For most of my adult life, my solution to having too much to do has been to attempt to become better at doing all of it.

I’ve reorganized my task list. Bought a new planner. Switched project management systems. Blocked my calendar. Created elaborate routines that I would follow for approximately three days before inevitably falling behind and deciding that the problem was my lack of discipline.

But this month, I finally had to admit that maybe the problem isn’t that I haven’t found the right system for doing everything.

Maybe the problem is that I keep expecting myself to do everything in the first place.

So, I stopped trying to keep every part of my business moving at the same time.

This is difficult for me because I have a lot of ideas - and I’m very good at convincing myself that all of them need my immediate attention. I don’t just think, “That could be good someday.” I think, “That’s a good idea, so I should probably buy the domain, outline the offer, create the content plan, and start working on it this afternoon.”

Apparently, every good idea does not need to become an immediate assignment.

I also stopped assuming that every part of my business deserves equal attention simply because it exists. Some things are actively generating revenue. Some have real potential but need time to grow. Some are ideas I still love but don’t have the capacity to pursue right now.

Trying to give all of them the same amount of attention wasn’t helping any of them - it was mostly ensuring that I felt behind everywhere.

I stopped looking at every open hour on my calendar as an opportunity to squeeze in one more thing. Or, to be more accurate, I’m trying to stop doing that. (This one remains very much a work in progress because an unscheduled hour still looks suspiciously like unused productivity to me.)

And… most notably for you all, I’ve stopped offering certain types of work simply because I know how to do them. I don’t want to brag but… I know how to do a lot of things… but that doesn’t mean I have to turn every single thing into a revenue-generating activity.

Knowing how to do something does not mean I want to keep doing it. It also doesn’t mean it belongs in the business I’m trying to build now.

For a long time, I measured my progress by how much I could produce. More clients, more offers, more content, more projects. If I had any capacity left, the obvious next step was to fill it. And to be completely transparent - a lot of the time I was “filling” capacity that didn’t exist. I said yes to every client opportunity because saying no felt like tempting fate.

“If I say ‘no’ to this client request, they’ll never pay me to do anything ever again!”

Except more output doesn’t automatically mean more revenue, more growth, or even a better business. Sometimes it just means … more. More things to maintain and more things occupying space in the back of my brain while I’m supposed to be doing something else.

I’m trying to build a business that doesn’t require me to operate at full capacity every day. One that can still function when life is busy, my energy is limited, or I simply want to close my computer and go do something that has absolutely nothing to do with work.

And I’m realizing that I’m not going to get there by becoming better at cramming everything in. I’m going to get there by becoming much more selective about what gets included at all.

So, what does all of that ^^^ have to do with marketing? Well…

This Week’s Clarity Cue:

Look at the things you’re currently doing in your business and ask yourself: If I stopped doing this for the next 30 days, what would actually happen?

Not what you’re afraid might happen. Not what some business expert on Instagram insists will happen. What would realistically change?

If the honest answer is “probably nothing,” you may have found something you can stop doing, too.

Hit reply and tell me what you’re giving yourself permission to stop doing this month. I’d genuinely love to know.

~ Courtney
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