Have you ever stopped in your tracks and not know which way to turn, which next step to take, whether to start or stop?  Self-doubt creeps in and you start to analyse everything you do, or you completely shut down.  Interestingly, as I sit writing this piece I have stopped and started on multiple occasions, and I am only into the first paragraph.
There are many reasons we hit a creative wall ranging from not getting enough sleep, in a rut, fear, not enough mental stimulation or too much mental stimulation.  The reasons are varied and differ for everyone.  A block can last a few minutes, a few days even months or years. Let’s take a look at a few minutes, hours or days today.
It is worthwhile doing a stocktake of the feelings you felt or what was the trigger for getting into this creative slump.  Sometimes being able to identify what has triggered the inertia. If you are having difficulty in identifying the cause, there are a few little tricks you can do to kickstart your creative and out of the slump.

1. Use the Pomodoro method of 25 minute work slots, 5 minute break, 25 minute work slots, 5 minute break and on the 3rd 25 minute work slot take a 15 minute break.  You can find out more here
2. Disrupt your thinking pattern.  Take a short break whether it be for a coffee or drink to rehydrate this can disrupt your thinking pattern.  You may also consider going for a short brisk walk or spend some time in the sunshine.  Anything that can disrupt the pattern of your current thinking. Make sure whatever you do lasts no less than 5 minutes and no more than 10 minutes.
3. Change your environment. No,don’t worry you don’t have to redecorate your entire office before you can get back to work.  Find somewhere else to do your work.  I have a great little park just over the road from where I live, (pity my WIFI does not stretch that far, lol) I simply pack up my laptop, a coffee and head over there and work for an hour or two on the table and chairs there.  I also sometimes pack up my work and sit in our patio with a nice view. You can also consider a coffee shop to work in for an hour or two, great if you enjoy a buzz and vibe around you.  Wherever you choose, it breaks your thinking and your pattern and is a great way to reset your mood and thinking pattern.
4. Book into local business events that offer brainstorming and interaction, it is a great way to stay in touch with what is happening in your local community, industry and you can come away with some great ideas.  Think about attending a Connect Her event with Brainstorm My Business on the agenda.

If your creative flow is lasting longer than a few hours or days, it may be time to speak to a business coach to gain some clarity and assistance.  If you feel the issue runs deeper, consider speaking to a health professional.

If your business calls for you to write whether it be a blog article, training course, e-book, or a newsletter the task can feel overwhelming if you are not quite in the mood for feeling unprepared.

Writing an article doesn't just mean putting down thoughts into words then typing and writing it. You must capture the interest of your readers and get them to keep on reading. To send your message across you must get the attention of the reader and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their curiosity.
 
The main ingredient in baking up an article is a large dose of creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people, some just get into a block or something to that effect that can drive them crazy. Many writers have literally torn their hair out when they get writers block and just can't seem to get their creative juices flowing. 
Putting words into images in the readers' mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then paragraph by paragraph into an entire article develops the essence of the article. 
 
So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? There is no sure fire way to get the perfect ideas but there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing. No one can guarantee you of having the perfect mindset, but many methods may aid you in achieving that state of mind. Here are five easy ways for that.

1) Keep a diary or a journal with you always. Ideas can be triggered by anything you may hear, see, or smell. Your senses are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also write down anything that you have read or heard, someone's ideas could be used to develop your own ideas, and this is not stealing. Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it's the development of the idea that makes it unique.

2) Relax and take time to sort things out. A jumbled mind cannot create any space for new ideas. Everyone must have a clear mind if one wishes to have their creativity in full speed. Get rid of all obstacles that can be a hindrance to your creativity. If you are bothered by something, you cannot force your mind to stay focused.
Try to relax every time that you can and think about your experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences are what shape your mindset and your opinions which could be reflected on your writings. Try to discover yourself, find out what triggers your emotions. Discover what inspires you and what frustrates you. You can use these emotions to help you in expressing yourself and your ideas, with this you can grow creatively.

3) Create a workplace that can inspire your creativeness. Your workplace can be quite a hindrance if it doesn't make you feel happy or relaxed. Creativity comes from being in a good state of mind and a messy workplace that causes distraction won't be conducive to a creative flow.
 Surround your workplace with objects that make you happy and relaxed. You may put up pictures, objects that inspire, diffuse essential oils or anything that can get your creativeness flowing. A clean and well-organized workplace also rids distractions and unwanted hindrances. With a good working place, you can work in peace and never notice the time passing by.
 
4) Set the mood. Setting the mood requires you to just go with the moment or to induce yourself to feeling what makes your mind works best. Finding out what makes you tick could help you find ways to get your creative juices flowing. Set the pace and tempo for your mood and everything else will follow.
There are many ways to set the mood. If you can’t create the mood, in your office, move you and your laptop to somewhere that creates a mood, such as the back garden, a park or a coffee shop.  

