6 Ways Structure Can Help You Achieve Peak Creative Performance

As a business coach for freelancers and creative professionals, I specialize in working with people who are in a place of transition in their career or creative business. While their unique circumstances vary, more often than not they share one key challenge; they're not fulfilling their creative and commercial potential. I've come to believe that a successful creative business is a blend of four things: 

(1) a great product or service 

(2) good strategy 

(3) hard work and 

(4) a willingness to be out of our comfort zone more often that not. 

Hey, if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?

But the creative business is a unique and sensitive animal. If it's all about strategy and objectives, we lose the creative magic and if it's all about creativity, nothing gets done. So, how can we find and maintain balance?

After working with creative professionals for 15 years, being business owner myself for eight and benefiting from the wisdom of mentors and coaches, I've come to the conclusion that success comes down to one thing:

Creating a solid structure, within which there is a lot of freedom.

If you're in that place of transition and don't know how to balance structure and freedom, I'd like to share 6 strategies that have worked for me: 

1) Know what you want from your business

If we don't know where we want to go, we can't create a plan to get there. Set aside some uninterrupted time to really think about what you want from your business. When we're honest with ourselves, the answer is sometimes very different from what we think we want. For example:

- Are you starting a business and want to build a roster of ideal clients? 
- Are you happy with your business and clients, but would like a few more? 
- Do you want to build a business that is flexible enough to work around your family's schedule? 
- Do you want to be known as a thought-leader in your industry? 

You can see how the strategy would be vastly different for each of these businesses, so it's important to get clear from the outset. 

2) Write down everything you need to do to achieve your goal

Doing a brain dump is a great way to get all of your ideas out of your head and into one place. I love the mind-map method. It's simple, effective and perfect for visual types. Here's how you do it:

Take a piece of paper and put your main topic, e.g. your business name, at the center. As thoughts come to mind, draw branches from the main topic and write down that thought or objective (use as few words as possible). You can create sub-branches for additional thoughts or action steps. 

I love Goggle for creating mind maps that look pretty too! 

3) Prioritize and calendarize 

(I know it's not a word, but it should be!) 
Take your mind map and number your goals by priority. Start with number one, let's use Networking as the example, and list action steps you need to take. They night be: 

 
(a) Research BNI and visit one chapter this month  

  (b) Become a member of Freelancer's Union and attend one event this month 

   (c) Research local AIGA chapter

Now enter those action steps into your calendar. Once it's in the calendar it moves from a "should" to a done deal. Now you're free to do something else. 

4) Bundle your to-do's

Have you ever ended your day feeling exhausted and frustrated because you ran around like a headless chicken, without much to show for it? I have and it sucks.
I now bundle similar tasks together and take care of them in one sitting. I set Friday aside for book keeping and general admin. Monday is dedicated to content development and marketing and I cluster my coaching sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so that I can stay in the zone and be as present as I can. Clustering your efforts also helps you balance "doing" and "creating". 

5) Work with your natural rhythms

It's no coincidence that my writing/content work is slated for Monday when I'm fresh and my boring admin is on Friday, when I'm spent. I go for an early morning run on one of my coaching days, knowing that I will benefit the most from the boost of energy and clarity it provides. 

6) Make time to play and create

Do you deny yourself downtime because you feel guilty that you're not being "productive?" I struggle with this and, while we may think of it as a noble trait, it's really not. The fact is, we need time to dream, play and create. It's what gives us the magic, the inspiration and energy we need to do all of the above steps. Down time should be as much of a priority as everything else. So put THAT in your calendar and stick to it!

Starting a New Business - Overcoming Negative Self-Talk

Did you ever hear the saying 'there is nothing to fear except fear itself'? Think about that for a minute - it seems to say fear creates itself and really has no basis - there is nothing to actually fear.  

The same thing could be said about thoughts of doubt or skepticism. For whatever reason, there is a lot of low self-esteem going around. It can be the result of having harsh criticism from others, or of never being able to please our 'authority figures'. They mean well, supposedly, and just want you to do your best.  

However it appears your best is never good enough for them because they wrongly think that by telling you to always 'aim higher', or pitting you against someone who is more proficient to compete with them, that this will somehow compel you to be their champion! An "A" is not even good enough - 'see if you can't try harder and get an "A+" next time'; 'See how well Molly does that? Maybe she could give you some pointers'; 'Don't you want to be like Jack? Look at those trophies he has!' 

The problem is two-fold - everybody is different, with different talents and gifts - and we don't all have the same interests. They say you do best what you like to do - so if whatever you are doing is 'not your cup of tea' you will likely not do as well as someone who breathes, eats and sleeps whatever it is. That doesn't mean you are less of a person or in some way inferior at all - it just means you are different.


Whether it is sub-conscious or conscious, you hear all that negative self-talk. 

You just need to 'deprogram' yourself from believing negative things about yourself. 

Make an effort to think of something you do well and that you enjoy, whenever you hear 'you can't do this' or 'you could have done that better', or 'so and so does it better than you do'.... and even if you can't think of something you are proud of and that makes you feel good about yourself, then think about something pleasant that you enjoy - a memorable day you had at the beach - or even the beach itself - what you love about it - the smell, the sound, the colors, the warm sun. 

Just immerse yourself in it and replace the negative thoughts with something that makes you feel happy.


