Check-in: Make your sustaining plan work for you
Do you have a sustaining plan? People often give me a quizzical look when I ask them this question. Do they have a plan to sustain themselves as they pursue their goals or just go about doing what they need to do across life and work?
I haven't always been intentional about my plans either, which has led to being overly stretched, exhausted, or burned out.
I think a few factors are important with sustaining plans: managing them on different timeframes and being open to flexing and changing them. This was apparent in speaking with two entrepreneurs this past month on the podcast. In innovation, it's common to look to “extreme” cases to inspire ideas. I think entrepreneurs who often wear multiple hats and feel pulled in a lot of directions can provide examples for how we might better support our sustainability efforts. With these two women, I explored navigating careers and what it takes to sustain ourselves in the moment, over time, and as we navigate transitions.
Ashley Donahey didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur, but her path led her to found Two Worlds Whiskey and launch at the start of the pandemic. She learned she needed to take care of herself to navigate tricky waters. I also love what she shared about what made a difference for her in creating sustainability:
“Stop and make sure you're enjoying the moment because they pass quickly. And if you're not enjoying your life day to day, that's not success to me.
The big shift that I've made, and it's been an absolute game changer for me, is that every day when I wake up now, I actually ask myself, what is the absolute minimum that I need to do today to move my business forward. It's been a game changer because every single day, instead of looking at that to do list and taking the lowest hanging fruit or the most urgent thing, I actually look at, okay, if I was going to do one thing that's going to make the biggest impact to move my business forward, what is it? So it forces you to think strategically right from the get go. And you know that if that's the only thing you get done that day, and sometimes when you're an entrepreneur that happens, that's okay. I still moved the ball forward and we're still getting places.”
Arianna Taboada is a public health social worker by training who has worked with expecting entrepreneurs. She is the author of The Expecting Entrepreneur: A Guide to Parental Leave Planning for Self-employed Business Owners. I’ll highlight two key points she shared:
“You want to reassess every month if the things that you put in place to help you transition back are working or if it needs to change.
I really strongly believe in learning from our peers. And that peer support I think also comes in really importantly in the return to work phase. It can be pretty isolating and highly stressful for a working parent who’s trying to navigate both work and parenting in those early days.”
It’s a good time now at the end of the first quarter of the year to pause, reflect, and take stock. How are you doing with your sustaining plan? Inspired by Ashley and Arianna, consider:
Are you enjoying your life now? If not, what might you want to shift to bring more joy into your day-to-day life?
What's the one thing you can get done today that will move forward what matters most to you now?
Are the support structures you have in place now sufficiently supporting you? Does something need to change?
Who can you lean on to support both your goals and your desire for sustainability?
As you look forward to this next season, what might you need in this timeframe to support your sustainability? What might you want to put on your calendar next quarter to support you if this quarter is full?
Creating sustainability for ourselves takes deliberate focus and intention. How can you optimize your sustaining plan to support you best?
Wishing you well this season. Make it sustainable as we step out of hibernation and welcome spring! 🌷
P.S. I realize I even have a seasonal sustaining plan. The image at the top is a spot that is part of my late winter and spring sustaining plan. I take advantage of the few months I have in San Francisco when it's actually sunny and my neighborhood isn't engulfed by fog. It’s energizing for me to get outside, even when I work. This is one of my favorite spots at the end of day, as it gets sunshine right up until the sun falls behind the horizon.
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