5) Letting yourself go and have fun produces adrenaline that can make your imagination go wild. Take an adventure or a solemn hike. Whatever it is that is unusual from your daily routine to take the rut out of your schedule. In no time at all, your creativeness will make use of that experience and get your imagination to go on overdrive.
 
And now……………….. it’s time to go write

 There are some people in this world that are born readers, they will read anything they can lay their hands on.  That happens to be me.  I love reading.  As a child, I would look forward to the day the “Book Club” brochure would arrive at school.  I would carefully go through the catalogue and rate each book as to which ones I would like to order.  I had a maximum spend each month so I would want to make sure I got as much reading as I possibly could for my allowance.
At school from an early age, I could regularly be found in the library.  I was mortified when the library closed during play break and only opened during lunchtime and before school.   It was a relief to go to high school where the library was open extended hours.  The local council library was also one of my favorite places to visit.  
As a young adult, train, and bus rides to and from work gave me the ability to devour books at a great rate of knots.  Once the responsibilities of adulthood, corporate roles and relationships came into fruition, reading quickly took a back step.
A commitment to myself and a new Kindle has reinvigorated my love of reading yet again.  What I found is just twenty minutes of reading a day has such a positive impact, many you don’t think of.  NO matter whether you are reading education books, romance, drama, a magazine or the paper, there are certainly benefits.  Here are just a few:

• Transport yourself to another place with a few turns of the page
• Time to unwind from the day
• Time for you
• Educational
• Self-help books can really help and give you a new perspective
• Inject curiosity
• Spelling improves
• Vocabulary improvements
• Positivity improves
• Awareness
• Concentration and focus improve
• Contributions to conversation increases

There you have my twelve benefits that I found reading twenty minutes a day can bring to or back to your life.  Give it a go, you will love it!  Check out Podcast episode 135 for more detailed information.

As we move from one year to the next it brings to life an opportunity to set our business and ourselves up for success. Failing to plan is planning to fail. There are some great workshops and courses available (check the Connect Her Collective FB group for events) which can assist you on the right path.  We also have some fabulous goal setting tools in the Connect Her Club
If you prefer to work on your own goals and not with a coach or workshop it is great to have some steps outlined. Using these 5 key steps is a great start to setting you and your business on the path to success for the new year.
If you are attending a goal setting workshop or have a business coach these steps will also assist you with the pre-work.
Firstly, find an area with minimal distractions, turn off notifications and your phone to silent. Grab yourself a nice coffee, tea or juice and go to the loo before you start. Nothing like setting the scene for success and being prepared. Aaaah… doesn’t that feel better?

Step One: ASSESS: Assess what worked well over the last 12 months, what could have worked better and what no longer serves it’s purpose for you or your business. Write them down in 3 columns. (it makes it easier during planning)

Step Two: RESET: Now is the time to draw a line in the sand and reset your intention and attention for the coming year. Ok, so somethings didn’t go how you thought they would, that’s ok. Some things went better than you thought, well done, pat yourself on the back, do a happy dance, you are awesome. Now it is time to wash, rinse, repeat on what went well or better than expected. ………And the clock starts NOW! Yes, it’s time to reset.

Step Three: PLAN: Take a big piece of paper (butchers paper works well for this) and plan what you want to achieve in your life, business, personal, spiritual, financial the areas you want to achieve changes or progress. Be bold, be audacious, be strong, be wise and be cheeky. 

Step Four: ACTION: Now you have a plan of what you would like to achieve, it is the time to set down some actions to make sure your plan moves from a planning paper to action delivery. When planning your actions remember the S.M.A.R.T goals Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely Be sure to write all of these down on paper (brain to hand to eye to subconscious)

Step Five: Focus: Once you have your plan, goals and actions in place break them down into weekly, monthly, quarterly goals or the bite size pieces that will suit you and your business the best and then focus on a few tasks, actions or plans a week. Keep it simple and reasonable so it avoids overwhelm. Be sure to track your achievements and celebrate your wins. Taking some time to set upyour five steps at the end of the year or beginning of a new year is 5 simple steps to set you up for success.

​What do you do to set you and your business up for success?

​We have all been in the situation somewhere, sometime, somehow stuck with someone that isn’t a talker or gives yes or no answers even to open ended questions, the conversation stalls and so does your brain so you ended up talking incessantly.

Maybe you have a Connect Her Connection meeting or Coffee catch up and you think, oh no, I have met this person before and I know everything about them. Guess what? We don’t know everything about everyone.

Sometimes just using a weird, strange or unusual question into the mix can open up the flood gates.

It is interesting, when we use a question which isn’t quite in context of our usual ‘networking’ questions you can see the mood shift. You can almost see the shoulders relax, the face relax and a giggle or laugh emerge bringing spontaneity into the conversation. Here are some conversation starters to get you started.