This is particularly relevant to starting a new business because most of the people you know that are not involved, will try to discourage you - again for whatever reason, they will try to make you skeptical - 'are you kidding'? 'That sounds like a rip off'; 'Oh, it sounds like a scam'; 'good luck buddy, I would never buy anything online'; 'I know somebody that lost it all on a game like that'; 'You probably don't have the experience to do that'; 'People are far ahead of you and you will never catch up'.

To reinforce this negativity, you likely will not see any tangible results at first - starting a business is not like starting a new job, where even though you don't know what you are doing or where you are going they still pay you while you are learning. When you are brave enough and creative enough to try to start something of your own, you are not paid and you are spending long hours learning and trying new things; and frankly many of the things you try will not work - at first or even at all. This just means find another way, it doesn't mean 'I told you, you couldn't do this'. 

You have to be able to tell yourself 'it is ok'- 'I will learn', 'I will catch up', 'I will do it right' - and you will have the faith in yourself to keep plugging away until you can see the results of your actions. It may not be today or tomorrow but if you are consistent and really determined, there is nothing that can stop you. Good job!

What Words Will Empower You to Reach Goals and Be All You Can Be

Today (now!) is a good time to think about reinventing yourself and your business. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't be true to who you already are, but it's in our human nature to always want to improve. Try to imagine if you could have the qualities of anyone in the world whom you admire. Who would it be and what qualities would you most like to emulate? Maybe several people come to mind, each with a different set of characteristics that you admire. To grow and change, we can choose to put our focus on some positive qualities that we admire in others.



What if you had a word or a few words that represented who you want to be in this new season? Think and consider what those few words would look like? Here are some ideas and you can add your own:



Bold, Creative, Outstanding, Confident, Outgoing, Savvy,



Kind, Flexible, Authentic, Organized, Friendly, Successful,



Star, Amazing, Powerful, Energetic, Healthy, Wealthy,



Rich, Strong, Productive, Positive, Balanced, Popular



If you had a theme word to motivate and inspire you, what word would you choose? Often we get what we think about most. You have heard that you will create what you focus on so why not use this time of reinvention to choose a powerful and supportive theme to help you stay on track. You actions, day in and day out, would be from a person who completely embodies this word (or words). Reminds me a bit about theater class back in high school. Choose a word and behave in a way that lets others know what your word is, without ever having to tell them what it is.



I have 3 words myself for the year: Gracious, Innovative, Unstoppable. How about you -- what words will keep you centered on the you that you know you are capable of being? Remember, now is the perfect time for reinvention... you really can achieve all you want to and become exactly who you want to be!



If you like the idea of pushing forward and being all you can be, then you'll love the idea of reinventing yourself or your business to reach your biggest goals. It will take some intentional work on your part. Being all you can be doesn't happen by accident!

The Mind of an Entrepreneur

The way a person thinks can be the difference between being a successful entrepreneur or a defeated wannabe.


Studies have shown that a person who has an entrepreneurial mindset thinks differently than those who are satisfied with just being mere employees.


Although an entrepreneur entertains both types of thinking, they focus more on effectual thinking as opposed to causal thinking. Effectual thinking is very important especially in the starting a new business venture.


The Difference Between Causal Thinking and Effectual Thinking:

Entrepreneur wannabes often indulge in causal thinking. Causal thinking deals with having a goal in mind and having a definite plan to achieve the said goal. It also encourages a person to find better ways to implement the plan and achieve their goal.


Of course, the person has all the flexibility in the world to find several alternatives to achieve the goal he has first set and this goal stays the same all through out.


Effectual thinking, on the other hand, is a fairly different idea. And yes, it starts the same way as a causal thinker would have it.


There are set means, yes, but the goals develop over time and are molded by the imagination and interaction of the entrepreneur with the other people who contribute to his business.


With effectual thinking, there are no set goals in the beginning. The formation of goals by an effectual thinker is based on three factors:

Personality: (what he is as a person)

Knowledge: (his formal education and training)

Network: (who he knows socially and professionally).

How Entrepreneurs Think:


Elaborating the difference between causal thinking and effectual thinking does not mean that an entrepreneur only uses one type of thinking. In fact, the best entrepreneurs make use of both types at the right time.


For someone who is still starting out, effectual thinking should be put into action. Why? For two things.


First, being an effectual thinker means being creative. You are not limited by your means as well as your goals. You may think of alternate routes to get to your goal, but if it doesn't work, you can easily scrap those routes altogether.



And since effectual thinkers aren't limited to one grand goal, success may come from an unexpected direction and in the most unexpected time.

Read: Entrepreneur Revolution: How to develop your entrepreneurial mindset and start a business that works 

Secondly, when you become an effectual thinker, you develop all the characteristics required to make an entrepreneur successful.



These characteristics include persistence, creativity, resourcefulness, and gut feel or intuition..



Effectual entrepreneurs aren't fortune tellers and they do not try to be one. Instead, they will work to create the future that they want their businesses to be in.



Becoming Successful:



Success does not come overnight and effectual entrepreneurs know this. If the first plan doesn't work, then it's time to move on to the next one, and so on and so forth.



Being successful is just like playing hide and seek with you as the "it". Just because success doesn't come from the first place, as a true entrepreneur you continue moving forward looking for it.



As an effectual thinking entrepreneur, you are allowed to adapt to the moment and change goals on the fly.



Remember, the best entrepreneurs make use of both types of thinking. As a budding entrepreneur yourself, you would do well to follow their example.

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