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Episode 196: “Finished” Isn’t “Done” with Megan Porta

In episode 196, Megan talks to us about the life span of a project and how the “end” isn’t finished so you can be inspired to evaluate and continue the next chapter for your amazing projects.

We cover information about how to evaluate projects you’ve created and how to take your content into the next chapter which could include promoting and selling, why you need to dig into discomfort and how to spend 15 min of your day in this area.

Listen on the player below or on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.

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Takeaways

  • When a project is finished, it is ready for the next chapter.
  • The “next chapter” is not appealing to a lot of people.
  • There is a 0% success rate for those that prayed there was no further effort needed on those projects you breathed life into.
  • Shift your mindset so you know to expect work beyond hitting the publish button.
  • The only way to become good at promoting and selling is by starting. Over time you will make tweaks. Each time you do it, you will learn something.
  • It will be impossible to know the next step if you do not have clearly defined goals.
  • Write a list of potential action steps that can be completed that will move the needle forward in a 15-minute (or more!) span of time.
  • Spend 15 minutes/day moving each project forward that is tied to a future goal.
  • Priorities will shift as you move along, so re-evaluate your priorities on a regular basis.

More On Mindset

Rachel Ritlop shares about abundance vs scarcity mindset in episode 051.

Transcript

Click for full text.

Hey food bloggers! It’s just you and me today and in this solo episode I am going to talk about the concept of “finished” not being “done.” 

Do you struggle with knowing exactly what you should be doing to move the needle forward and what to focus on next in your business?

I have two solutions for you, if you’re in this boat..

Mastermind groups..

EBT membership..

Finished isn’t done

This is a concept I have been wrapping my head around lately and also working on making better in my life and business. Historically I have not been great at continuing with a project once it is “finished.” And what I am learning is that when a project is finished? It’s not actually finished. It just moves onto a new chapter, usually involving selling or promoting or finessing or all of the above.

Real life examples

A pilot flies a plane from destination A to destination B.

Finished: the plane lands

Why this isn’t actually done: The pilot can’t park and go home once she has landed the plane. She has to taxi to the gate, get people safely off the plane and do whatever needs to be done to the airplane to get it ready for the next flight.

What would happen if finished was done: Passengers on the plane would risk their lives trying to get to the terminal. None of them would EVER fly on that airline again.

A construction crew builds a home.

Finished: Home is erected.

Why this isn’t actually done: Nobody will actually want to move into a home until the walls have been painted and carpet has been installed. Finessing needs to be done and selling needs to happen in order to get people to want to buy the house.

What would happen if finished was done: No one would actually purchase the home. Or maybe someone would, but at a much cheaper price than it could potentially be sold for.

I invite friends over for dinner.

Finished: Meal is made.

Why this isn’t actually done: Pulling a finished pan of roasted chicken and vegetables out of the oven isn’t the end. My guests need to be served the meal and they are going to need plates and forks! They want interaction and conversation and maybe a glass of wine with a post-dinner bonfire.

What would happen if finished was done: It would be a super awkward meal, as my guests tried to figure out which cupboard I keep my napkins in. They might figure out how to serve themselves, but they won’t likely accept future invitations to come over for dinner.

My work examples

Cookie Remix

Finished: Book is published.

Next chapter: Promoting, selling.

Blog content

Finished: Recipe posts published.

Next chapter: Constant tweaking.

Ebooks

Finished: Final pdf created.

Next chapter: Promoting, selling.

The “next chapter” is not appealing to a lot of us. I personally have FINISHED projects and just hoped and prayed they’d do well with no further effort. I can tell you that this method has a 0% success rate.

How do we overcome this? 

1 – Understand the concept that finished is never done. Shift your mindset so you know to expect work beyond hitting the publish button. The simple act of understanding this concept will work wonders.

2 – Learn to promote and sell by promoting and selling. I hear food bloggers say this a lot: promoting and selling are not typical favorite parts of the job. We become food bloggers so we can create and have an impact and share our food, but how many of you listening actually love promoting or selling yourself or your content? I personally do not love these things, but what I’m realizing is that if I don’t promote and sell? All of my efforts can be thrown out the window. I’m done having this mindset and I commit to promoting and selling the projects and recipes that I have poured my time, energy and heart into creating. And I no longer lean on the excuse that “I don’t know how to promote and sell” because that is just a lame excuse. My promoting and selling skills aren’t top-notch.. yet.. but the only way I’m going to get there is by starting. Start promoting and selling and over time you will make tweaks. Each time you do it, you will learn something. People might give you feedback, which is another avenue for learning.

