S1 | E24 Building a Life-First Business - What I Stopped Doing to Reduce Stress and Burnout

Speaker A: For a long time, social media felt like a, uh, constant pressure point. Post more, be visible every day, keep feeding the algorithm. And while visibility matters, forcing it drained me. So I stopped stressing over daily posting. I let myself not post when it really was a pressure point. Are you sitting in front of a pile full of tasks for your business, family, household and everything else to do and long for that to go away? The trick is creating passive income. Of course there's some work behind the passive part, but working 20% compared to 120 completely turned around how I enjoy life today. Great to have you here. Are you ready to move the needle? Work less and earn more. Grab your latest craft project and your favorite drink. Let's stitch together purpose, profit and peace to create the life we've long been wanting. Great to have you here. Welcome to a calmer, more aligned way of building online. Today's episode is a lighter one, but actually one of the most important ones I've recorded in a while. Because for years I, and I think we all have pushed and thought that growth meant adding. Adding more strategies or activities, adding more platforms and more posting, more early mornings and more pressure. But the biggest breakthroughs in my business didn't, uh, come from adding more. They actually came from stopping certain things. And once I did, everything got lighter and clearer and more effective. It created space for me and my days became more life first. So today I'll share a few things I've intentionally stopped doing in business and why that made space for more peace even better results and a sustainable momentum. Take this episode with you on a walk, maybe while you're baking cinnamon rolls or with your current craft project in hand. This one is one of those permission giving conversations. So the first thing I stopped doing was forcing things that aren't a, uh, must now or must do now. One of the biggest shifts for me was realizing that not everything needs to happen. Not now, and maybe not even later. For a long time, social media felt like a, uh, constant pressure point. Post more, be visible every day, keep feeding the algorithm, and while visibility matters, forcing it drained me. So I stopped stressing over daily posting. I let myself not post when it really was a pressure point. And instead I leaned into evergreen systems like automation, pool marketing, long form content that keeps working for you in the long run. Like my podcast, it's less effort than videocasting too. And yes, even working on an app that's currently in the pipeline to bridge that gap even further. The result was less urgency, less pressure points, more consistency without stress. And one of the Best points on this is that content doesn't disappear after 24 hours. So life lesson or life first lesson number one out of this first point, if something creates constant pressure but with little return, it deserves reevaluating without guilt. The second thing, I stopped trying to do everything myself. This was humbling and freeing. For a long time I thought if I don't do it myself, it won't be done right or the way I think is right. Right. But the truth, I was becoming a bottleneck. A real big bottleneck. It could last for weeks. So right now I work with two team members. They handle things I either 1 don't enjoy, or 2 don't specialize in it, or 3 I simply don't need to be doing it. And it's really not expensive either. You may have heard me speak about a project that I have. Um, I'm working with the youth in underprivileged countries, um, or environments. And as we grow, we will be able to offer the services to a wider community. It's uh, virtual assistants. And it's amazingly relieving to wake up and see the lead process handled. The social media plan made, my YouTube channel organized with descriptions and SEO titles even and video editing done. So I tell you, it is so worth it. And suddenly my energy is going where it matters most instead of being dead tired when it should be there to do what matters most. So life first lesson number two. Delegation isn't a luxury, it's stewardship of your energy a hundred percent. Point 3. I stopped forcing early mornings that didn't fit me. So let's talk a little bit about realness. I'm not a natural early morning worker. I'm an afternoon to evening person. And for years I tried to override that because successful people always get up early right now, unless I really want to be up early for nature walks or appointments or a special reason, I really don't force it. My mornings are calm, I meet with God, I align what we want done for that day. And I created an accomplished list and not just have, uh, a to do list. That shift alone changed my relationship with work and shifted my vibe for the day quite big. So life first lesson number three is your business should or could better fit your biology and not fight it. Now the fourth thing I stopped doing was measuring my worth by my busyness. It's subtle and powerful. And I stopped thinking that busy meant productive. A full calendar and checked off to do lists I thought meant success. Exhaustion was a sign of I'm sure I'm getting Something important done. It was like a commitment check. Instead, I started asking what actually moved the needle today? What created clarity for me? What brought peace and what brought progress? Some days look quieter now, but they're far more effective. From this we get Life First Lesson number four Calm focus beats frantic effort every time. And the fifth thing that I stopped doing was stopped ignoring my season of life. This ties nicely into our recent series that we did. I no longer build as if I'm in my 20s or 30s. Like I have endless energy or life has no interruptions. Uh, because it does. Instead, I build with my season, my priorities, my energy, my capacity. And when my season changes, which it does, it fluctuates. My activities adjust, not just my foundation. It's not a big amazing shift and change. It can be subtle. So life first lesson number five is that alignment creates easier, more flowing consistency. Fighting your season creates burnout. So if business feels heavy right now, let me offer this gentle reframe. You may not need to do more. You may need to stop doing the wrong things. Maybe then you'll have the room for more of what's really needed. Growth often comes from removing the pressure, simplifying your systems, which also makes everything seem more organized and cleared up in your mind, and honoring your rhythm and building in a way that you can actually sustain. Because if you can't sustain it, you you won't be consistent. And that's exactly what I feel a life first business is about. It's not necessarily one where I put all personal things first. We have to be real business activities that are more aligned and that supports your life most every day, not every day, but m most and is sustainable and grows with you into the future. If you're curious about building an online business foundation that works with your life alongside your passion projects or business, one that already has automation, structure and support so you don't have to hustle nonstop. I'm always happy to talk that through with you. What I have is a ready to use plugin option. It can give you clarity of how to build a steady base of income while you're doing the things that you really want to be doing in your life. You'll find my contact info in the show notes. So until next time, keep choosing alignment over urgency and remember, business can feel lighter and work better. Both is possible. I hope this episode helped you move forward toward your goals and dreams and that inspired you in some way. If it did, please do share it with a friend and it would help me greatly. If you would like to leave a review on the show. Have a look online@beekidja.info where you can find out more about the online business system. I chose to run alongside my knitwear business and that changed everything for me. That's B e k I j a.info there's a link and more info in the show. Notes I'd be happy to mentor you every step of the way. Keep your heads up and take consistent steps forward with your eyes on the prize. And remember, mindset is the largest factor for success. See you next time and be blessed.