One step at a time

This blog is a little bit of a celebration for me.  As most of you know by now, I’m working on launching a new website that will have a video library subscription.  I didn’t want to be the person who launched having only two or three videos (my website designer’s husband told me that it’s fairly common to do this).  I wanted to have a library big enough that people would want to subscribe right away. I decided, quite randomly, that 24 videos would be a good start.

With an approximate three month deadline to get these videos done, I needed a plan.  So, I figured out that doing 3 videos per week would get me to my goal with some time to edit.

Just yesterday, I finished recording video number 24!!  I just want to take a moment to reflect here……ahhhhhh (bask in glow for a moment!).  It was a lot of work!  More than I expected. I learned the hard way not to record a cardio strength class and a core strength class on the same day.  I learned that a 15 minute HIIT class on the most humid day of the summer was maybe a bad idea (I forget which one it is but you’ll see I’m a little green by the end of the workout).

I still have to edit, but that isn’t near as daunting as putting myself on video, hoping that sound, lighting and interruptions are all working to my advantage.  If you subscribe and watch any of these videos, you’ll hear my furnace kick on the A/C here and there (I tried really hard to prevent that), you may hear a doorbell ring when I got a delivery during a filming (I can’t even remember if I edited it out) and you may hear footsteps upstairs when my husband was home while I was filming.  I made sure I told him not to flush the toilet while I was filming! But that’s all okay.  I’m all about keeping it real and well, those things certainly make it real. I’m not perfect.  I just want to help people work towards being their best, healthy and well selves.

When any of us set a goal, it can be scary and daunting.  Getting this website up and running is a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal)!  The easiest way for your brain to wrap itself around all the steps to get to that goal is to…you guessed it; take it one step at a time.

I knew getting 24 videos done was aggressive.  I had to contend with summer vacation and the fact that I’d rather be at the beach reading a book, that I got called back to working in the office, that there were other people and agendas happening in my house, that some days were really, really hot and humid, that I had neighbours with kids who were home and playing outside, that the sun shines in my studio at a certain time and makes the light look weird, and so many other things that I didn’t even consider (try having to pee with only 10 minutes left of recording).

When we break a goal down into its parts, or chunk it, it makes it seem more achievable and less daunting.   I have a master goal – launch date – but lots of little steps to take to get it done.  So, I chunked everything into groups – recording videos, getting pics updated, rewriting what I do, registering a new business, etc.  Then I took those chunks and broke them down into smaller chunks that were easier to handle.  These smaller chunks were assigned a week that they would get done.

For example, I needed to research, register, set up new business accounts and get a CRA number for my new business name: Superior Coaching and Wellness Solutions (SCAWS for short).  I also have very limited patience for technology and I find things always take longer than I expect.  So, instead of doing everything at once, I did the the things in order of importance (i.e. that my website designer needed first) and spread them out.  One week back in May, I did the research.  Then another week I registered the name and set up my new URL so my web designer could get started.  Then another week I set up the business information (new email address, new logo design (still pending) etc.). Finally this week, I’ll set up a CRA number as I start to ramp up for classes again in September and website launch shortly thereafter.  I didn’t need to get it all done at once or in one day.  Brain overload averted!

When making changes in our lives and setting a goal such as “getting healthier” or “becoming more stress resilient”, they seem daunting and we question where to even start.  Our brain is more accepting of making change when we take small steps, just one step at a time. Slowly but surely, you will get there.

Twenty-four videos down…lots more to come…just one at a time!