3 – Spend 15 minutes/day on the next chapter. This is something I am experimenting with currently and it has been working well. We’ve all heard the advice to make a 1% improvement every day, right? I like the concept of this, but I also have a hard time with it because how exactly do you measure 1%? Instead of focusing on 1%, I propose that you spend 15 minutes/day moving each project forward that is tied to a future goal.

Example: My huge pile of blog content on my site started to weigh me down mentally, as well as in the eyes of Google. So I got a site audit. But you all know that it doesn’t end there. There is work to be done after the audit, right? One of my 1-year goals is to have all suggestions from my audit done and all blog content updated. So every day I spend a minimum of 15 minutes doing something to move forward with this goal. Fifteen minutes is not a huge investment of time and when done consistently, day after day, I’ll be able to make big gains. AND I will be continuing on with my next chapter, which is implementing and fixing.

4 – Re-evaluate as goals change. Assuming you are setting goals and keep a close eye on those, priorities will shift as you move along through your year. Re-evaluate your priorities on a regular basis because new projects and focuses can come into your business, which may change current projects and focuses. 

What action steps can you take right now to show your business that you understand “finished isn’t done”?

1 – Create 1-year goals. If you don’t have 1-year goals set for your business, you’ve gotta sit down and do that. Food bloggers generally want to know what that “next step” is, and it will be impossible to know the next step if you do not have clearly defined goals.

2 – Pull 3-5 projects out of your goals to focus on. Write them down. Commit to moving those projects forward in some way for a minimum of 15 minutes every day. Block out the time on your calendar. Write a list of potential action steps that can be completed that will move the needle forward in a 15-minute (or more!) span of time. 

3 – Dig into the discomfort. You guys, promoting and selling myself and the things I create IS NOT COMFORTABLE for me. It makes me squirm. It makes me want to run in the opposite direction. I don’t like it. But based on historical facts, I can see that my avoidance has not served my business well. In fact, I’ve done a huge disservice to myself by avoiding promoting and selling and continuing on with the next chapter. Magic awaits you on the other side of that really uncomfortable thing. Dig into it and just do it, even if it’s ugly. Do it consistently and you will learn quickly. 

4 – Be disciplined and consistent. This is the last bit of advice I give for just about anything because it is the most important thing. Be disciplined and be consistent. Make a decision right now that “finished” isn’t “done” for you. You will not walk away from a project or a post once it’s published or finished. You will commit to following through with whatever the remaining steps are to promote or sell or tweak. You are disciplined and you are going to be consistent. You’ve got this.

Finished isn’t done. We all know this. Some of us ignore it and hope things will magically work out in our favor. This strategy has never worked for me, so I am committing to a new strategy that involves digging into uncomfortable things and getting the most out of the content I work so hard to create.

I hope this inspires you to evaluate ways you can look beyond the finish line and continue the next chapter for your amazing projects.

196: “Finished” Isn’t “Done” with Megan Porta

When a project is finished, it’s not actually finished. In this episode Megan dives into real-life examples where the “end” is not actually the end and what were to happen if it WERE the end (disaster!). Evaluate your projects and how you can take your content from “published” onto the next chapter, which usually involves selling, promoting, refining or all of the above.

  • Go into a project knowing that hitting the publish button is not the end. This simple mindset shift will help a ton.
  • Spend 15 minutes every day on the “next chapter” for projects that align with your goals.
  • Dig into the discomfort.
  • Most importantly, be disciplined and consistent!

Melissa, everything below this point is just ideas for future episodes. ignore this for now!

Discipline + consistency

I have been thinking a lot lately about how beneficial it is to be someone who makes quick decisions.. It’s such an intriguing topic because the way that you make decisions can have a significant impact on your business.

“The man of DECISION cannot be stopped! The man of INDECISION cannot be started! Take your own choice.” – Napoleon Hill

We all have those times when we waver about a decision we’re trying to make and it just becomes exhausting! This can be something huge or small or anywhere in between. No matter what decision we’re trying to make, it’s freaking exhausting when we’re wavering.

Once a decision is made? Relief comes, followed by action.

Indecision:

  • Keeps you stuck. 
  • Mentally drains you.

decision fatigue is the deterioration of our ability to make good decisions after a long session of decision making. In other words, the more decisions you need to make, the worse you’re going to be at weighing all the options and making an educated, research-backed choice.

If you blame anyone else for your failures, there’s no reason to change. 

No more excuses means you must take action.

Own and embrace your failure.

Take responsibility for every single mistake you make.

Fear is a liar.


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Questions or comments on this episode?

Head over to the Eat Blog Talk forum post about episode #196 to leave any questions or comments. We’d love to hear from you!

Megan
Megan

Megan started her food blog Pip and Ebby in 2010 and food blogging has been her full-time career since 2013. Her passion for blogging has grown into an intense desire to help fellow food bloggers find the information, insight, and community they need in order to find success.

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