written by Olamide Michelle

So Cliche

We always hear people hyping up the new year and new year solutions, but after a two-year global pandemic, everyone launching a new business, and trying to feel motivated in a social media – love island-addicted society, new year resolutions are the last thing on most people’s minds.

But what if we looked at growth or transformation as an ongoing experience instead of a
the drastic and impulsive thing we do at the start of each year?

You know that friend whose house always looks immaculate? No shoes in the house, a place for everything, and no real junk closet or drawer. It’s wild but the only way they live that way is by putting productive systems into place. They exist with a baseline for cleanliness and order. It’s not a deep clean they do once a year but an ongoing experience. And yes… I am THAT friend!

So after working with so many incredible female entrepreneurs who wanted balance in both their life and business, I began to recognize the power of habits. The same principles behind the Kondo Method for cleaning and folding can actually be used to prevent being a hot mess in business this year. To operate with a bit of a framework, I’ve created the acronym – STEP.

The STEP Method will enable you to change the way you view goals and your overall success. Simplification, Themes, Energy, and Practice. I guarantee these four new life rules or guiding principles will support better habit-building and a more positive attitude for holistic growth. And as a lawyer, I usually don't do guarantees!

Simplification

Building a dream life sounds so amazing but it requires several steps and even more mindset shifts. Of these, I encourage you to simplify everything. I am sure you have intricate ideas and even more incredible plans, but there is insane value in starting with more simple plans. Simple doesn’t have to mean small. This is a crucial distinction. Applying simplification to a huge
task might look like launching one clear service every six months. This slower approach will allow for a different type of growth. In those six months, you may assess client feedback, improve internal processes, and properly market the heck out of that ONE program or service! The same can be said about your chaotic shoe closet. Perhaps you clear out what you don’t need or like during one week and the following week you start organizing one section or shoe type at a time. This approach may remind you of SMART goals. This – I did not make up but similarly, it promotes setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and tracked in order to experience any real progress and success.

Themes

This step might be my favorite because it has been the thing to hold me the most accountable. As a multi-passionate or multi-hyphenated businesswoman, I wear a lot of hats. This means the responsibilities and tasks can feel very overwhelming and at times disorganized. So how do we manage this? With themes, you help put tasks into mentally LABELED buckets. Sundays are restorative days and I hit the sauna for some very relaxing detoxification. Tuesdays are my business tip days for video content, and I ALWAYS water my plants on Wednesdays. This might seem small, but it is so powerful. There is no day that doesn’t have a theme and the same goes
for most business activities such as client intake calls, team meetings, and podcast interviews. Establishing a theme creates a system and ensures that each day of the week you are doing something productive – big or small!

Energy

I love the post about how you should pay attention to your energy when you are around certain people. We all have those moments when someone just doesn’t align with our values or personality. You might feel anxious or even annoyed. It’s important to pay attention to the moments when you feel super supported by someone and then borderline abused by others. Without this assessment, you risk entertaining people who might be bringing your vibes down
and ultimately wasting your time and energy. The same goes for your long to-do list.

If you want to launch a podcast you might feel so drained every time you need to edit the episode or perhaps you struggle with creating marketing reels to promote the show. Instead of dropping the bar entirely, you might want to recognize that this low energy response is a sign to simplify the task or outsource it entirely. Your energy is high and positive when speaking and you do a great job delivering your message. This is a sign that podcasting is a good move for you or other types of public speaking, but it doesn't mean you will thrive with everything that comes along with it. Energy can be both good and bad regarding the same goal, making the first step (simplification) so important. Break big goals into sections and observe your energy levels surrounding each, your more productive times of the day, and what lights you up.

Practice

Alright, here is the final guiding principle from the STEP Method. PRACTICE is a reminder that life is a practice, meaning it is constantly evolving with regular highs and lows. We don’t practice becoming perfect but instead practice in order to experience progress. Perfection isn’t real and the sooner you ditch this notion the sooner you will notice how successful and abundant things
already are.

In yoga, we are constantly reminded that our experience on the mat is a practice, no two days are the same. Some days you are super flexible and other days you might struggle to get out of child’s pose. Accepting this allows for patience and grace as we challenge ourselves to accomplish difficult feats.

Now that you have a framework, try applying this to your next journaling session or goal-setting power hour. The Aligner takes the STEP Method to guide business owners on an intensive 21-day habit-building adventure. The goal? More balance and productivity with mind, body, and business – true holistic wealth!