Episode 745: Protecting Your Joy and Energy in Q4 (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT745 – Protecting Your Joy and Energy in Q4

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

[00:00:35]   Megan Porta

Hello food bloggers. How is it going this week? Hope you’re doing good. Great to see you.

If you’re listening on the podcast, join us over on YouTube. Say hi in person for once. I am going to talk about a very important topic today and that is protecting your joy and your energy as we approach Q4. If you’re a food blogger and most of you listening are, you know that Q4 is an important time for us. It’s also a double edged sword.

[00:01:08]   

It’s that time of year when traffic spikes, ad revenue jumps up, holiday content takes center stage, and hopefully that means that revenue increases for you as well. But it’s also the time when your to do list grows so quickly and it feels like it can just swallow your joy on most days. It’s a time when the pressure to produce more and to do it even faster than normal can start eroding the very energy that makes you want to work in the first place.

[00:01:43]   

I have been in this space long enough to know how tempting it is to sprint harder during Q4 because you feel like if you don’t, you’re going to miss out on opportunities and money and all of that Q4 magic. I’ve also learned the hard way, by the way, that burning through all of your joy and energy this time of year leaves you with big numbers.

[00:02:08]   

Maybe, yes, but also an empty tank and sometimes burnout. And this is all taking place around the holidays that season when you want to spend time with your people and you want to feel present, connected with loved ones. So today let’s talk about how to protect the two things you cannot afford to lose the season.

[00:02:29]   

Your joy and your energy. Let’s begin with why joy and energy matter more than anything else in Q4.

[00:02:39]   

Joy is your creative fuel. When you have it, your work feels aligned, it feels alive, inspired, magnetic. Your audience can feel it in your writing and your photography, your videos and your voice. It carries through. When you lose it, content creation becomes more robotic or mechanical and your audience feels that too.

[00:03:08]   

Now, let’s talk about energy. Energy is your most valuable business asset. When it’s high, you feel clear and focused and productive. And when it’s low or depleted, you make quick decisions. You settle for substandard work.

[00:03:27]   

You start toying with burnout before December even arrives. Here’s something that we don’t talk about enough. In my opinion, joy and energy are also essential for truly enjoying your life outside of work, especially during the holiday season. Because isn’t that the whole point of it all? To be able to have the time and the space and the capacity to actually enjoy the people and the moments that matter the most?

[00:03:57]   

The irony is that you can hit all of your traffic and revenue goals in Q4 and still walk away feeling empty if you have traded your joy and energy in order to get there. Let’s talk through some common joy and energy leaks in Q4. Let’s call them out so you can spot them before they drain you.

[00:04:20]   

One is over committing to unrealistic content schedules. You may promise yourself that you’re going to publish three new recipes a week plus reels plus an email series.

[00:04:33]   

And then you end up sacrificing sleep insanity to get there. Or you say yes to every collaboration or opportunity that comes your way, even if it feels misaligned. Oh my gosh, I’m the queen of doing this. Historically, I don’t do this anymore, but I used to do this all the time. Maybe you accept a brand deal that just does not feel aligned because you think it’s Q4.

[00:04:57]   

I can’t pass it up even when it steals time from projects that actually light you up and that actually move the needle forward in an aligned way. Maybe you also start neglecting rhythms of self care that you’d been into previously in the year. So you start skipping workouts. You’re staying up too late. You forget to drink water throughout the day.

[00:05:19]   

Maybe you forget to eat lunch. You don’t spend as much quality time with your family because you’re too busy. Or maybe you are living in reaction mode. So you start your day in your inbox or on Instagram scrolling, allowing other people’s needs to dictate your priorities instead of working your own plan. If any of these sound familiar, you are not alone.

[00:05:44]   

No guilt, no shame here. But these things are things that we definitely want to not fall into if possible. So we’ll talk about some practical shifts to protect your joy and energy. And I have put together six ways to guard your spark in Q4 this year. Number one is to set three non negotiables for your well being.

[00:06:14]   

These are your baseline commitments no matter how busy things get. I’ll talk through just a few examples. So maybe it’s no working after 5pm or you take a walk every morning before you check your phone, before you get online in any way. Maybe it’s having dinner with your family at least four nights a week.

[00:06:35]   

Or prioritizing a lunch break every day and stepping away from your computer.

[00:06:40]   

Whatever it is, write them down and put these where you can see them. Number two, Build joy breaks into every workday. This doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can be very simple. Here are some examples.

[00:06:55]   

Get outside before you do a photo shoot, even if it’s just for five minutes or before you start your day, make a latte or your coffee of choice and sip it slowly without multitasking. Just sit with the coffee. Play your favorite music while editing or doing a more mindless task. Maybe it’s cooking.

[00:07:16]   

I always forget this one how powerful music can be, especially music that I love in just boosting my mood a little bit.

[00:07:25]   

Or come up with your own. These little micro moments will keep your nervous system regulated and your creative well replenished. Number three. Ruthlessly prioritize. Ask yourself what will actually move the needle for me in Q4?

[00:07:40]   

Everything else becomes a later project. I recommend making two separate lists. A must do Q4 list those few things that will truly impact your goals in Q4 and a not now. List everything that can wait until January or beyond. That’s it.

[00:07:58]   

Everything in your business falls under one of those two lists. 4. Schedule downtime now. Here in September before the chaos begins. Not in the middle of the chaos.

[00:08:11]   

Please block it off in your calendar today and treat it like a meeting with your future sanity. And lean on your intuition as far as how much time to block off and when and all of those details. Do not wait for when things calm down to do this, because they won’t once Q4 is here.

[00:08:32]   

You know how it is. It’s like this speeding ball of momentum that just doesn’t stop.

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So do it now. Your future self will thank you. Number five Protect your mornings. No phone, no inbox, no scrolling until you have done at least one thing, preferably more that fuels you. That might be a quick journaling session to start the day.

[00:08:56]   

Reading a chapter of a book or planning your day over a cup of coffee. Sitting outside, taking a walk outside if you need to. Establish what it is the day before or the week before and put these things in your calendar so that you can more intentionally protect them. Number six: Protect your work time.

[00:09:17]   

So yes, you’re going to protect your you time in the mornings, but you also have to protect the time that you work.

[00:09:25]   

Create strict boundaries so that when you sit down to work, you are working. You are not checking notifications, you’re not starting a load of laundry, you’re not hopping between tabs. Oh my gosh, I’m so good at that one. You’ll get so much more done in less time when you are intentional about protecting your work time, which means more space for rest and more space for life and your people.

[00:09:51]   

To close this Q4, remember that opportunities are going to come your way.

[00:09:57]   

Extra traffic will come your way. Revenue spikes will certainly hit. But you need to be discerning so that you have the energy and the joy to create those results and the capacity to enjoy your life and your people when they arrive. Remember that joy and energy are not renewable at the pace you’re burning them unless you actively protect them. So don’t just chase the numbers this season.

[00:10:23]   

Guard the spark that started the business in the first place. It’s so important that we do this because a thriving business without a thriving you is never worth the trade. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I really hope you get through this Q4 feeling like you did. Protect your joy and your energy when it comes to a close. I am so grateful that you’re here. I will see you next week. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Outro 

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self care episode. These mindset episodes are now available on YouTube, so watch it over there. Search Eat Blog Talk on YouTube and we’ll see you there.