that teach people basic jewelry-making techniques and you’ll hold one of those each month.

If at this point, you’re only selling on Etsy, there will be a lot of work involved in developing those other revenue streams, and your elephant might get spooked.

But, you can coax your elephant.

Break down the task of selling at 6 craft shows into smaller tasks such as: finding 6 craft shows within driving distance, downloading the applications and making a list of everything you’ll need to fill them out, filling out the applications….so on and so on.

When you complete each of these smaller tasks, reward yourself.

You don’t have to spend money to celebrate your successes. You could take a 30 minute bubble bath, read a book that has been sitting on your shelf for months, or spend an hour working on a creative project that you’ve been wanting to dive into.

Make a list of 10 things that you really enjoy doing and can be done in under an hour. After you’ve completed one of your “smaller” tasks, pick one thing off your list and do it.

Don’t wait until you’ve actually sold at 6 craft shows to celebrate. Your elephant won’t wait around that long. He’ll get distracted—and you don’t want a distracted elephant.

Related Posts:

What In Your Creative Biz Needs to be Black and White?

How to Prevent Decision Paralysis

Stop Making Crap Excuses

15 Comments · Filed Under: Creative Business Development, Goals, Success

Comments

  1. Sarah - Dodeline Design says

    February 25, 2011 at 8:58 am

    This is so true and something I’ve only recently taken to heart. I used to think “time is money” and frantically work around the clock, never giving myself a break for the things I love. But I realized that that’s actually more detrimental, because I would end up tired, not thinking as clearly as I normally would be, and stressed out. Recently I’ve been much better about riding my bike, reading my book, and doing all the little things I love to do and I feel so much better now!

    Reply
    • April says

      February 25, 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Me too, Sarah! I used to work around the clock and then I realized I was setting myself up for disaster. Once I started investing in myself, everything else improved.

      Reply
  2. Meghan says

    February 25, 2011 at 9:31 am

    I once heard that the big difference between men and women and their to-do lists is that men made theirs attainable in a few hours work and always took time to celebrate when it was complete. Whereas women made their lists a full front and back side of the page, and when they actually go it finished they simply added more items to do. Celebration makes it more worth while. great post April!

    Reply
    • April says

      February 25, 2011 at 2:55 pm

      That makes sense Meghan. Thanks for sharing 🙂

      Reply
  3. Sarah Vee says

    February 25, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    Thanks, April. You have made my elephant smile! I have finally subscribed to your blog posts and not just your wonderful newsletter. So now, I have my business goals written down and am much more focused. I needed the ‘keep your elephant happy’ message today before I overdo it. Finally had a sunny day to take some great photos for 2 projects and now I can reward myself with a little break before that elephant starts worrying about where it’s peanuts will be coming from!:) You Rock!

    Reply
    • April says

      February 25, 2011 at 3:49 pm

      Hahaha–Thanks for your kind words Sarah!

      Yes, definitely reward your elephant!!!

      Reply
  4. Jessilicious says

    February 26, 2011 at 9:16 am

    Hi April! 🙂

    I LOVE the elephant analogy! 🙂 It makes this topic so fun and entertaining. My favorite line was, “And you don’t want a distracted elephant”! lol

    This is a great way to break things down and make them more manageable. The example of the craft shows was great, too, as that is something we don’t necessarily think of in those kind of chunks. I do break things down a bit, but could definitely do more. I tend to get so excited about a project, that I just dive right in and try to do it all at once! 😉

    Reply
  5. Debra says

    February 27, 2011 at 11:54 pm

    Thank you for the encouragement for us to celebrate the small stuff. I’m learning that all of the little things leads us to the bigger things.

    Reply
  6. Khadeejah says

    March 7, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    “Celebrate the small stuff” nice concept when all you have is small stuff.
    I try not to take on too much and use a relaxed approach to my work. I don’t
    want to stop loving what I do.

    Reply
  7. Earnest Efforts says

    March 8, 2011 at 2:09 pm

    My Mom has the best advice using an elephant in her analogy. Don’t try to eat the entire elephant at one time; take small bites.

    Reply
  8. Gloria Watanabe says

    March 11, 2011 at 11:23 am

    I discovered this week that distraction is my friend. After years of a linear working life–making lists, setting goals, doing projects step-by-step–I have discovered the freedom of working in a distracted fashion. I have found that if I think of something that needs to be done, if I don’t stop and do it immediately I forget to do it. What I have discovered is that this new found freedom to walk away from a project, do something else entirely, and then return to the project has eased the stress I was starting to feel as solo entrepreneur. Now I embrace my new distracted working style because it also increases my sense of accomplishment at the end of the day and enriches the creative side by freeing my mind from focusing too intently on one thing for an extended period of time.

    Reply
  9. Immigration Advicers in Greenwich says

    March 10, 2013 at 8:41 am

    Excellent site you have here.. It’s hard to find high-quality writing like yours nowadays. I seriously appreciate people like you! Take care!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Celebrate the Small Stuff to Stay Motivated | Blacksburg Belle -- Topsy.com says:
    February 25, 2011 at 9:07 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dannielle Cresp, April Bowles Olin. April Bowles Olin said: Celebrate the small stuff to stay motivated http://bit.ly/garhO0 {new on Blacksburg Belle} […]

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  2. Celebrate! « Inviting Joy says:
    February 25, 2011 at 2:26 pm

    […] morning, this post appeared on one of my newly found favorite blogs, and it just feels perfect to share.  April of […]

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  3. Take a Little Journey | The Home Ground says:
    March 6, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    […] Celebrate the Small Stuff to Stay Motivated – This is the perfect article for me right now. By the end of winter, I’m pretty beat and just dying for the sun and warmth. It’s hard sometimes to stay excited or motivated about what I’m doing. This approach, though, just may be the thing. I should try to do this every single day. Take stock of all of the small things that are adding up. This entry was posted in coffee + links and tagged blacksburg belle, dannielle cresp, inspiration, links, motivation, scoutie girl, tara gentile. Bookmark the permalink. ← Color Palette Blog Walk! […]

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