Conversation Starters……………………..
What would you like to get better at?
What made your brain grow today?
What problems or challenges did you work on this month?
What is your favourite way to feel calm?
What is one quality you look for in a friend?
Who  is your best client?
What is your favourite day of the week?
When do you feel you are more productive in the morning or the afternoon?
How can someone become famous?
Android or Apple?
Tell me about something you do every day?
How often do you check your emails?
What do you do to relax after a business day?
Describe your perfect day?
What do you like the most about the person sitting next to you (on the left) (on the right)?
f you could invite two other people to join us, who would they be?
​What is the one thing that is your absolute must have for a business meeting?

​Do you have your favourite conversation starter?

Our lives seem to get blurred these days, particularly when we compare real life to the ‘show reels’ posted on Social Media. Just like when we were growing up reading Dolly and Cleo magazines, seeing unrealistic girl’s photos brimming from the pages.
The medium may have changed but the feeling of inferiority can still be there. Think about the last time you visited the movie theatre, you see the movie trailers and previews or “the show reel”. These show reels show you the funny, poignant, or action charged moments of the movie, highlights if you will.

After seeing the show reel, you then decide this is the next movie to see. When you come to watch it, all the ‘good bits’ you saw in the show reel, the rest of the movie is pretty pedestrian. What you were shown was orchestrated to deliver the best version of the movie to get you in. Working from a home office or an isolated environment often we can turn to social media for a bit of outside distraction.

What do we see? We see our friends ‘show reel’. The perfectly pimped hair, a luncheon out with friends, a tidy house or a gorgeous well-maintained office, the list goes on. This view, this post can then make us feel less than adequate, all of a sudden sitting at home in a messy office with washing and ironing up to the wazoo we can become upset, disillusioned or frustrated with our day, our lot in life or our business.

What we haven’t seen is the hot mess that may have happened 30 minutes before the perfect video or photo was posted. We often don’t get to see the reality behind the veneer of the orchestrated post on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. Here are 5 tips to keep life real in your real life.

1. Remember above all the social media posts you see of friends and colleagues are a ‘show reel’ of what people want you to see. The true story is carefully hidden behind designer sunnies and a well placed vase. 

2. If you work alone or from a home office, arrange a call with a colleague or business friend for 5 -10 minutes to check in each day and keep it real.

3. Get out of the office or house as much as possible, try working from a coffee shop, a co-working space or another place where people are around, you are less likely to use social media an outside distraction with everything else that is going on around you. With portable wifi these days finding inspiration in a park for an hour is very doable.

4. Encourage real face time, belly to belly, toe to toe meetings. As women we particularly thrive on the warmth of conversation and connection person to person. If that isn’t necessarily possible then consider Zoom, FaceTime or Skype as an option. Amazingly, technology can be a way of bringing the outside world in when used correctly.

5. Book into at least one networking event a week. It is an opportunity to get you and your business out into the world and not be your best kept secret, it is also an opportunity to have that interaction and human connection.

​Using these 5 tips will assist in keeping you focused and connected when working from home and less likely to drift off into someone else’s show reel. Keep it real, connect, communicate and keep the show reel out of your self talk.

​Have you ever contemplated who you really are? I mean not what you do but who you really are.

How would your family members, best friend or colleagues describe you? When we are asked to say who we are generally the first words that come to mind are the roles that we play in life. I’m a business owner, wife, mother, sister, brother, aunt, coach, confidante, personal trainer, web site designer, image consultant, and the list goes on.

These labels are the roles we play in life and most generally we describe ourselves as to the role we play or the position we hold. Have you thought more deeply about who you are? When we know who we truly are and appreciate our strengths and our traits it allows us the freedom to embrace who we truly are and be who we truly want to be. A great exercise is to grab a pen and paper and on one side of the page at the top write the heading
I am a…………………
This is where you can write down all of the labels, those roles or job descriptions. These roles don’t define who we are, the roles change as the seasons of our lives change, job changes and relationship changes.
On the other side of the paper is where we really get to think about who we truly are, what makes us tick, who we truly are, our core essence, all of this enveloped in our values. I am kind, sincere, happy, generous, grateful, calm, ambitious, faithful, determined, courageous, optimistic….. Head this page up with
I am ………
Now is your time to contemplate and think about who you truly are. For some people this is a difficult task to consider their true essence, what makes them tick. It may be helpful to think about how your best friend or a special family member would describe you.

Maybe light a lovely candle, put on some soft music and diffuse an essential oil and take some time out for you to figure out who you are. This is the last part of the exercise and is a powerful moment.

As you read through your list of I am, consider if you were to meet you in one of the roles on the other side of the page would you like you? Would you want to be friends with you? Would you want to sit down and share lunch or chat with you?

If you’re not sure in some of the areas, this is a great place to start looking at how to be more of what you are happy with. This exercise is a powerful exercise to do 2 or 3 times a year as a little self-check in. Are you going to try this for yourself? Doing this exercise often you can continue the friendship with yourself.