Categories: Podcasts

#050: Protecting the Asset

EPISODE #050

Protecting the Asset

Guest: Kathryn Langsford

Owner of Photos by Kathryn
Vancouver, Canada
photosbykathryn.com

DATE: May 26, 2022

If there’s anything we’ve learned coming out of the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is the importance of our mental health.

In fact I’d submit that, as entrepreneurs, our energy and mental health are THE primary assets in our businesses. After the last two years, we may be tired of being cooped up, but it is so important to remember the lessons we’ve learned by slowing down, especially now that the pressure to be busy is back in full swing.

Kathryn Langsford joins me today for a conversation about protecting the asset: your own mental health. This topic is very trendy on social media right now as we scroll and see candles and long baths. But that’s not what works for everyone. In this episode, Kathryn shares how her mental health rock bottom forced her to change how she was approaching her business and her time. What she learned was that managing her time wasn’t the whole issue, but rather managing her energy. It sometimes feels unnatural to schedule time for ourselves, but what we have found is that by not protecting our mental energy, our creativity suffers.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

Create space for yourself
Be aware of negativity and its impact on your wellbeing
Cultivate success instead of forcing it
Overcome the fear of scarcity
Move your business forward through delegating and time blocking

Here’s a glance at this episode:

[4:37] – The entrepreneur is the primary asset. If we’re going down, it’s all going down.
[5:33] – By not leaving any time slots open, Kathryn’s creativity was suffering.
[7:01] – There are different ways the fear of scarcity manifests.
[10:08] – If you pack your day without room to breathe, what about the unexpected things that impact your schedule?
[11:37] – Kathryn learned the hard way, but now keeps space in her schedule for her mental health and creativity.
[13:14] – For Allison, the morning is the best time for moving her business forward.
[15:26] – Be sure to block production time into your calendar, too, rather than just client appointments.
[16:48] – Although tempting to schedule work 5 or more days a week, blocking time this way has given Kathryn space for new ideas.
[18:21] – Kathryn shares an example of scheduling something later that felt very unnatural to her, but allowed her to focus on the things that mattered first.
[20:14] – Telling a client that there isn’t a time slot for them right away is fine. They will understand and schedule a time that’s available.
[22:48] – Notice how you feel when you have multiple types of tasks and appointments in your day.
[25:30] – Be aware of negative thoughts.
[27:59] – How does Kathryn mitigate the worrisome thoughts? She gives a mental exercise and questions to ask yourself in these times of negative thinking.
[29:30] – If we can learn how to strip away the excess negativity, we can be more efficient in the way to apply our brain to every situation.
[31:40] – What is the difference between forcing and cultivating success?
[34:00] – Schedule yourself less so you can make space to cultivate success.
[35:48] – Delegating certain tasks to others on a team is extremely helpful.
[38:11] – Take a look at your calendar and find a way to put in space for the things that light you up.